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POPULAR 


LECTURES  AND  ADDRESSES. 


BT 


ALEXANDER  CAMPBELL, 

PKMIDENT  or  BETHANT  COLLBGS,  TIRGINU. 


CHRISTIAN  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
ST.  LOUIS,  MO. 


TO 

^£lina  guntinjgton  (Eampbdl, 

MY  DUTIFUL  AND  AFFECTIONATE  WIFE, 
WHO  HAS  GREATLY  ASSISTED  ME  IX  MY  LABORS  IN  THE  GOSPEL, 

THIS,  VOLUME  OF  PUBLIC  ADDRESSES, 

LONG  SOLICITED  BY  MANY  FRIENDS,  IS 

AS  AN  HUMBLE  TOKEN  OF  MY  ESTEEM  AND  AFFECTION. 
Bbthaky,  Va.,  1861.  A.  CAMPBELL. 


PUBLISHERS'  PREFACE. 


We  take  great  pleasure  in  presenting  to  the  public  this  superb 
work,  containing  the  Lectures  and  original  Essays  of  Alexander 
Campbell,  President  of  Bethany  College  and  Minister  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ.  They  have  been  carefully  revised  and  prepared  for  the 
press,  and  now,  for  the  first  time,  put  in  a  form  acceptable  to  all. 
They  have  been  collected  from  his  periodicals,  covering  a  space 
of  nearly  forty  years  past,  and  were  delivered  and  read  to  large 
and  select  audiences  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States,  and 
have  frequently  been  required  by  those  who  have  heard  them  or 
have  known  any  thing  of  his  intellectual  strength  and  ability. 

No  man  of  the  present  age  has  been  more  frequently  before 
the  public,  both  in  his  addresses,  debates,  and  writings,  than 
Alexander  Campbell ;  and  the  impress  of  his  mind  he  has  left  on 
the  age,  and  will  leave  to  future  generations. 

No  one  can  read  these  Lectures  and  Essays  without  being 
struck  with  the  wonderful  powers  of  reasoning  he  possesses,  the 
ease  with  which  he  masters  the  most  recondite  subjects,  and  the 
boldness  and  originality  with  which  he  contemplates  and  handles 
them.  He  throws  new  light  upon  whatever  he  touches ;  and,  as  he 
thinks  profoundly  and  clearly,  he  brings  within  the  comprehension 
of  all  the  weighty  matters  which  he  discusses.  He  has  labored  zeal- 
ously and  successfully  to  redeem  the  world  from  the  authority  ol 
great  names  to  the  truth  of  things,  and  from  the  fanciful  systems 
of  theorists  to  the  established  principles  of  philosophy,  morality, 
and  religion.  He  never  substitutes  the  speculations  of  men  for 
authenticated  facts,  nor  reasonings  for  faith,  but  confines  himself 


publishers'  peeface. 


within  the  area  of  nature,  society,  and  religion  in  their  truest, 
broadest,  and  largest  extent.  His  works  show  that  he  has  been 
no  gleaner  in  the  fields  of  science  or  of  art,  no  winnower  in  the 
waste  and  rubbish  of  ages,  but  has  entered  the  great  harvest- 
fields  of  truth  and  observation  and  has  brought  home  the  riches 
of  his  herculean  labors. 

This  work  does  not  attempt  to  give  the  author's  views  on  the 
subject  of  the  Christian  religion  at  large:  these  may  be  found  in 
his  numerous  publications  already  before  the  people,  and  which 
have  been  extensively  circulated  and  read  both  in  Europe  and 
America.  His  thoughts  on  collateral  themes — literary,  educa- 
tional, philosophic,  and  moral — are  here  presented,  embracing  a 
wide  range  of  subjects  and  elaborated  in  his  own  masterly  and 
profound  manner. 

We  think  that  no  private  or  public  library  can  well  aS'ord  to 
dispense  with  this  work.  Every  one  who  wishes  to  know  what 
one  of  the  most  original  minds  and  profound  thinkers  of  the  age 
has  said  and  written  on  subjects  of  the  greatest  interest  to  our 
race,  will  avail  himself  of  the  reading  and  study  of  this  volume. 

The  distinct  themes  discussed  in  the  book  will  be  found  in 
its  opening  pages  and  a  full  and  copious  index,  alphabetically 
arranged,  at  its  close.  No  pains  or  expense  have  been  spared 
by  the  publishers  to  get  it  up  in  a  style  and  form  most  accept- 
able to  the  reader. 

The  portrait  is  one  of  the  finest,  by  J.  C.  Buttre,  of  New  York, 
from  a  recent  superior  photograph,  given  at  our  urgent  request. 

We  commit  it  to  the  public  in  the  full  confidence  that  its  just 
merits  will  be  appreciated  by  it,  and  that  it  will  take  its  place 
along  with  the  standard  publications  in  the  English  language. 

The  Publishers. 

Philadklphia. 


CONTENTS. 


PAea 


^  Thf  Anolo-SaxOxV  Language — its  Origin,  Character,  and  Destiny,...  17 

II.  Amelioration  of  the  Social  State   47 

III.  Responsibilitiks  of  Men  of  Genius   73 

IV.  Is  Moral  Philosophy  an  Inductive  Science   95 

V.  Literature,  Science,  and  Art   126 

VI.  Supernatural  Facts   142 

VII.  The  Destiny  of  our  Country   163 

VIII.  Phrenology,  Animal  Magnetism,  Clairvoyance,  Spiritual  Bappinos. 

Etc   186 

IX.  Woman  and  her  Mission   213 

X.  Education   230 

XI.  Common  Schools  ,   247 

XII.  The  Philosophy  of  Memory  and  of  Commemorative  Institutions   272 

XIII.  Colleges   291 

XIV.  Is  Capital  Punishment  Sanctioned  by  Divine  Authority?   311 

(t^.  War   342 

XVI.  Fourth-of-July  Oration   367 

XVII.  Demonology   87» 

XVIII.  Life  and  Dbath   40S 

vii 


viil  CONTENTS. 

PASl 

XIX.  Importance  of  Unitikq  the  Moral  with  the  Intellectual  Ccltube 

07  THE  Mind   453 

XX.  The  Corner-Stone  of  Bethany  College   486 

XXI.  To  the  Graduates  of  Bethany  College   492 

XXII.  To  the  Graduates  of  Bethany  College   504 


XXIII.  Missionary  Address   616 

XXIY.  Missionary  Address   531 

XXV.  Missionary  Address   551 

XXVI.  Bible  Union  Address    ^  665 

XXVII.  Bible  Union  Adi>re88   600 


POPULAR 
LECTURES  AND  ADDRESSES. 


ADDRESS 

ON 

THE  ANGLO-SAXON  LANGUAGE: 

ITS  ORIGIN,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY. 
CINCINNATI,  0.,  1849. 

Before  we  can  appreciate  our  own  vernacular,  we  must  have  some 
knowledge  of  language  in  general,  and  of  other  dialects  of  speech 
oesides  our  own.  It  is,  on  all  hands,  agreed,  that  reason,  language 
and  religion,  are  God's  greatest  and  best  gifts  to  man ;  and  that  the 
cultivation  and  knowledge  of  these  are  essential  to  the  development  of 
our  nature,  and  the  enjoyment  of  ourselves  and  one  another.  With  the 
immortal  Newton,  therefore,  we  say:  ''God  gave  to  man  reason  and 
religion,  by  giving  to  him  speech."  This  being  admitted,  language  is 
a  subject  worthy  of  the  highest  consideration  and  regard.  Hence,  in 
the  judgment  of  the  wisest  and  best  of  men,  much  of  our  early  life  is 
devoted  to  the  acquisition  and  cultivation  of  this  ennobling  faculty  of 
speech;  this  divine  art  of  acquiring  and  communicating  knowledge,, 
sentiment  and  feeling;  this  mysterious  and  sublime  instrument  of 
enjoying  religion,  society  and  truth. 

To  this  most  interesting  theme,  then,  we  ask  your  indulgent  attention, 
while  we  endeavor  to  place  it  before  you  in  a  few  of  its  more  important 
attitudes  and  relations  to  ourselves,  our  country  and  the  world. 

Language,  then,  is  either  oral  or  written.  Oral  language,  or  lan- 
guage proper,  consists  of  articulate  sounds  addressed  to  the  ear;  written 
language  consists  of  stipulated  symbols  addressed  to  the  eye.   With  th« 

2  17 


18 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON  LANGUAGE  : 


absent  and  with  the  deaf,  we  intercommunicate  by  symbols  addressed 
to  the  eye ;  with  those  present,  by  sounds  addressed  to  the  ear. 

These,  however,  are  but  definitions  of  the  terms  as  we  use  them. 
What  is  the  thing  itself? 

As  applied  to  man,  language  is  pictured  or  embodied  thought,  feel- 
ing and  emotion.  It  is  an  embodiment  of  ideas,  volitions  and  feelingj, 
in  audible  sounds,  or  in  visible  forms,  addressed  to  others.  It  is, 
indeed,  the  aerial  and  sensible  impersonation  of  human  spirits  in  com- 
munion with  one  another.  It  is  not  the  mere  giving  of  a  name,  or  a 
local  habitation,  to  an  idea,  emotion  or  volition ;  but  it  is  the  imparting 
to  that  idea,  emotion  or  volition,  the  power  of  reproducing  itself  in  the 
mind  of  another.  It  is  that  ethereal  instrument,  that  spiritual  symbol, 
by  which  one  spirit  operates  upon  another,  in  simultaneously  producing 
views,  feelings  and  emotions,  corresponding  with  its  own. 

It  is,  indeed,  an  endowment  of  unbounded  influence  for  weal  or  for 
woe,  bestowed  on  man,  for  which  he  is  more  accountable  than  for  any 
other  social  influence  conferred  upon  him.  No  uninspired  man  has 
given  such  a  picture  of  the  power  of  human  language,  for  good  or  for 
evil,  as  that  drawn,  in  a  few  words,  by  the  eloquent  Apostle  James. 
To  that  great  instrument  of  speech  he  ascribes  a  transcendent  potency. 
Of  an  unruly  tongue,  he  says:  "The  tongue  is  a  fire,  a  world  of 
iniquity ;  it  defileth  the  whole  body,  and  setteth  on  fire  the  course  of 
nature,  and  is  set  on  fire  of  hell.  .  Every  kind  of  beasts,  and  of  birds, 
and  of  serpents,  and  of  things  in  the  sea,  is  tamed,  and  hath  been 
tamed  by  mankind ;  but  the  tongue  can  no  man  tame ;  it  is  an  unruly 
evil  thing,  full  of  deadly  poison.  By  it,"  indeed,  "we  bless  God;"  but 
by  it,  also,  "we  curse  man,  created  in  the  image  of  God.  Out  of  the 
same  mouth  proceedeth  a  blessing  and  a  curse.  Brethren,  these  things 
ought  not  so  to  be." 

From  this  high  source  we  learn  that  there  are  two  kinds  of  eloquence 
— the  eloquence  infernal,  and  the  eloquence  supernal.  We  occasionally 
hear  of  the  fire  of  eloquence,  but  are  not  always  informed  whence  it 
comes.  It  may,  indeed,  emanate  from  the  fire  beneath  as  well  as  from 
the  fire  above,  and  is,  therefore,  all  potent  in  blessing  or  in  cursing 
man. 

But,  if  the  tongue  is  sometimes  set  on  fire  by  hell,  it  is  sometimes 
set  on  fire  by  heaven ;  and  hence  men  are  both  blessed  and  cursed  by 
the  faculty  of  speech.  How  much  good  feeling  and  tender  afi^ection 
spring  up  within  us,  and  gush  from  our  lips,  on  hearing  the  kind,  and 
courteous,  and  sympathizing  compellatioas  of  some  kindred  spirit — 
ot  some  estimable  and  afi'ectionate  friend!    If,  from  wicked  words, 


ITS  ORIGIN,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY. 


19 


Bome  hearts  burn  with  rage,  from  kind  and  benevolent  words  other 
hearts  overflow  with  love.  But  our  own  words  react  upon  ourselves, 
according  to  their  import;  and  hence  we  are  sometimes  wrought  up 
to  a  pathos,  a  fervor,  an  ecstasy,  indeed,  by  the  mysterious  sound  of 
our  own  voice  upon  ourselves,  as  well  as  by  that  of  others,  to  which 
we  never  could  have  ascended  without  it.  Hence  the  superior  elo- 
quence of  extemporaneous  speaking  over  that  of  those  who  read  or 
recite  what  they  have  coolly  or  deliberately  thought  at  some  other 
time  and  in  some  other  place.  Indeed,  our  most  sincere  and  pious 
emotions  are  stirred  up — a  more  soul-subduing  piety  is  developed — 
and  a  height  of  bliss  enjoyed  in  the  fervor  of  expressed  admiration 
and  praise,  addressed  to  the  throne  of  God,  under  the  influence  of  our 
own  voice,  in  private  and  in  social  worship,  than  could  be  produced  in 
silent  meditation,  prayer  or  praise.  Even  the  raptures  of  heavenly 
biiss  are  but  the  sublime  consummation  of  expressed  adoration,  and 
the  sweetest  bliss  of  heaven  is  but  the  effect  of  a  heavenly  concert  in 
some  lofty  ecstasy,  uttered  by  seraphic  tongues  to  the  un wasting  Fount 
of  universal  good. 

Language  is,  indeed,  a  most  sublime  machinery,  by  which  a  man  can 
raise  himself,  and  those  whom  he  addresses,  to  the  loftiest  conception 
of  nature  and  of  nature's  God,  and  to  the  highest  personal  and  social 
pleasure  of  which  his  nature  is  capable.  Volumes  have  been  written 
in  commendation  of  it,  and  of  the  great  masters  of  this  divine  art ;  but 
who,  in  his  most  happy  moments,  and  in  his  loftiest  strains  of  admi- 
ration, has  ever  equalled  the  transcendent  theme?  It  has  been  the 
subject  of  many  a  volume,  and  the  theme  of  many  a  speech.  Sages, 
philosophers,  fabulists  and  poets,  have  exhausted  their  stores  of  learn- 
ing and  eloquence  in  commendation  and  in  admiration  of  the  gifts  and 
achievements  of  human  speech.  Of  Grecian  eloquence,  an  English  poet 
has  said : — 

*' Resistless  eloquence  that  fulmined  o'er  Greece, 
And  shook  the  way  to  Xerxes''  and  Artaxerxes'  throne." 

And  what  is  eloquence,  but  language  properly  applied  ? 

But  we  need  not  the  fictions  of  the  fabulist,  nor  the  high- wrought 
eulogies  of  the  poet ;  we  need  but  the  great  fact,  that  language  has 
ever  been  the  great  minister  of  civilization  and  of  redemption.  It  was 
by  the  gift  of  tongues  that  nations  were  subdued  to  the  obedience  of 
faith.  It  was  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  of  eloquence  that  gave  to  Him 
that  spoke  as  mortal  man  never  did,  a  power,  intellectual,  moral  and 
•spiritual,  transcendent  over  the  destinies  of  the  world. 


20 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON  LANGUAGE: 


Its  power  is  not  only  felt  on  the  thrones  of  kings  and  on  the  tri- 
bunals of  justice,  but  on  the  throne  of  God  itself.  It  electrifies  the 
heavenly  hosts,  and  opens  the  fountains  of  sympathetic  feeling  and 
of  profound  devotion,  in  the  loftiest  spirits  that  environ  the  celestial 
throne.  It  has  awakened  emotions  in  the  human  heart,  and  kindled 
raptures  in  the  soul,  that,  rising  to  heaven,  have  caused  the  earth  to 
tremble  under  the  knees  of  adoring  saints,  and  have  brought  angels 
down  on  missions  of  mercy  to  mankind.  The  piety  of  the  saint,  and 
the  zeal  of  the  martyr,  have,  under  its  hallowed  influence,  achieved  the 
most  splendid  victories  inscribed  on  the  rolls  of  time,  and  have  effected 
revolutions  and  deliverances  on  earth  that  have  caused  enraptured 
silence  amongst  the  adoring  legions  of  the  skies. 

But  it  is  not  to  pronounce  an  eulogy  on  its  ineffable  powers ;  it  is 
not  to  argue  its  human  or  divine  origin,  or  discuss  the  comparative 
excellence  of  any  one  of  the  dialects  of  earth  in  contrast  with  the 
claims  of  any  or  of  every  other,  that  we  now  appear  before  you.  It  is 
rather  to  assert  the  claims  of  our  own  vernacular  to  our  especial  regard 
and  attention,  as  destined  to  pervade  the  world,  and  to  carry  civiliza- 
tion and  salvation  to  the  human  race. 

True,  indeed,  in  attempting  this,  we  must  occasionally  glance  at 
other  tongues ;  and  it  may  be  due  to  the  occasion  to  avow,  at  least, 
our  own  conviction,  that  language,  as  much  as  religion,  is  the  special 
gift  of  God  to  man.  But  to  propound  the  question,  Was  language 
human  or  divine  in  its  origin?  as  a  subject  of  grave  discussion  in  this 
enlightened  land,  in  the  midst  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  especially 
in  this  city  of  schools  and  colleges,  would  seem  to  me  as  inapposite  as 
uncomplimentary  to  my  auditors.  Suffice  it,  then,  on  the  present 
occasion,  to  assume  it  to  be  a  special  gift  of  God  to  man. 

That  the  first  man  could  not  have  taught  himself  to  speak;  that 
language,  like  faith,  comes  by  hearing ;  that  it  could  not  have  been 
conventional;  that,  without  it,  assemblies  could  not  have  been  con- 
vened or  the  subject  debated;  that  mankind  were  not,  as  Lucretius 
and  Horace  sung,  sanctioned  by  the  first  of  Eoman  orators,  a  mutum 
et  turpe  pecus — a  dumb  and  brutal  race — is  self-evident.  It  would, 
indeed,  require  an  unusual  amount  of  patience  to  reason  with  men  who 
begin  by  assuming  that — 

"Men  out  of  the  earth  of  old. 
Dumb  and  beastly  vermin,  crawled ;" 

that  from  this  state  of  brutal  barbarism  they  degenerated  into 
civilization;  that  they  apostatized  from  their  primitive  state  into 


ITS  ORIGIN,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY. 


21 


learned  and  eloquent  men ;  that  from  error  and  vice  they  fell  away 
into  learning  and  virtue,  and  give,  for  proof,  that  water  is  purer  in 
the  stream  than  in  the  fountain !  From  such  philosophers,  or  rather 
philosophists,  we  must  dissent,  and  confidently  assume  that  language 
was  originally  a  divine  gift  to  man. 

The  only  question,  then,  is: — Was  it  given  to  man  by  inspi- 
ration ?  or,  Did  God  teach  man,  viva  voce,  to  speak  ? 

Reason  and  faith  concur  in  affirming  that  all  things  begin  in  miracle. 
The  course  of  things  is  nature;  their  beginning  supernatural,  or 
miraculous.  Gf  two  miracles  supposable  in  the  case,  we  choose  the 
less.  That  God  conversed  with  man,  and  taught  him,  viva  voce,  is 
not  only  rational,  but  scriptural,  and  less  marvellous  than  that  he 
taught  himself  to  speak,  or  that  God  simply  inspired  him  with  wisdom 
and  learning  to  invent  it.  God  made  the  human  ear  for  a  guide  to 
the  human  tongue.  Hence,  the  deaf  are  always  dumb.  No  one  ever 
spoke  that  did  not  first  hear  another  speak.  Inventing  speech  is, 
therefore,  in  its  nature,  impossible.  Speech  is  imitation,  not  invention 
nor  discovery.  Hence,  we  individually  and  nationally  have  a  mother 
tongue — a  vernacular.  But  there  was  one  man  that  never  was  an 
infant,  that  never  had  a  verna,  a  nurse,  or  a  mother.  He  had  no 
mother  tongue.  But  he  had  a  father.  He  must,  then,  have  had  a 
father  tongue.  That  man  was  Adam,  and  his  father  God.  The  most 
natural  or  rational  conclusion  is,  that  God  taught  him  to  speak,  to 
give  names  to  things  and  his  conceptions  of  them.  God,  then,  not 
only  gave  to  man  ears  and  a  tongue,  but  he  also  taught  him  to  use 
them;  not  by  inspiration,  but  by  example. 

According  to  Moses, — and  he  is  not  only  the  most  ancient,  but  the 
most  learned  authority  in  the  world, — God  spoke  before  he  made  his 
son  Adam.  He  created  the  Universe  by  the  power  of  speech.  And 
is  not  this  the  most  lofty  conception  that  we  can  form  of  the  grandeur 
and  divinity  of  speech — that  God,  of  all  means  in  his  power,  chose  lan- 
guage as  the  envelop  of  omnipotence,  and  ushered  the  universe  into 
being  by  the  divine  eloquence  of  words?  He  said,  ''Let  there  be 
light,  and  there  was  light"  At  the  sound  of  his  voice  darkness 
became  the  parent  of  light,  and  Nothing  the  mother  of  all  things. 
He  said,  and  it  was  done;  he  commanded,  and  the  universe  began  to 
be;  he  spoke,  and  truth  was  .born.  The  first  speech  continued,  at 
intervals,  for  six  days.  When  it  ceased,  creation  was  perfect  and 
complete,  and  ever  since  but  echoes  back  the  voice  and  the  praise  of 
the  Lord. 

From  this  miniature  view  of  the  gift  of  speech,  and  its  divine  origin, 


22 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON  LANGUAGE  : 


we  advance  another  step  toward  our  vernacular.  The  human  family 
were  all  of  '^one  language  and  of  one  speech"  for  almost  eighteen 
hundred  years.  Since  that  time  the  history  of  language  has  not  been 
fully  written.  Still,  amidst  the  confusion  of  tongues  and  the  tra- 
ditions of  antiquity,  and  especially  from  the  structure  of  different 
dialects  of  nations,  we  may  arrive  at  a  good  degree  of  certainty  as  to 
ihe  lineage  and  descent  of  the  Saxon  and  Anglo-Saxon  tongues.  But 
to  discuss  all  questions  that  might  be  propounded  on  such  an  exube- 
rantly fruitful  theme,  could  we  respond  to  them,  would  be  rather  the 
burthen  of  a  volume  than  the  mere  item  of  a  popular  address. 

There  is  no  question  that  the  ancient  Chaldee  or  Hebrew  was  the 
only  language  spoken  by  mankind  from  Adam  to  the  erection  of  the 
Temple  of  Babel,  in  the  year  of  the  world  1775.  This  unfortunate 
and  infamous  pyramidal  temple,  rather  than  the  surrounding  city,  Wcis, 
we  presume,  the  procuring  cause  of  this  sad  calamity.  The  anathema 
then  inflicted  upon  mankind  is  immortalized  in  the  name  of  this  ill- 
fated  pile,  intended,  by  its  apostate  founders,  for  a  centre  of  attraction ; 
but,  in  pursuance  of  a  divine  malediction,  it  became  a  centre  of  repul- 
sion and  dispersion.  The  causes  of  this  eternal  mark  of  divine  dis- 
approbation are  not  so  evident  to  all  as  to  preclude  a  doubt  whether 
a  refusal  to  spread  themselves  over  the  earth,  and  locate  in  different 
regions,  according  to  a  divine  intimation,  or  a  desire  to  erect  a  temple 
in  honor  of  some  embodiment  of  divinity,  as  a  form  of  God,  which 
they  or  some  of  their  immediate  ancestors  had  vainly  imagined,  became 
the  cause  of  this  confusion  of  language  and  dispersion  of  noankind. 
The  fact  of  a  flagrant  apostasy  from  the  divine  will  is  indisputably 
evident,  explain  it  as  we  may.  They  either  refused  to  obey  the  patri- 
arch Noah,  allotting,  by  inspiration,  to  each  family  of  his  great- 
grandsons,  then  amounting  to  seventy-two  incipient  tribes,  such  a 
portion  of  the  earth  as  God,  in  his  all-superintending  wisdom  and 
providence,  had  allotted  to  them ;  or  forgetting,  in  the  vanity  of  their 
minds,  that  God  was  a  Spirit,  they  sought  to  embody  their  conceptions 
of  him  in  some  sensible  form,  for  which  they  devised  a  temple,  and 
for  themselves  a  city.  To  discuss  such  subjects  as  these  would  be 
foreign  to  our  purpose.  It  sufficeth  our  purpose  to  note  the  melan- 
choly fact  that  the  language  which  God  and  Adam  spoke  in  his  primeval 
innocence;  which  Abel,  Enoch,  Methuselah  and  Noah  spoke;  the  ver- 
nacular of  Shem,  Ham  and  Japheth,  gave  way  to  a  confusion  of  lan- 
guage, to  new  sounds  and  signs,  unheard  and  unknown  in  the  years 
before  the  flood. 

Into  what,  and  how  many,  forms,  human  language  was  now  cast,  is 


ITS  ORIGIN,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY. 


23 


a  subject  in  which  the  most  learned  antiquarians  do  not  altogether 
narmonize.  Some  assume  three,  others  sixteen,  and  others  seventy- 
two  new  dialects  of  speech.  Those  who  assume  three,  allot  one  to 
each  of  the  three  sons  of  Noah ;  those  contending  for  sixteen,  give  one 
to  each  of  his  grandsons ;  while  those  who  oppose  both,  assign  one  to 
each  of  his  seventy-two  great-grandsons.  But  all  these  assume  that, 
in  journeying  from  the  east  to  this  new  location,  the  posterity  of  Shem 
accompanied  Ham  and  Japheth ;  that,  indeed,  all  the  families  of  the 
earth,  leaving  their  former  residences  in  the  east,  set  out  in  quest  of  a 
new  location.  This  is  not  probable,  nor  does  it  so  well  accord  with 
the  subsequent  details  of  sacred  history.  The  stronger  probability  is 
that  the  posterity  of  Shem  had  no  part  in  the  erection  of  this  tower  to 
Belus,  or  to  whatever  divinity  it  was  designed  to  honor ;  and,  conse- 
quently, were  not  implicated  in  this  grievous  apostasy,  but,  retaining 
their  language  and  their  religion,  continued  their  abode  around  the 
location  of  their  venerable  father,  Noah. 

Sir  William  Jones — no  mean  authority — argues  that  mankind  are 
divided  into  three  races,  corresponding  with  the  three  races  of  Noah, 
and  that  each  of  these  had  its  own  distinctive  and  independent  tongue. 
These  he  presumes  to  have  been  Hindoos,  Arabs  and  Tartars;  and 
their  three  unconnected  and  original  tongues  were,  the  Sanscrit,  Arabic 
and  Slavonian. 

The  Indian,  or  Hindoo  race,  comprehends  the  ancient  Persians,  Ethi- 
opians, (whether  Asiatic  or  African,)  the  Phenicians,  Tuscans,  Greeks, 
Chinese,  Goths,  Celts,  Japanese,  Burmans,  Egyptians,  Syrians,  Peru- 
vians and  Eomans.  This  race  anciently  spoke  the  Sanscrit,  the  great 
parent  of  the  Gothic  and  Celtic,  afterwards  blended  with  the  old  Ethi- 
opic,  Persian  and  Armenian.  It  is  alleged  that  the  traditions  of  Homer 
are  found  in  Sanscrit  poetry,  and  that,  unquestionably,  the  Greek  and 
Eoman  tongues  are  derived  from  it. 

The  x\rabic  race  located  themselves  between  the  Red  Sea  and  the 
Persian  Gulf,  and  from  them  the  Jews,  Arabs  and  Assyrians  derived 
their  respective  dialects  of  speech ;  rather  a  modernized  form  of  the 
ancient  and  once  universal  Chaldee,  which,  with  slight  variations,  is 
called  Aramean,  Arabic,  Hebrew,  Samaritan,  Syriac,  Coptic. 

The  Tartar  race  located  in  the  vast  regions  of  Tartary,  spreading 
themselves  over  Russia,  Poland  and  Hungary.  Their  language  was 
the  Slavonic,  whence  sprang  various  dialects  of  Northern  Asia  and 
Northeastern  Europe.  Coinciding  with  these  views,  we  are  gratified 
to  have  the  latest  and  most  eminent  writers  on  the  subject;  amongst 
whom  we  place  Bryant,  Sir  William  Jones,  and  the  distinguished  Faber. 


24 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON  LANGUAGE: 


Notwithstanding  the  confusion  of  speech,  it  would  not  be  difficult  to 
prove  one  ancient  original  tongue.  We  have  only  to  take  a  few  promi- 
nent terms,  and  trace  them  through  all  the  more  ancient  tongues  down 
to  the  modern.  Take,  for  example,  the  first  imperative  uttered  by  the 
Creator: — God  said,  ''Let  there  be  light,  and  there  was  light."  In 
the  old  Chaldee,  the  word  rendered  light  is  UR,  translated  light,  or 
fire.  In  the  Sanscrit,  our  signifies  day,  in  contrast  with  night.  In 
all  the  Eastern  languages  it  signifies  light  and  fire.  In  the  Coptic  or 
Egyptian,  or  indicates  the  sun,  or  light.  The  Greek  aeer  is  some- 
times rendered  air,  sometimes  light.  In  Latin,  aura,  in  Irish,  aeer, 
are  formed  from  the  same  root.  From  the  same  source  the  Greek  has 
PUR,  for  which  we  have  substituted  fire.  Many  such  examples  could 
be  given ;  but  enough,  you  will  say,  of  the  endless  genealogy,  transfer- 
ence and  transformation  of  words. 

We  shall,  then,  leave  Asia,  and  travel  to  Europe;  but  before  we 
leave  this  cradle  of  the  world,  this  nursery  of  the  human  race,  we 
must  remind  you  that  all  that  is  great  and  good  and  venerable  in  human 
history  commenced  in  Asia.  God  made  the  first  man  of  Asiatic  clay. 
There  he  located  Paradise;  there  he  planted  the  Tree  of  Life;  and 
when,  for  the  sin  of  man,  he  deluged  the  Old  World,  he  commenced 
the  New  in  Asia :  Noah's  ark  was  anchored  there.  In  Armenia,  the 
smoke  of  the  first  postdiluvian  sacrifice  ascended  to  heaven.  There 
lived  the  renowned  Patriarchs  of  the  world.  The  Bible  was  written 
first  in  Asia.  In  Asia  repose  the  ashes  of  Bible  heroes,  saints,  mar- 
tyrs, prophets,  apostles  and  evangelists.  There  the  Saviour  of  the 
world  was  born,  lived,  died,  and  rose  again.  There  the  first  Christian 
Church  was  founded.  There  the  Kingdom  of  the  Messiah  was  first 
established.  From  Asia,  indeed,  religion,  language  and  civilization 
spread  over  the  world. 

But  there  is  one  section  of  Asia  on  which  our  eye  lingers  with 
peculiar  interest.  Between  the  Euxine  Sea  and  the  Caspian  lie  the 
Caucasian  Mountains,  whence  migrated  our  remote  ancestors.  Of  the 
five  distinct  races  of  men  that  now  people  the  globe,  it  is  agreed,  at 
least  by  ourselves,  that  in  all  the  great  attributes  that  elevate  and 
adorn  human  nature,  the  Caucasian  race  is  chief.  The  people  of  the 
seven  Caucasian  Mountains  have  filled  a  thousand  volumes  with  their 
fame.  Some  trace  to  them  seventy,  others  three  hundred  nations,  and 
almost  as  many  dialects  of  speech.  Without  debating  these  claims 
and  assumptions,  we  are  pleased  to  be  assured  that  they  are  our  pro- 
genitors. For  great  men  and  beautiful  women,  their  praise  resounds 
through  all  lands.    And  in  proof  that  we  have  not  degenerated,  we 


ITS  ORIGIN,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY. 


25 


are  pleased  to  learn  that  seven  nations,  yet  possessing  these  extensive 
ranges,  still  preserve  the  ancient  type  of  their  superiority,  and  thus 
confirm  our  pretensions.  Providentially,  they  have  always  been  the 
most  prolific,  enterprising  and  wide-spreading  people  in  the  world. 
They  anciently  swarmed  over  the  best  portions  of  Asia  and  Europe. 
The  Circassians  and  Georgians,  yet  residing  in  those  regions,  are,  at 
this  day,  the  finest  physical  models  of  our  species.  And  we  think  we 
do  not  exaggerate  when  we  say  that,  for  stateliness  of  person,  vigor 
of  intellect,  loftiness  of  imagination,  moral  capacity  and  energy  of 
character,  they  stand  pre-eminent  amongst  all  forms  and  races  of 
human  kind. 

From  them  sprang  the  venerable  Pelasgic  Chiefs,  first  residents  of 
Greece;  and  from  them,  too,  the  Komans  are  proud  to  count  descent. 
Persians,  Germans  and  Gaulatians,  are  scions  from  that  stock.  But 
there  is  a  higher  cause  than  the  cloud-capt  eminences  of  Caucasus  and 
its  fertile  slopes,  for  this  illustrious  race  of  men.  God  gave  these  lofty 
regions  to  the  sons  of  Japheth,  the  first-born  of  Noah,  the  great  pro- 
genitor of  seven-sixteenths  of  the  human  race.  His  patrimony  was 
the  northern  highland  regions  of  Asia,  and  all  Europe. 

His  sons  encompassed  the  Euxine  Sea  and  the  Caucasian  Mountains. 
Gomer,  his  first-born,  the  vigorous  germ  of  a  mighty  progeny,  is  most 
evidently  the  father  of  the  ancient  Gomerians  or  Germans,  sometimes 
called  the  Gimmeri  or  Cimbri.  Faber  learnedly  contends  that  those 
first  called  Cimmeri  are  called  the  Cimbri,  and  the  Umbri  of  Gaul  and 
Italy,  and  the  Cimri,  Cambri  and  Cumbri  of  Wales  and  Cumberland, 
at  the  present  day.  Moreover,  sundry  ancient  authors  identify  with 
them  the  Galatse,  of  Asia  Minor,  and  assign  to  them  the  Gaels,  Gauls 
and  Celtae  ol  ancient  Europe.  Josephus,  also,  alleges  that  the  Ga- 
latae  were  called  Gomeriani,  from  their  great  ancestor  Gomer. 

After  very  considerable  research  into  the  antiquities  of  both  Euro- 
pean and  Asiatic  history,  I  acknowledge  that  it  is  very  difficult,  if  not 
impossible,  to  trace,  in  a  continuous  and  unbroken  line,  the  ancestry 
and  regular  descent  of  any  nation  in  the  world  down  to  our  day,  one 
only  excepted.  The  Jews,  because  of  one  descended  from  them,  of 
universal  interest  to  the  human  race,  are  the  only  people  whose  nation- 
ality, language  and  religion,  can  be  traced,  in  one  unbroken  chain, 
from  Abraham  to  the  present  time. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  people  of  all  the  Japhetic,  Caucasian  or  Gomerian 
race,  are,  through  Teutones,  Goths,  Celts,  Gauls,  Angles,  Saxons  and 
Normans,  as  traceable  as  any  modern  nation  known  to  us;  and  with 
all  that  certainty  of  evidence  necessary  to  our  present  purpose,  though. 


26 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON  LANGUAGE  : 


perhaps,  not  sufficient  according  to  our  modern  codes  and  courts  of 
law,  to  establish  their  claims  to  England,  or  the  United  States,  if  these 
countries  had  been  exclusively  willed  to  them  by  their  very  great-grand- 
father, Gomer. 

I  am  aware  that  Tacitus,  a  historian  of  the  highest  Roman  fame 
endeavors  to  supply  the  place  of  history  by  a  peculiar  grammatic  ety- 
mology of  the  term  German,  as  simply  indicating  a  war -man.  War- 
men  they  certainly  were,  but  that  fact  will  not  supply  the  place  of  his- 
tory. Some  other  critic  might,  from  the  appellative  German  affixed 
to  cousin,  as  logically  affirm  that  the  Germans  were  a  nation  of  cousins* 
But  had  he  known  Jewish  history  as  well  as  he  knew  Roman,  Tacitus 
would  not  have  taken  a  current  local  meaning  of  a  word  to  indicate  its 
original  import.  He  would,  moreover,  have  found  in  Jewish  history 
that  places,  as  well  as  nations,  had  given  quite  another  etymology. 
Some  of  the  school  of  Tacitus  have  sought  in  a  similar  manner  for  the 
meaning  of  the  term  Euxine,  applied  to  the  sea,  around  which  Japheth 's 
sons  erected  their  first  settlements.  One  Greek  etymologist  derives  it 
from  axenos,  inhospitable,  because  he  did  not  like  the  climate.  With 
him  the  Euxine  was  an  mhospitable  sea.  Another  Greek,  as  learned 
as  he,  but  more  enamored  with  the  sea,  discovered  that  while  a  prefixed 
to  xenos  was  negative,  eu  prefixed  was  affirmative  of  hospitality ;  and, 
consequently,  he  concluded  that  euxenos,  or  Euxine,  meant  the  hospi- 
table sea.  But  to  a  student  of  the  Bible  and  of  ancient  history,  neither 
the  one  nor  the  other  is  true,  or  necessary  in  the  case ;  for  Askenos,  a 
son  of  Gomer,  had  located  first  on  the  coast,  and  from  him,  according 
to  very  ancient  custom,  it  received  its  name.  But  still  more  confirmar 
tory  of  this,  other  sons  of  Japheth  have  given  their  names  to  settle- 
ments— such  as  Magog,  Madai,  Riphath,  Tubal,  Meshech.  Thus  we 
have  the  Riphaen  mountains,  from  Riphath — Ezekiel  collocates  Magog, 
Tubal  and  Meshech,  sons  of  Japheth — Greece  is  called  Javan  by  Daniel, 
and  all  Christendom  assign  the  Medes  to  Madai.  I  hold  it,  then,  to  be 
established,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  the  Caucasians  derive  their  superiority, 
not  so  much  from  the  mountains  from  which  they  receive  their  name, 
as  from  their  ancestry. 

There  is  a  promise  of  enlargement  in  the  very  name  Japheth.  Hence 
half  the  world  has  been  allotted  to  Japheth,  and  with  much  probability^ 
as  may  yet  be  shown,  half  the  human  race.  No  physiological  writei 
has  yet  fully  discussed  the  laws  of  human  increase.  But  one  fact  is 
more  or  less  evident  to  all,  that  certain  predominating  qualities  long 
continue  in  families,  tribes  and  nations.  To  this  it  was  providentially 
owing  that  Japheth  had  seven  sons — while  Shem  had  but  five,  and  Ham 


ITS  ORIGIN,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY.  27' 

four.  Presuming  on  this  principle,  I  heard  a  living  Bible  interpreter 
once  say,  that  could  we  obtain  a  correct  census  of  the  world,  he  did  not 
doubt,  that  as  Noah  had  only  sixteen  grandsons,  it  might  be  found  that 
seven-sixteenths  were  from  Japheth,  five-sixteenths  from  Shem,  and 
four-sixteenths  from  Ham. 

A  year  after,  an  estimate  of  the  present  population  of  the  globe,  col- 
lected from  the  best  statistics,  appeared  in  some  of  our  annuals.  The 
author  of  it  had  no  allusion  to  this  view  of  the  subject ;  yet,  strange  to 
say,  no  other  denominator  or  common  measure  but  sixteen,  would 
measure  or  proportionably  divide  them.  The  result  gave  exactly,  or 
with  a  very  inappreciable  remainder,  the  aforesaid  ratios  of  seven- 
sixteenths  to  Japheth,  five  to  Shem,  and  four  to  Ham  ! 

It  is  not,  however,  in  fruitfulness  only,  but  in  other  distinguishing 
characteristics,  both  physical  and  mental,  that  posterity,  for  many 
generations,  resemble  not  merely  their  immediate,  but  also  their  very 
remote  ancestry.  The  Jews,  the  Arabs,  the  Germans,  the  French,  the 
Spaniards,  and  last,  though  not  least,  the  Anglo-Saxons,  have,  for 
ages,  preserved,  and  to  this  day  more  or  less  distinctly  exhibit,  those 
attributes  and  peculiarities  on  account  of  which  their  progenitors  were 
distinguished. 

Some  nations,  known  to  history,  Jiad  their  peculiar  characters  as 
fully  and  as  clearly  drawn  a  thousand  years  ago,  as  they  have  to-day. 
Paul  once  said,  and  he  felt  himself  authorized  to  say  it,  not  merely  on 
the  authority  of  the  poet  Epimenides,  but  from  tradition  and  observa- 
tion, that  "  the  Cretans  were  always  liars,  evil  beasts,  lazy  bodies." 

*'As  the  twig  is  bent  the  tree's  inclined,"  is  as  true  of  nations,  in 
their  infancy,  minority  and  manhood,  as  it  is  of  the  individuals  that 
compose  them.  Were  it  otherwise,  all  history  would  be  fable,  and  all 
prognostications  of  the  future  delusive  and  vain.  We,  therefore,  feel 
ourselves  fully  warranted  to  anticipate  the  career  and  to  estimate  tha 
future  character  and  destiny  of  a  people  from  their  past  and  present 
history.  At  present,  however,  we  merely  allude  to  the  history  of 
Japheth,  for  the  sake  of  one  of  his  sons. 

The  seven  sons  of  Japheth,  after  their  dispersion,  spreading  over 
Nortnern  Asia,  over  Scythia  and  Tartary,  as  well  as  through  the 
South  and  West  of  Europe,  forming  new  centres  of  association,  as 
circumstances  indicated,  did  constitute  and  establish  new  settlements, 
and,  consequently,  in  the  natural  course  of  things,  acquired  new 
names  and  designations.  Hence,  in  process  of  time,  some  of  them 
were  called  Goths,  some  Teutones,  some  Celts,  some  Gauls,  some  Cim- 
brj,  some  Angles,  some  Saxons,  some  Normans.    Often,  too,  the  same- 


28 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON  LANGUAGE  : 


tribes  and  nations  were  called  by  different  names.  No  living  man, 
therefore,  can  now  trace  their  progress  or  fully  write  their  history. 
We  are  too  dependent  upon  the  Komans  for  the  history  of  this  portion 
of  the  earth,  and  its  manners  and  affairs.  Unfortunately,  they  never 
were  famous  for  impartial  truth.  Eoman  glory  had  such  brilliancy,  in 
their  eyes,  that  those  who  most  devoutly  sought,  or  cultivated,  or 
gazed  upon  it,  could  see  no  living  glory  anywhere  else.  They  are 
not,  then,  to  be  regarded  as  wholly  impartial  historians.  But,  so  far 
as  our  present  object  requires,  we  can  find  materials  enough  in  their 
own  concessions,  or  independent  of  them.  Indeed,  we  have  almost 
enough  already. 

Julius  Csesar,  from  Gaul,  sometimes  called  Gallia  Celtica,  invaded 
Britain  in  the  55th  year  before  the  Christian  era.  On  his  arrival 
there,  he  found  much  of  the  same  population  he  had  subdued  in  Gaul. 
He  found  those  called  Celts,  not  from  their  blood,  but  from  their 
having  long  been  inured  to  living  in  dense  forests;  others  called 
Belgse,  from  their  border  wars  and  love  of  fight;  Cimbri,  from  a 
corrupted  or  abbreviated  ancestral  name;  Gauls,  from  the  country 
in  which  they  had  long  resided ;  Germans,  or  Gomerans,  from  their 
original  founder. 

But  in  Britain  he  also  found  various  tribes  of  them;  and,  had  he 
then  visited  Ireland,  he  could  have  found  other  shades  of  Celts,  and 
other  varieties  of  Asiatic  growth,  for  which  we  cannot  now  find  an 
ap])ropriate  name.  In  process  of  time,  however,  and  after  many  a 
hard-fought  field,  he  Komanized  them,  as  the  Germans  before  had 
Germanized  the  old  Celtic  Britons — a  more  ancient  tenantry  of  the 
island. 

After  a  struggle  of  almost  five  centuries,  the  Britons  called  for 
foreign  aid,  and  obtained  it.  The  Jutes,  the  Angles  and  the  Saxons, 
promptly  obeyed  the  summons.  The  Jutes  and  the  Angles  then  dwelt 
in  the  Cimbric  Chersonesus,  a  peninsula  of  Jutland,  (now  within  the 
confines  of  Denmark,)  and  a  portion  of  Schleswig  and  Holstein,  the 
province  and  territory  of  the  Angles.  In  Holstein  there  is  a  district 
still  called  Anglen,  the  true  and  veritable  Old  England ;  a  small  king- 
dom, indeed,  but  the  prototype  of  a  larger  and  more  illustrious  do- 
minion. The  Saxons,  of  Scythian  blood  and  spirit,  formerly  called 
Sacae,  true  sons  of  Japheth,  possessed  a  large  territory  south  of  the 
Jutes  and  Angles,  reaching  from  the  Weser  to  the  Delta  of  the  Ehine, 
and  occupying  countries  now  called  Westphaiia,  Friesland,  Holstein, 
and  a  portion  of  Belgium.  They  had,  Japheth-like,  enlarged,"  or 
«pread  themselves  from  the  Baltic  to  the  British  Channel,  and  had  not 


ITS  ORIGIN,  CHARACTER,  AND  DESTINY. 


2^ 


Lo  perform  a  protracted  voyage  to  aid  their  friends  in  Britain.  They 
were  known  to  the  Celtic  Britons  to  be  as  brave  as  themselves, — alike 
bold  and  daring  on  sea  and  on  land, — a  portion  of  a  larger  stock  issuing 
from  the  Gothic  and  Teutonic  hive,  and,  like  all  that  race,  great  lovers 
of  the  sea, — delighting  in  storms  and  tempests, — honored  with  the 
very  graphic  and  imposing  title  of  Sea-Kings."  To  this  parentage 
England  owes  as  much  her  passion  for  the  ocean,  and  her  success  upon 
it,  as  she  does  her  Anglo-Saxon  tongue.  The  result  of  the  alliance  was 
the  conquest  and  expulsion  of  the  Romans,  the  Saxonizing  of  South 
Britain,  and  the  changing  of  its  name  into  Angland,  or  England. 

Upon  the  whole  premises  which  history  lays  before  us,  as  to  the  true 
character  of  our  Pagan  Anglo-Saxon  forefathers,  we  must,  in  all  candor, 
say  that  they  were  what  we  would  now-a-days  call  *^  sea-pirates"  and 
"land-pirates."  But,  as  they  had  now  got  as  far  as  they  could  go 
westwardly,  and  finding  much  in  Britain  to  suit  their  taste,  especially 
around  its  coasts,  and  much  congeniality  in  its  population,  who,  like 
themselves,  had  wandered  from  the  East  in  quest  of  new  adventures, 
they  very  readily,  after  a  time,  coalesced,  and  formed,  indeed,  the  most 
land-loving  and  the  most  expert  sea-faring  nation  in  the  world,  greatly 
softened  and  subdued  by  their  embracing,  after  a  time,  the  Christian 
faith. 

Although  the  Roman  army  was  ultimately  driven  from  England  by 
the  Britons  and  their  new  allies,  there  still  remained  a  remnant  of  that 
people  in  Wales,  and  along  its  borders,  retaining  their  mother  tongue, 
of  which  many  words  and  phrases  were  blended  with  the  language  of 
the  victors.  Nor  is  it  to  be  supposed  that  a  people  possessing  so  much 
of  the  island  for  five  hundred  years  would  not  leave  at  least  some 
fragments  of  their  vernacular  amongst  them.  To  this  mixture,  again, 
were  added,  both  before  and  after  the  Norman  conquest,  many  words 
and  phrases  of  Danish,  Norwegian,  and  Norman  extraction.  So  that, 
in  truth,  even  their  own  language  was  rather  of  an  eclectic  than  of  an 
original  character,  although  essentially  of  Anglo-Saxon  origin. 

Having,  so  far,  ascertained  the  origin  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  tongue, 
and  quite  enough  for  our  purpose,  we  are  prepared  to  consider  its 
peculiar  and  distinctive  character. 

This  we  may  easily  accomplish,  by  making  ourselves  somewhat 
familiar  with  its  structure.  It  is,  in  one  sentence,  a  language  of  lan- 
guages, whose  terminology  is  mainly  selected  from  almost  all  the  ancient 
and  most  finished  tongues  of  the  civHized  world.  A  rich,  a  broad 
and  lofty  tongue ;  a  splendid  composite ;  a  greatly  diversified,  curiously 
inwrought,  and  highly  polished  Mosaic  composition,  which  can  embody 


30 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON  LANGUAGE: 


and  present  every  form,  color  and  gradation  of  thought,  sentiment 
and  emotion.  In  religion,  ethics,  politics,  sciences  and  arts,  it  haa 
drawn  upon  Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin,  German — upon  all  parent  languages 
•of  every  nation  known  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  people,  or  their  ancestors, 
far  back  as  any  living  monument,  or  any  written  document  now  extani, 
attests. 

But  the  great  end  and  use  of  language  must  be  clearly  perceived,  an-d, 
indeed,  comprehended  by  every  one  who  presumes  to  assert  the  com- 
parative merit  of  any  tongue,  living  or  dead.  That  language  which 
can  most  directly,  clearly,  fully  and  impressively  utter  all  the  soul,  and 
render  transparent  to  an  attentive  mind  every  emotion,  thought  or 
desire,  is  decidedly  the  best. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  possesses  all  these  qualities  in  as  high  a  degree, 
and  to  as  full  an  extent,  as  any  tongue,  living  or  dead.  But  why  should 
it  not  possess  all  conceivable  perfection  ?  The  language  of  any  people 
•Ls  but  the  exponent  of  the  mind  and  character  of  that  people.  And 
•  what  is  the  comparative  standing  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  people  in  Europe 
and  America  at  the  present  day  ?  This,  with  me,  if  not  the  most 
logical,  is  the  most  popular  and  appreciable  way  of  deciding  the  ques- 
tion. 

It  is  conceded  that  the  'anguage  of  every  people  is  but  the  embodied 
and  pictured  mind  of  that  people.  The  Hebrew,  Greek,  Roman,  French, 
German  or  English  mind,  is  all  extant,  and  fully  developed,  in  their 
respective  tongues. 

If  we  thought  that  any  one  denied  or  doubted  the  assumption,  that 
the  language  of  a  people  is  the  exponent  or  measure  of  the  mind  of  that 
people,  we  would  make  an  effort  to  prove  it.  But  at  present,  not  pre- 
suming this,  I  do  not  volunteer,  in  advance  of  the  public  demand,  to 
perform  such  a  work  of  supererogation. 

If  any  one,  however,  has  a  lingering  doubt  of  this  fact,  I  will  pro- 
pound to  him  but  one  question,  on  answering  which  he  may  settle  it  to 
his  own  satisfaction.  That  question  is.  Why  is  there  not  found  in 
Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin,  or  any  other  dead  language,  a  single  word  or 
phrase  to  represent  a  printing-press,  an  electric  machine,  a  steam- 
engine,  a  mariner's  compass,  &c.  &c.  ?  Because,  he  must  respond,  the 
Hebrew,  Greek  or  Latin  mind  had  not  such  an  idea  in  it.  He  may 
propound  the  same  question  to  himself  in  reference  to  every  Pagan 
nation  now  extant,  not  having  the  Christian  religion.  Why,  in  a  kun- 
dred  dialects  of  Asia,  Africa  and  America,  is  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ 
not  found  ?  Tae  answer  is  as  prompt :  Because  he  is  not  in  the  mind 
of  these  nations.    We  have,  we  presume,  carried  our  main  point,  via. : 


ITS  ORIGIN,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY. 


31 


that  the  mind  and  language  of  a  people  are  commensurate ;  that  the 
'character  of  the  one  is  essentially  the  character  of  the  other.  The  Anglo- 
ixon  language  is,  therefore,  the  most  comprehensive  language  ever 
spoken  on  earth :  because  the  people  whose  language  it  is,  have  the 
most  enlightened,  comprehensive,  and,  consequently,  the  most  energetic 
mind  of  any  people  now  speaking  any  living  tongue  in  the  Old  World  o' 
in  the  New.  Think  not,  however,  my  respected  auditors,  that,  in  affirm- 
ing this  conviction,  I  have  either  forgotten  or  contemned  other  nations 
of  high  respectability,  such  as  Germany,  France,  Prussia,  Eussia,  &c. 
We  give  them  all  due  credit  for  every  demonstration  of  intellect  and 
moral  greatness  which  they  have  given  to  the  world.  In  saying  this, 
we  only  affirm  their  own  convictions  or  concessions.  They  do  homage 
to  the  Anglo-Saxon  mind;  not  merely  as  we  do  homage  to  certain 
master-spirits  amongst  them,  by  transferring  their  works  into  our  lan- 
guage, but  in  laying  aside  their  own  sciences,  arts  and  inventions,  and 
in  adopting  ours.  Of  many  proofs  of  this  fact,  a  few  instances  must 
suffice. 

Let  me,  then,  ask,  why  did  Peter  the  Great  disguise  himself,  and 
spend  four  years  in  England,  learning  the  art  and  mystery  of  ship- 
building ?  Why  did  he  send  his  emissaries  abroad,  in  quest  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  arts  and  sciences  ?  Why  does  the  present  Autocrat  of  all  the 
Russias  clandestinely  send  his  emissaries  to  peep  into  our  work-shops, 
our  manufactories,  our  schools  and  colleges  ?  Why  does  he,  indirectly, 
carry  home  our  ploughs,  carts,  wagons,  implements  of  husbandry,  and  the 
useful  arts  of  Old  England  or  New  England  ?  Why  employ,  at  the 
present  time,  an  American  engineer  to  project  and  consummate  the 
highways,  the  railways  of  his  great  empire  ?  Not  because  he  has  not 
some  rude  form  and  conception  of  some  of  them,  but  because  he  has  not 
any  one  of  them,  in  all  its  improvements  and  adaptations,  in  his  own 
mind.  He  has  neither  the  ideas  nor  the  appropriate  terms  in  his  own 
language,  and,  therefore,  our  vernacular  is,  at  least  in  these  points, 
himself  being  judge,  before  his  own.  What  Anglo-Saxon  visits  the 
continent  of  Europe  in  quest  of  new  discoveries  in  useful  arts  and 
sciences  ?  We  go  there  to  contemplate  the  ruins  of  empires,  and  to 
learn  the  causes  of  their  decline  and  fall,  not  to  acquire  new  ideas  in  the 
sciences  and  arts  of  our  own  age. 

But  again :  the  Anglo-Saxon  mind,  wherever  found,  is  greater — that 
is  to  say,  it  is  more  acute,  comprehensive  and  vigorous — than  the 
French,  the  German  or  the  Russian,  because  it  has  a  more  acute,  com- 
prehensive and  vigorous  language;  a  more  polished  machinery  of 
thought ;  better  instruments  to  work  with ;  for,  while  mind  generator 


32 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON  LANGUAGE  : 


language,  language  generates  and  polishes  mind.  In  arguing  thus  we 
do  not,  indeed,  reason  in  a  circle,  any  more  than  when  Caesar  said, 
"money  will  raise  soldiers,  and  soldiers  will  raise  money."  In  the 
same  sense,  ideas  create  language,  and  language  creates  ideas.  This  is 
farther  proved  by  the  great  discoveries  and  improvements  made  by  the 
American  and  English"  mind.  Whence  came  the  complete,  yet  sim- 
plified, steam-engine,  and  its  accompanying  machinery  ?  Whence  came 
the  spinning-jenny,  the  power-loom,  the  electric  telegraph,  and  all  they 
have  given  birth  to?  It  is  not  the  spirit  of  the  age,  for  these  have 
created  a  new  age.  They  are  our  contemporaries.  We  think,  we 
speak,  we  act,  before  the  age,  else  a  new  age  would  never  come. 

Once  more  :  the  Saxon  language  is  the  language  of  Protestantism. 
I  might  have  said,  and  I  beg  leave  to  correct  myself,  the  ANGLO-Saxon 
language  is  the  language  of  Protestantism.  Luther,  it  is  true,  wsji  a 
Saxon,  but  John  Wickliffe  was  an  ANGLO-Saxon.  Calvin  was  a  French- 
man, but  William  Tyndal  was  an  Anglo-Saxon.  The  Germans  and  the 
French  became  reformers ;  but  the  Anglo-Saxons  were  the  first  trans- 
lators and  commenders  of  the  Bible,  and  of  universal  Bible-reading. 
These  were  the  morning  star,  the  rising  dawn  of  the  Protestant  Re- 
formation. These  were  the  harbingers  that  pioneered  the  way  and 
furnished  the  arms  and  munitions  of  that  great  political  and  ecclesiastic, 
as  well  as  spiritual,  war. 

The  very  word  Protestant  implies  thought,  examination,  dissent 
and  self-reliance.  Who  protests  without  reflection,  comparison,  deduc- 
tion, and  some  degree  of  mental  independence,  as  well  as  of  self-reliance  ? 
These,  too,  are  verily  the  elements  of  all  human  greatness,  of  all  com- 
parative excellence.  The  Protestant  Reformation,  notwithstanding  all 
that  can  be  said  against  it,  was  the  regeneration  of  literature,  science, 
art,  politics,  trade,  commerce,  agriculture.  Hence,  the  more  Protest- 
ant a  people,  the  more  elevated  in  all  the  elements  of  modern  civiliza- 
tion. Self-thinking — pardon  the  anomalous  expression,  for  there  are 
millions  who  possess  not  the  art  or  mystery  of  self-thinking ;  when  they 
think,  their  minds  are  only  listening  to  some  other  one  thinking,  speak- 
ing or  moving  within  them — I  say  self-thinking  and  self-relianc» 
are  the  two  main  elements  of  personal,  social,  national  greatness  ano 
goodness.  These  are  the  pillars  of  true  religion,  true  learning,  true 
science,  true  prosperity,  true  greatness.  By  self-thinking  and  self- 
reliance,  I  do  not  mean  confidence  in  the  flesh,  pride,  self-conceit;  I 
mean  the  confident  application  of  our  minds  to  the  means  of  intellectual, 
moral,  political  and  religious  improvement,  in  the  hope  of  improving 
ourselves  and  our  condition. 


ITS  ORIGIN,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY. 


33 


Every  country,  and  nation,  and  people,  rise  above  their  contempo- 
iraries  and  competitors,  every  thing  else  being  equal,  in  the  direct 
ratio  of  their  Protestantism.  Who  needs  to  be  informed  when  he 
passes  out  of  a  Protestant  into  a  Eomish  community  ?  Every  thing  he 
looks  at  attests  the  fact.  This  strikes  every  man  of  observation,  when 
he  passes  out  of  the  Papal  into  the  Protestant  cantons  of  Switzerland ; 
out  of  Papal  Ireland  into  Protestant  Ireland ;  out  of  Papal  America 
into  Protestant  America.  Freedom  of  thought,  freedom  of  speech, 
mental  independence,  self-thinking,  self-relying,  give  to  Protestant 
communities  a  spirit,  a  character,  an  elevation,  that  deeply  imprint 
themselves  on  all  the  products  of  their  mind,  on  all  the  labors  of  their 
hands. 

They  imprison  no  one  for  affirming  that  stars  do  not  fall ;  that  the 
earth  moves.  They  exile  no  one  for  thinking  that  there  may  yet  be 
a  new  continent,  that  the  number  of  worlds  is  incalculable,  or  that  the 
Pope  may  err.  They  put  no  one  to  torture  or  to  death  for  thinking 
for  himself  on  religion,  science  or  the  arts ;  therefore,  they  continually 
progress,  and  leave  far  in  the  distance  behind,  those  who  allow  or 
license  one  man  to  think  for  millions,  and  sternly  command  acquies- 
cence in  his  dogmas. 

But  we  have  not  yet  asserted  all  the  claims  of  our  vernacular,  nor 
do  we  mean  to  assert  them  all  on  this  occasion.  We  limit  ourselves  to 
one  object.  Nor  do  we  wish  to  institute  invidious  comparisons  between 
Protestants  and  Eomanists,  ourselves  and  the  French,  the  Germans 
or  the  ancient  Saxons.  They  are,  in  blood  and  affinity,  our  nearest 
relations.  We  do  not  plead  this  cause  from  vanity  or  pride,  or 
'personal  or  national  interest  or  honor,  but  for  suffering  humanity. 
The  sequel  will  demonstrate. 

We  wiU  only  add,  on  this  topic,  that  the  stature  and  structure  of 
our  language  are  gigantic.  Its  capacity  is  immense.  For  strength 
of  frame  it  has  the  bone  and  muscle  of  the  Eomans,  the  Goths  and  the 
Saxons.  It  has  the  patience  and  endurance  of  the  German  and  the 
Dutch,  both  High  and  Low.  It  partakes  of  the  vivacity  of  the  French, 
of  the  genius  of  the  Italian,  the  wit  and  sprightliness  of  the  Greek  and 
the  Celt.  For  comprehension,  if  for  nothing  else,  our  language  is 
chief  amongst  all  the  dialects  of  earth.  There  is  nothing  written 
— poetry,  philosophy,  history,  or  in  the  form  of  literature,  ancient  or 
modern — that  cannot  be  translated,  body,  soul  and  spirit,  into  our 
language.  Who  of  the  ancients  or  moderns,  in  any  one  department 
of  science  or  art,  has  given  to  the  world  an  idea  that  cannot  be  per- 
spicuously and  fully  set  forth  in  Anglo-Saxon  ?    But  could  all  our 

3 


34 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON  LANGUAGE  : 


learning  now  be  expressed  in  Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin,  or  any  language 
heretofore  spoken  by  man?  Nay,  could  it  all  be  transferred  to  any 
purely  Asiatic,  African  or  American  tongue  now  extant  ?  We  have 
been  obliged  to  fabricate  a  myriad  of  new  words  from  dead  languages, 
and  to  form  thousands  of  new  combinations  of  the  words  of  dead  and 
living  tongues,  to  express  all  our  Anglo-Saxon  sciences,  arts  and 
literature.  But  we  can  translate  all  their  learning  into  our  tongue, 
and  do  it  so  perfectly  that  the  translation  is  fully  equal  to  the  original. 
As  some  one  said  of  Pope's  Homer:  ''If  all  records  were  obliterated, 
and  the  chronology  of  nations  lost,  a  time  might  come  when  the  wonder 
would  be,  whether  Pope  translated  Homer,  or  Homer  Pope;"  so  might 
it  be  said  of  all  the  most  polished  works  of  the  most  polished  nations 
of  antiquity,  when  set  forth  in  a  good  suit  of  Anglo-Saxon  words.  As 
Dryden  said  of  Homer,  Virgil  and  Milton — 

"  Three  poets,  in  three  distant  ages  born,  •  • 

Greece,  Italy  and  England  did  adorn  ; 
The  first  in  loftiness  of  thought  surpass'd ; 
The  next  in  majesty,  in  both  the  last ; 
Th.3  force  of  nature  could  no  further  go — 
To  make  a  third,  she  join'd  the  former  two." 

So  we  may  say,  with  more  than  equal  truth,  the  "force  of  nature"  has 
not  yet  brought  forth  any  tongue  equal  to  our  vernacular;  and 
whether  she  can,  is  yet  a  problem  to  be  demonstrated. 

There  are,  indeed,  many  large  and  beautiful  streams  and  rivers 
between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Eocky  Mountains,  wending  their 
courses  towards  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  on  which  are  borne  the 
products  of  millions  of  acres;  but  what  are  these,  severally,  to  the 
"king  of  waters,"  on  whose  deep  current  fleets  and  navies  may  float, 
and  OD  whose  broad  bosom  the  annual  products  of  whole  States  and 
Territories  are  carried  to  the  ocean?  As  the  Amazon  of  South 
America,  the  Mississippi  and  the  St.  Lawrence  of  North  America,  to 
all  other  streams  on  this  continent,  so  is  the  Anglo-Saxon  to  the 
dialects  and  tongues  which  have  ministered  to  its  origin,  its  structure 
and  vast  comprehension. 

It  is  a  strange  fact  in  the  history  of  ' Pagandom,  corroborative  of 
what  we  have  said,  that  while  all  the  conquerors  of  its  constituent 
nations  always  gave  their  religion  to  the  conquered,  except  in  the 
solitary  case  of  the  Jews,  the  Eomans  at  last  received  the  religion 
of  the  nations  professing  Christianity,  whom  they  had  subdued.  In 
that  case  only,  the  victors  received  the  religion  of  the  vanquished. 
So  of  the  languages  of  the  world.    In  the  case  of  those  Pagan  nations 


ITS  ORIGIN,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY. 


35 


that  vanquished  the  preceding  occupants  of  both  England  and  Ireland, 
instead  of  doing  as  all  other  conquerors  of  nations  had  done — impose 
their  language  on  the  conquered — they,  for  once,  received  the  language 
of  the  conquered.  Now,  is  it  not  as  strong  a  proof  of  the  superiority 
of  the  language  of  our  ancient  Saxon  progenitors,  as  it  is  of  the  supe- 
riority of  Christianity  to  any  form  of  Paganism,  that  those  ancient 
invaders  of  England  and  Ireland,  after  giving  them  laws,  condescended 
to  receive  from  them  both  language  and  religion?  But  it  may  be 
alleged,  that  they  received  the  language  of  the  conquered  because 
that  language  had  in  it  a  religion  more  evidently  true  and  rational 
than  their  own.    Grant  it,  and  what  follows  ?    That  our  Eeligion 

WILL  BE  A  PASSPORT  YET  TO  OUR  LANGUAGE  INTO  ALL  THE  NATIONS 

OF  THE  EARTH.  The  probability  of  this  conclusion  is  just  the  point  I 
wish  to  carry  in  the  present  address.  Thus  we  gain,  rather  than  lose, 
by  the  admission. 

Now,  as  I  was  led,  as  I  supposed  naturally  and  logically,  from  the 
very  meagre  sketch  I  have  given  of  the  origin  of  our  vernacular,  to 
make  a  few  remarks  upon  its  character,  I  am  now  under  the  same 
necessity,  to  be  consistent  with  myself,  and  to  carry  the  point  all- 
transcendent  and  important  to  my  mind,  to  offer  you  a  few  thoughts 
on  the  destiny  of  the  Anglo-Saxon. 

The  destiny  of  our  language  is  to  be  inferred  from  the  following 
facts  and  considerations : 

I.  From  the  energy  of  character  of  those  who  speak  it. 

II.  From  the  number  of  those  who  at  present  speak  it,  and  are 
likely  to  speak  it,  in  our  own  country  and  in  Great  Britain. 

III.  The  extent  of  country  now  possessed  and  occupied  by  the 
Anglo-Saxon  people. 

IV.  The  naval  and  maritime,  all-spreading  'commercial  power  o^ 
those  who  speak  it. 

V.  The  many  great  discoveries  and  improvements  made  by  the 
Anglo-Saxon  people  in  the  sciences  and  arts  of  the  world,  treasured  up 
in  that  language. 

VI.  The  religion  of  those  who  now  speak  it. 

VII.  The  Anglo-Saxon  missionary  spirit  now  pervading  all  the 
nations  of  Christendom. 

Here  is  matter  for  a  volume ;  but  we  must  despatch  these  items  with 
comparatively  a  very  few  remarks. 

First :  a  few  words  on  the  energy  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  people.  We 
have  only,  my  highly  respected  audience,  to  remind  you  that  the 
mean'ng  of  the  name  of  our  father  Japheth  is  enlargement  and 


36 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON  LANGUAGE: 


PERSUASION.  Our  father's  children  have  never,  since  the  flood,  been 
at  rest.  They  have,  in  the  age  of  whip  and  spur,  first  galloped  over 
the  earth,  to  see  how  large  it  was ;  then  they  went  to  sea,  to  ascertain 
the  countries  it  contained ;  then  they  went  to  fighting  for  them ;  and 
I  have  sometimes  opined,  that,  if  God  had  not  set  them  to  speaking  a 
language  called  Gibberish,  our  great-grandfather  Japheth,  and  his 
seven  sons,  would  long  ago  have  driven  Shem  and  Ham,  and  all  their 
children,  into  the  sea,  and,  in  the  reign  of  Paganism,  have  drowned 
them  all.  But  their  energies  having  been  thus  restrained,  they  hav© 
busied  themselves  to  make  a  fortune  and  a  name.  A  genuine,  unso- 
phisticated Yankee,  from  the  centre  of  New  England,  if  we  could 
ever  find  him  at  home,  is  the  best  representative  and  embodiment 
of  a  genuine,  uncorrupted  Anglo-Saxon  descendent  of  Japheth.  But 
it  would  be  easier  to  find  him  in  Oregon,  California,  or  in  Commodore 
Franklin's  Northern  Expedition,  than  to  find  him  where  he  was  born. 
,  And  such  are  his  notions,  his  enterprise,  and  his  success,  as  to  have 
warranted  the  late  Lord  Jefii^ey,  the  founder  of  the  Edinburgh  Eeview, 
or  some  of  his  coadjutors,  to  say,  that  he  believed  if  a  liberal  reward 
were  ofi'ered  for  the  best  translation  of  the  Septuagint,  some  Yankee, 
who  did  not  yet  know  a  Greek  letter,  would  go  to  work  in  the  Grecian 
mines  of  literature,  and  gain  the  prize. 

Let  us,  then,  contemplate  the  Island  of  Great  Britain  for  one  or 
two  centuries,  as  afi*ording  a  demonstration  of  Anglo-Saxon  energy. 
She  had  a  small  territory — a  crowded  population.  She  set  them  to 
mining,  levelling  mountains,  digging  canals,  building  highways,  erect- 
ing cities,  walling  out  the  sea,  constructing  quays,  harbors  and 
wharves,  building  ships,  furnishing  navies,  raising  armies,  stretching 
out  her  arms  to  Asia,  Africa,  America;  founding  new  colonies,  or 
attempting  to  do  it,  from  Nova  Zembla  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
from  the  Ganges  to  the  Oregon,  from  Newfoundland  to  New  Zealand, 
from  Labrador  to  the  Falkland  Isles. 

But  she  lost  too  much  time  in  travelling  on  business,  and  set  about 
devising  a  more  expeditious  system.  Immediately  she  moves,  with 
eagle  speed,  along  an  iron  railway,  and  traverses  the  island  of  Great 
Britain  in  a  few  hours.  Next,  the  ocean  is  too  broad,  and  voyages 
too  long  protracted.  She  must  narrow  its  width  or  contract  time. 
Anon  the  same  principle  is  applied,  with  equal  success,  to  her  packets, 
and  the  Atlantic  is  crossed  in  a  week  or  ten  days.  But  her  thirst  foi 
early  news  increases.  Her  sons  of  genius  at  home  and  abroad,  in 
England  and  America,  are  tributary  to  her  will,  and  she  wing? 
intel'igence,  not  with  the  wings  of  a  tempest,  but  with  the  lightning* 


ITS  ORIGIN,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY. 


37 


of  heaven.  But  the  provinces  abroad  have  created  work  for  her 
people  at  home,  and  she  needs  more  operatives  to  supply  them.  She 
needs  a  generation  that  will  neither  eat,  nor  drink,  nor  sleep,  nor 
tire;  and  an  Arkwright,  in  nis  creative  genius,  furnishes  her  with 
millions  of  wooden,  iron  and  brazen  men,  and  animates  them  with 
steam. 

The  work  is  done ;  old  things  have  passed  away ;  a  new  age  is  born. 
Empires  change  masters,  and  invention  is  tortured  to  preserve  them. 
Wars  must  cease,  or  rage  with  more  fury.  The  people  must  be  em- 
ployed. The  same  passions  burn  eternally  in  the  human  breast,  and 
who  can  quench  them  ?  An  agrarian  spirit  has  gone  abroad,  and  who 
can  restrain  it  ?  There  is  a  superabundance  of  energy,  but  a  great 
deficit  of  benevolence.  Other  new  settlements  must  be  formed,  new 
outlets  for  industry  must  be  created,  and  more  security  of  reward  must 
be  guaranteed.  Intelligence  and  virtue  must  be  cultivated  and  more 
extensively  diffused,  that  invention  and  energy  may  be  still  further 
glorified  in  warding  off  evil  and  diffusing  new  and  greater  blessings 
amongst  men. 

They  are  at  work  devising  new  schemes  of  diffusing  knowledge,  com- 
petence and  contentment,  amongst  those  that  plough  and  those  that 
^' guide  the  shuttle  and  direct  the  loom."  The  gospel,  and  its  philan- 
thropy, alone*  can  dispel  the  clouds  that  sometimes  lower  over  the  too 
thickly  peopled  regions  of  the  old  world,  in  consequence  of  the  too  great 
energy  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 

But  the  destiny  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  tongue  is  neither  to  be  estimated 
nor  anticipated  merely  by  the  energy  of  those  who  speak  it.  True, 
indeed,  that  directly  tends  to  multiply  those  who  must  learn  it,  and  to 
extend  the  territories  over  which  it  must  bear  rule.  But  the  number 
of  those  who  now  speak  it  must  be  taken  into  the  account.  This, 
then,  is  a  second  point  of  inquiry. 

There  are  in  North  America,  it  is  presumed  from  the  last  census,  at 
least  twenty-five  millions  who  speak  the  Anglo-Saxon.  I  include  the 
British  Provinces  and  the  United  States,  and  feel  confident  that  I  will 
be  sustained  by  the  census  of  1850.  There  are  in  England,  Ireland 
and  Scotland,  twenty-seven  millions ;  and  should  we  add  three  millions 
more  in  all  her  provinces  and  new  settlements,  including  those  on  the 
ocean,  in  her  ships,  navies  and  armies  abroad,  we  should  have  thirty 
millions  in  her  empire — making  the  aggregate,  now  speaking  the 
Anglo-Saxon,  fifty-five  millions.  And  this,  so  far  as  Christian  civiliza- 
tion, in  any  of  its  forms,  is  contemplated,  is  the  greatest  number  of 
persons  speaking  one  language  in  the  world.    In  Eussia  there  are 


38 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON  LANGUAGE! 


fifty-five  or  sixty  millions,  subjects  of  the  Autocrat,  but  tliey  speak 
forty  dialects.  In  Austria  there  are  thirty-five  millions  of  j-'ubjectS; 
bat  only  six  millions  who  speak  the  German.  Other  Slavonia)!  dialects 
are  spoken  in  Austria,  Hungary,  Poland  and  Eussia. 

Our  third  topic  is  the  extent  of  territory  or  country  over  which  the 
Anglo-Saxon  people  bear  rule.  In  America  we  have  three  millions  of 
square  miles,  and  in  British  America  two  millions  three  hundred 
thousand  square  miles — an  aggregate  of  five  millions  three  hundred 
thousand  square  miles.  The  British  possessions  in  India  are  immerse. 
There  is  the  maritime  Bengal,  with  its  Ganges,  Burrampooter  and  Dum- 
moda,  containing  one  hundred  thousand  square  miles  ;  the  interior 
Bahar,  intersected  by  the  Ganges,  the  Goosey  and  the  Soane;  the 
more  interior  province  of  Allahabad,  containing  twenty  thousand 
square  miles,  bordered  by  the  Neibudda;  the  provinces  of  Orissa, 
the  Northern  Circars,  five  provinces  on  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  To  this 
we  must  add  the  seacoast  Carnatic  country,  stretching  over  eight 
degrees  of  latitude,  intersected  with  numerous  rivers.  Besides  these, 
there  are  the  allies  of  Great  Britain;  Rajahs  of  Mysore,  Madeira, 
Tanjore  and  Travancore,  giving  more  than  one  hundred  millions  of 
our  species  to  the  control  of  the  little  island  of  Great  Britain,  con- 
taining only  eighty-eight  thousand  square  miles. 

In  Africa,  too,  the  Anglo-Saxon  is  spoken.  There  is  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  with  its  one  hundred  and  twelve  thousand  square  miles 
of  territory,  and  the  colonies  of  Liberia  and  Sierra  Leone.  Then  there 
is  another  territory,  almost  equal  to  all  Europe,  belonging  to  Great 
Britain — Australia,  and  its  circumjacent  islands,  containing  two  mil- 
lions three  hundred  thousand  square  miles.  Thus  giving  to  Britain, 
in  all,  more  than  six  millions  square  miles,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty 
millions  of  inhabitants.  Hence,  the  Anglo-Saxon  people,  in  the  old 
world,  and  the  new,  bear  rule  over  some  one-fourth  of  all  the  habitable 
territory  of  the  globe. 

But  to  this  we  must  add  their  dominion  and  power  on  the  rivers,  the 
lakes,  the  seas  and  the  oceans  of  the  world.  Here,  by  common  con- 
sent, the  Anglo-Saxon  race  is  all-predominant.  TL^ir  canvas  whitens 
every  sea,  and  is  swelled  by  every  breeze.  It  is  no  ledger  Britannia, 
but  Britannia  and  America,  that  rule  the  seas. 

The  commerce,  too,  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  greatly  tran'i^'nds  that  of 
any  other  people  on  the  face  of  the  globe ;  and  of  all  the  elements  of 
national  greatness  and  power,  this  is  chief.  Without  this  great  auxi- 
liary, both  agriculture  and  manufactures  are  comparativelj  unavailing; 
in  giving  power  to  a  people. 


ITS  ORIGIN,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY. 


39 


Nothing,  indeed,  contributes  more  than  commerce  to  extend  the 
language,  as  well  as  to  increase  the  wealth  and  greatness  of  a  people. 
The  commerce  of  these  two  countries,  internal  and  external,  if  I  am 
not  mistaken,  is  some  seven  times  as  great  as  it  was  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  present  century ;  and,  from  their  rapidly  increasing  crea- 
tive power,  we  have  much  reason  to  think  that  it  will  long  continue  to 
increase  in  similar  ratios. 

But  we  must  not  look  merely  at  the  European,  American,  Asiatic 
and  African  territory  possessed  by  the  Anglo-Saxons.  We  must  also 
consider  the  present  unoccupied  room  on  these  territories  for  popula- 
tion, compared  with  that  of  any  other  portions  of  the  habitable  globe, 
and  also  the  well-authenticated  ratios  of  the  increase  of  that  population. 

On  a  careful  consideration  of  the  most  authentic  reports  on  this 
subject,  we  confess  that  we  are  rather  startled  at  the  conclusions 
which  they  seem  to  warrant.  The  population  of  England  alone,  in 
the  first  forty  years  of  the  present  century,  doubled,  or  nearly  dou- 
bled, itself.  In  the  same  time,  that  of  the  United  States  has  more 
than  trebled  itself.  We  are  aware  of  all  the  difficulties  attending  the 
viifferent  theories  of  the  increase  of  population ;  of  the  errors  of  Frank- 
lin, Malihus,  and  some  other  rather  visionary  speculators  on  this  sub- 
ject, upon  which,  of  course,  we  cannot  now  enter.  The  means  of  sub- 
sistence, and  the  labor  by  which  they  are  acquired,  are,  indeed,  on  all 
hands,  agreed  to  be  the  most  important  conditions  of  its  increase.  In 
our  own  country,  therefore,  its  ratios  of  increase  must  inevitably  tran- 
scend those  of  any  other  country  on  the  globe.  But  still,  we  dare  not 
think  that  they  will .  or  ca!n  continue  one  century  and  a  half  at  the 
present  ratio  of  trebling  every  forty  years ;  for,  in  that  case,  we  should 
have  on  our  Anglo-Saxon  portion  of  America  alone,  more  than  double 
the  present  popu'lation  of  the  globe.  For  example,  say  that  we  are,  or 
will  be,  in  1850,  only  twenty-five  millions ;  then,  in  1890,  we  should  be 
seventy-five  millions  strong.  This  is,  indeed,  very  reasonably  to  be 
expected,  from  broad  views  of  our  condition  and  that  of  the  civilized 
world.  In  forty  years  more — that  is,  in  a.d.  1930 — we  should  be,  on 
the  same  ratio,  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  millions.  This  is  start- 
ling, but  yet  by  no  means  impossible.  But  in  the  next  forty,  or  a.d. 
1970,  we  should  be  six  hundred  and  seventy-five  millions.  This  is 
too  much  for  either  our  faith  or  our  hope.  And  in  forty  years  more 
—that  is,  in  a.d.  2015— we  should  be  2025,000,000!  But  on  what 
could  they  subsist,  unless  one-half  of  them  lived  on  the  fish  of  the  sea 
and  the  fowls  of  the  air  ?  Our  past  and  present  ratios  arithmetically 
give  these  results.    But  should  we  deduct  one-half,  and  give  away  the 


40 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON  LANGUAGE: 


British  Isles  into  the  bargain,  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  and  language 
would  still  be — a.d.  6000 — a  thousand  millions  strong.  Eeasoning 
from  the  past  and  present  energies,  genius  and  general  talents — physi- 
cal, intellectual  and  moral — of  the  Anglo-Saxon  people  at  the  end  of 
the  current  millennium,  in  the  year  of  the  world  6000 — now  distant 
only  one  hundred  and  fifty  years — they  must  direct  and  control  the 
energies  and  the  destiny  of  the  world.  Come  short  we  may  of  this 
aggregate,  in  the  insoluble  problem  of  the  increase  of  population ;  but 
if  we  do,  other  nations  in  the  old  world  must,  in  their  relative  force, 
come  much  further  short  of  their  present  proportional  ratios. 

On  these  premises  the  tongue  of  skepticism  must  falter,  and  its  face 
turn  pale.  All  must  concede  to  Noah  the  spirit  of  inspiration,  as  well 
as  to  the  Apocalyptic  John.  By  what  other  spirit  could  Noah  have 
said,  God  will  enlarge  Japheth,  and  he  shall  dwell  in  the  tents  of 
Shem,  and  Canaan  shall  be  his  servant"?  By  what  other  spirit  could 
the  Apostle  John  have  foretold  the  rise,  the  progress  and  the  fall  of 
empires,  and  a  Christian  triumph  over  all  her  foes  ?  Neither  history 
nor  our  own  experience,  neither  reason  nor  philosophy,  can  subtract 
aught  from  faith  in  Noah  and  in  John.  ^'  If  weak  thy  faith,  why 
choose  the  harder  side?" 

But,  beyond  all  the  advantages  yet  named,  there  is  a  power  in  oui 
vernacular  to  extend  itself  by  other  means  than  natural  generation. 
It  is  animated  by  a  mighty  proselyting  spirit  and  power,  arising  from 
the  innumerable  stores  of  learning,  science,  art  and  new  discoveries 
treasured  up  in  it — the  rich  behests  of  Anglo-Saxon  genius. 

If  the  Greek  and  Latin  tongues,  though  dead  for  ages,  have,  merely 
for  the  sake  of  their  elegant  diction  and  polished  style,  been  studied  to 
the  present,  in  all  the  schools  of  Christendom,  without  any  internal 
spirit  or  rich  veins  of  science  contained  within  them,  to  reward  the 
labor  of  five  or  seven  years*  study,  how  much  more  our  vernacular,  full 
of  the  soundest  learning,  the  truest  science,  the  richest  treasures  of 
salutary  intelligence  to  man !  What  rich  legacy  have  the  Platos,  the 
Socrateses,  the  Aristotles,  of  Greek  philosophy,  bequeathed  to  the 
human  race,  compared  with  those  of  a  Bacon,  a  Locke,  a  Newton? 
What  moral  and  useful  instruction  in  the  poetry  of  Homer  or  Hesiod, 
compared  with  that  of  Milton,  or  Young,  or  Shakspeare  ?  What  has 
Demosthenean  or  Ciceronian  eloquence  achieved  for  man,  more  than 
that  of  Sheridan,  and  Burke,  and  Curran,  and  Wilberforce,  and  Web- 
ster, and  Clay  ?  But  where  are  the  Franklins,  the  Watts,  the  Ful- 
tons,  the  Arkwrights,  or  men  of  that  class,  to  be  found  amongst  Gre- 
cian and  Boman  benefactors  ?    They  had  a,  Cincinnatus,  it  is  true,  but 


ITS  ORIGIN,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY. 


41 


we  have  had  a  Washington.  They  had  a  cloud-compelling  Jupiter ; 
but  we  have  had  a  host  of  air  and  earth  and  sea  compelling  heroes 
— compelling  air,  and  earth,  and  water,  and  fire,  and  their  innume- 
rable elements,  to  minister  to  the  health,  and  wealth  and  happiness  of 
man. 

These  great  revealers  and  masters  of  nature  have  been  found  in 
hosts  among  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  and  almost  exclusively  among 
them.  These  are  the  great  benefactors  of  man — the  great  reformers 
of  the  world.  They  have  transformed  the  rugged  hills  and  mountains 
into  Sharon  and  Carmel;  they  have  made  "the  wilderness  and  the 
solitary  place  glad,"  and  have  compelled  the  desert  to  rejoice  and 
blossom  as  the  rose." 

But  again  :  we  argue  the  destiny  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  language  from 
the  Anglo-Saxon  religion.  The  Anglo-Saxons  that  conquered  and 
possessed  England,  were  Pagans.  But  they  afterward  yielded  to  the 
religion  of  the  conquered.  They  received  from  Home  the  Eoman 
gospel ;  but  the  Roman  church  then  gloried,  as  she  yet  glories,  in  being 
the  Latin  church.  She  still  prays  and  worships  in  the  Latin  tongue. 
But,  as  before  noted,  early  in  the  13th  century  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Wickliffe  was  born.  He  taught  that  men  might  read  the  Bible  and 
pray  in  Anglo-Saxon.  Hence,  a  controversy  arose.  It  was,  in  fact,  in 
those  days  a  grave  question  whether  in  public  worship  men  might  read 
and  pray  in  Anglo-Saxon,  and  instead  of  repeating  Pater  noster  qui 
es  in  cxlis,  they  might  say,  "  Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven." 

Wickliffe,  like  all  other  innovators,  was  scoffed  at,  dishonored  and 
proscribed.  Fortunately,  however,  after  his  death,  the  Roman  church 
dug  up  his  bones  and  burned  them ;  a  very  striking  symbol  that  he 
would  yet  enlighten  the  world  in  that  identical  tongue.*  Tyndal  was 
of  the  same  faith,  and,  to  prevent  a  second  similar  illumination, 
crossed  the  seas,  and  printed  his  Anglo-Saxon  version  on  the  Con- 
tinent. Soon  after  the  Anglo-Saxon  spirit  revived.  Then  Luther,  of 
Saxony,  was  born,  who,  with  a  pen  more  puissant  than  the  club  of 
Hercules,  entangled  the  Roman  Bull,  caught  him  by  the  horns,  and 
exorcised  him. 


*  "The  bones  of  Wickliffe  were  dug  out  of  his  grave  seventy-five  years  after  his  death, 
and  burned  for  heresy.  His  ashes  were  thrown  into  a  river  in  Warwickshire,  on  which 
tome  prophet  of  that  day  said  : 

The  Avon  to  the  Severn  runs, 

The  Severn  to  the  sea  ; 
And  Wickliffe" s  dust  shall  spread  abroad 
Wide  as  the  oceans  be." 


42 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON  LANGUAGE: 


We  never  can  place  in  more  striking  contrast  the  spirit  of  Luther 
and  the  spirit  of  Papal  Rome,  than  by  contemplating,  in  their  sym- 
bolic import,  his  throwing  his  inkstand  at  the  devil,  presuming  to 
terrify  him,  as  he  thought ;  and.  their  digging  up  and  burning  the 
bones  of  WickliflPe.  They  intended  to  extinguish  the  light  and  the 
spirit  of  Wickliffe ;  but  Luther  resolved  to  write  down  the  evil  spirit, 
by  illuminating  the  world  with  pen  and  ink,  or  by  the  labors  of  the 
press.  Hence,  after  a  grand  model  conception  of  bringing  light  out 
of  darkness,  he  cast  his  inkstand  at  the  devil  and  drove  him  from 
his  cell. 

From  that  day  to  this  the  Anglo-Saxon  spirit,  genius  and  learning 
have  been,  with  gigantic  strides,  advancing  and  rising  in  the  wonder 
and  admiration  of  the  world.  Now,  this  presuming  to  read  the  Bible 
and  to  pray  in  Anglo-Saxon,  like  our  Declaration  of  Independence, 
though  apparently  at  first  a  small  matter,  like  an  avalanche,  is  ever 
progressing  with  increasing  magnitude  and  accumulating  force,  till  it 
has  shaken  the  foundation  of  the  Eoman  States,  and  now  causes  Italy 
to  tremble  even  to  the  strongholds  of  Gaeta. 

It  is  worthy  of  special  notice,  that  as  England  began  to  rise  soon 
after  she  presumed  to  dissent  from  the  Latin  church,  and  substituted 
the  Anglo-Saxon  church,  she  has  continued  to  rise  in  all  the  elements 
of  greatness,  so  far  as  she  has  advocated  an  Anglo-Saxon  Bible,  psalter 
and  prayer  book.  Although  she  has  not  at  home  yet  carried  out  her 
principles  and  professions,  still,  under  it  she  has  gained  a  transcendent 
influence  over  the  world,  that  throws  into  the  shade  Austria,  France 
and  all  other  nations  and  powers  that  prefer  the  ecclesiastic  Latin  to 
Queen  Victoria's  English.  The  Bible  translated  into  all  dialects,  cir- 
culated freely  amongst  all  the  people,  and  read  by  every  one,  in  what- 
ever version  he  prefers,  is  the  brightest  gem  that  adorns  the  coronal 
of  the  British  queen,  and  the  strength  and  glory  of  her  august  govern- 
ment— the  wisest  and  the  most  puissant  in  the  old  world. 

But,  finally,  we  argue  the  destiny  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  tongue  fi'om 
the  Anglo-Saxon  missionary  spirit.  This  is  truly  a  catholic  spirit.  It 
embraces  the  human  race,  and  knows  neither  language  nor  caste 
according  to  the  flesh.  The  frozen  Icelander  and  the  sun-burned 
Moor"  are  equally  embraced  and  cherished  in  the  generous  bosom  of 
its  large  philanthropy.  Britain  sends  the  Bible  and  the  missionary  to 
every  island  and  territory  she  calls  her  own.  Feigned  or  unfeigned,, 
political  or  philanthropic  the  spirit,  the  work  is  done.  In  accomplish- 
ing this,  she  is  strengthening  and  enlarging  her  empire,  and  alluring 
the  world      the  moral  grandeur  of  her  professed  humanity. 


ITS  OEIGIN,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY. 


43 


But  one  improvement  in  her  missionary  operations  is  suggested, 
approbated,  and,  indeed,  tested  by  the  wisest  and  best  of  her  ambas- 
sadors of  peace.  Instead  of  depending  so  much  on  the  labors  of 
missionaries  addressing  the  natives  in  their  own  tongues,  they  are 
qualifying  and  sending  out  school-masters,  to  instruct  the  heathen 
children  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  tongue,  that  they  may  learn  to  under- 
stand the  Anglo-Saxon  Bible.  This  is  as  sound  philosophy  as  it  is 
genuine  philanthropy.  It  gives  to  the  young  an  incalculable  advantage 
over  the  old,  and  interposes  a  great  barrier  between  them  and  their 
parients,  to  prevent  opposition  to  what  they  preach. 

We  cannot  but  anticipate  its  general  adoption ;  and,  in  that  event^ 
who  cannot  anticipate  the  spread  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  tongue  all  over 
the  world? 

Thus,  without  indulging  in  a  romantic  spirit,  we  may  hope  that, 
as  there  was  at  first  but  one  language,  there  will  be  at  last  but  one 
language  amongst  the  sons  of  Adam.  To  this,  indeed,  the  pages  of 
prophecy  seem  to  look,  when  they  reveal  the  glorious  fact,  that  in  the 
day  of  the  triumph  of  Christianity,  there  will  be  acknowledged  all 
over  the  earth  but  one  Lord.  ''For,"  as  saith  the  prophet,  "  the  Lord 
shall  be  King  over  all  the  earth,  and  in  that  day  there  shall  be  one 
Lord,  and  his  name  one."  "  For  then,"  saith  another  prophet,  "  I  will 
turn  to  the  people  a  pure  language,  that  they  may  all  call  upon  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  to  serve  him  with  one  consent." 

Now,  it  may  be  presumed  that  if  "  the  Lord  shall  be  King  over  all 
the  earth,  and  if  his  name  shall  be  one,"  and  only  one;  and  if  all 
nations  are  "  to  serve  him  with  one  consent,"  they  will  address  him  in 
one  and  the  same  tongue,  and  under  one  and  the  same  name  celebrate 
his  lofty  praise. 

And  is  not  this  the  tendency  of  things  under  the  reign  of  Christ  ? 
Already  many  languages  have  died.  Others  are  dying.  Of  the 
hundreds  of  ancient  American  and  Asiatic  tongues,  how  many  have 
been  absorbed  or  perished  from  the  earth  ?  And  if  neither  the  once 
boasted  universality  of  the  Greek  and  Eoman  sceptres  and  the  Greek 
and  Eoman  tongues,  nor  the  classic  beauty  and  polish  of  these  model 
languages,  could  give  them  perpetuity  and  extension,  what  other  lan- 
guage can  reasonably  hope  to  survive  its  own  nationality,  merely  from 
the  number  or  respectability  of  them  w^ho  speak  it  ? 

Heaven  has  already  frowned  on  the  four  great  empires  claiming 
universality,  because,  as  we  presume,  of  their  unnatural  lusts  and 
debasing  idolatries.  But  there  are  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  tongue  ele- 
ments and  treasures  of  infinite  value  to  mankind;  the  noblest  spe* 


44 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON  LANGUAGE  : 


cimens  of  Christian  genius,  learning,  science,  true  religion  and  pure 
morality,  ever  communicated  in  human  speech  or  treasured  up  in  any 
dialect  spoken  by  man.  Hence  we  strongly  affirm  the  conviction,  that 
for  the  sake  of  these,  and  in  honor  of  those  who,  by  Bible-translation, 
Bible-distribution,  in  all  lands  and  languages,  missionary  enterprise, 
missionary  zeal,  and  missionary  success  in  the  cause  of  human  advance- 
ment and  human  redemption,  the  Anglo-Saxon  tongue  will  ultimately 
triumph.'  The  Lord  Almighty,  who  has  now  girdled  the  earth  from 
east  to  west  v/ith  the  Anglo-Saxon  people,  the  Anglo-Saxon  tongue, 
sciences,  learning  and  civilization,  by  giving  a  colossal  power  and 
grandeur  to  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  over  the  continents 
and  oceans  of  earth,  will  continue  to  extend  that  power  and  magni- 
ficence until  they  spread  from  north  to  south,  as  they  have  already 
from  east  to  west,  until,  in  one  vernacular,  in  one  language  and  with 
one  consent,  they  shall,  in  loud  acclaim  and  in  hallowed  concert,  raise 
their  joyful  and  grateful  anthem,  pealing  over  all  lands  and  from 
shore  to  shore,  from  the  Euphrates  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Then 
will  "  they  hang  their  trumpet  in  the  hall,  and  study  war  no  more." 
Peace  and  universal  amity  will  reign  triumphant.  For  over  all  the 
earth  there  will  be  but  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  hope  and  one  lan- 
guage. 

But  in  order  to  do  this,  what  duties  and  obligations  has  the  Lord  of 
the  universe  imposed  on  us  ?  or  what  part  are  we  American  Anglo- 
Saxons  to  act  in  this  great  moral  revolution  ? 

We  must  answer  this  question  by  taking  an  inventory  of  our  means 
of  doing  good,  and  of  the  wants  and  condition  of  society  at  home  and 
abroad ;  for,  .while  charity  begins  at  home,  it  does  not  continue  at 
home,  but  goes  abroad  on  missions  of  love  and  mercy  to  all  mankind. 
But  education,  intellectual  and  moral,  at  home,  in  the  Sunday-school, 
in  the  common  school,  in  the  academy,  in  the  college,  in  the  church, 
are  amongst  the  most  obvious,,  the  most  important,  the  most  essential, 
the  most  puissant  means  to  our  advancement — to  the  filling  up  of  our 
duties,  our  usefulness,  our  glory  and  our  happiness. 
—  God  having  given  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  people  the  largest  portion  of 
the  earth  vouchsafed  to  any  one  people  speaking  one  language  and 
professing  one  religion ;  and  not  only  the  largest  portion  of  the  earth, 
but  the  only  really  new,  fruitful  and  salubrious  portions  of  the  earth 
— indeed,  the  only  portion  of  it  that  can,  for  one  ^undred  and  fifty 
years  to  come,  afi'ord  space  for  a  population  increasing  in  the  current 
ratios  of  Britain  and  America,  to  such  a  point  as  would  either  equal 
the  present  population  of  the  whole  earth,  or,  at  least,  certainly  place 


ITS  ORIGIN,  CHARACTER  AND  DESTINY. 


45 


the  population  of  the  whole  earth  under  the  control  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race,  language,  politics  and  religion.  For  the  same  purpose  he 
has  given  to  us  the  great  oceans  of  the  globe  and  the  means  of  managing 
the  seas,  as  if  to  furnish  us  for  this  great  work  abroad  as  well  as  at 
home.  No  event  in  the  future,  next  to  the  anticipated  millennial 
triumph,  appears  more  natural,  more  probable,  more  practicable  or 
more  morally  certain  and  desirable,  than  this  Anglo-Saxon  triumph  in 
the  great  work  of  human  civilization  and  redemption. 

But,  in  this  view  of  the  subject,  in  what  a  sublimely  grand  and 
fearfully  responsible  attitude  we  are  placed!  To  us  are  the  moral 
destinies  of  the  human  race  committed.  Our  horizon  is  fearfully, 
gloriously,  transcendently  extended  beyond  the  conception  of  any 
living  man.  Numerous  races  and  generations  of  men  yet  unborn, 
swarming  not  only  over  this  grand  continent,  but  over  the  newly 
acquired  Asiatic  possessions  of  our  Anglo-Saxon  relations  on  the  old 
homestead,  in  Western  Europe,  are  to  be  moulded,  controlled  and  des- 
tined by  us. 

Becomes  it  not,  then,  a  most  imperious  duty  to  preserve  and  trans- 
mit, uncorrupted  and  unimpaired,  the  institutions,  civil,  literary,  moral 
and  religious,  which  high  Heaven  has  allotted  to  us  ?  Never  before 
lived  a  people  possessing  such  birthrights — such  an  unbounded  horizon 
of  greatness  and  glory — as  that  which  spreads  itself  before  the  en- 
raptured vision  of  every  enlightened  American  citizen.  Should  the  great 
Anglo-Saxon  family  of  families  fall  out  by  the  way ;  should  this  great 
nation  of  nations,  this  hallowed  and  august  union  of  so  many  sovereign 
and  independent  States  of  one  political  faith,  of  one  rich  and  noble 
eclectic  language,  and  of  one  divinely  true  and  supremely  grand  reli- 
gion, be  sacrificed  at  the  demon  shrine  of  any  sectional  idol,  then, 
indeed,  would  the  measure  of  our  disgrace  be  complete ;  our  folly,  our 
fall,  would  be  an  eternal  shame — an  everlasting  reproach — the  greatest 
political  and  moral  catastrophe  that  time  could  record,  involving,  in  its 
details,  all  the  vital  and  grand  interests,  temporal,  spiritual  and  eternal, 
not  of  our  country  only,  but  of  the  whole  human  race.  It  cannot  be  ! 
Grant  it,  then,  it  cannot  be.  But  should  we  not  stand  so  far  aloof  from 
even  the  appearance  of  it,  as  not  to  encourage  a  single  hope  in  any 
tyrant's  breast  that  we,  too — a  living  refutation  of  all  the  pretensions 
and  claims  of  absolutism,  as  now  displayed  in  the  mouldering  and 
tottering  thrones  of  the  old  world — will  yet  subscribe  its  creed,  recant 
our  errors,  and  reconstruct  the  despotisms  of  the  old  world?  Let  uf *  T 
regard  ourselves,  and  teach  our  children  to  regard  themselves,  as  God's 
own  depository  of  all  the  great  blessings  of  civilization  and  salvation  for 


46 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON  LANGUAGE. 


the  new  world,  and  as  his  co-operants  with  all  the  master-spirits  on  the 
eastern  continent,  with  every  nation  and  people  who  will  accept  our  aid 
in  the  great  work  of  disenthralling,  evangelizing,  redeeming  and  en- 
nobling mankind.  Let  us  teach  them  that  we  regard  it  our  greatest 
honor  to  have  deposited  with  us  blessings  so  numerous,  so  various  and 
so  grand,  and  that  we  esteem  it  to  be*  our  greatest  glory  to  be  faithful 
in  the  high  and  holy  trust. 


ADDRESS 

ON  THE 

AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 

LOUISVILLE,  KY. 


Ladies  AND  G-entlemen: — 

It  is  not  always  that  the  subject  and  the  object  of  an  address  can  be 
made  to  harmonize.  The  good  of  the  state,  or  the  glory  of  God,  has 
been  the  subject  of  many  a  speech;  while,  alas!  too  often  the  object 
has  been  the  speaker's  own. 

In  popular  addresses,  my  predilections  are  generally  on  the  side  of 
having  the  subject  and  the  object  to  agree.  On  the  present  occasion, 
therefore,  after  considerable  indecision,  I  have  chosen  the  ameliora- 
tion OF  the  social  state  as  the  subject ;  and,  however  I  may  succeed 
in  my  endeavors,  I  do  assure  you  that  it  is  the  object  of  my  present 
address. 

There  is  also,  I  am  happy  to  think,  a  congruity  between  my  subject 
and  the  object  of  the  association  at  whose  solicitation  I  have  the  honor, 
on  this  occasion,  to  appear  before  you.  The  object  of  that  course  of 
lectures,  of  which  this  is  but  the  introductory  one,  as  it  is  of  the  gentle- 
men who  have  volunteered  in  this  cause,  is,  the  improvement  of  the 
social  condition  of  man.  They  have  very  justly  decided  that  an  eleva- 
tion of  the  standard  of  intellectual  and  moral  excellence  would  be 
eminently  conducive  to  a  higher  cultivation  and  refinement  of  the  social 
feelings  of  our  nature,  and,  consequently,  to  the  amelioration  of  the 
social  state.  In  pursuance  of  these  views  and  convictions,  they  have 
instituted  this  series  of  addresses — not  so  much,  perhaps,  to  enlighten 
your  understandings,  as  to  enlist  your  affections,  and  secure  your  efforts 
in  the  noblest  and  most  benevolent  of  human  undertakings — the  positive 
advancement  of  the  moral  conditions  of  our  social  existence. 

But  the  term  society  is  somewhat  vague,  and  the  thing  itself  covers 
an  area  as  variegated  and  diverse  as  it  is  immense.  Society  is  not  the 
mere  juxtaposition  of  ten,  or  ten  thousand  persons ;  it  is,  in  its  full 
comprehension,  the  union  of  a  simple  plurality,  or  of  a  multitude,  or  of 

47 


48 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


the  human  race  in  all  common  interests.  It  is  not  the  local  or  per- 
sonal nearness  of  those  who  may  inhabit  the  same  city,  the  same  village, 
the  same  house,  the  same  room,  (for  these  often  have  as  much  society 
with  their  antipodes  as  with  one  another ;)  but  it  is  the  union,  com- 
munion and  copartnery  of  a  few,  or  of  the  whole  race  with  one  another, 
in  all  that  is  human  and  divine  in  our  nature. 

But  we  sometimes  speak  of  society  in  a  less  strict  and  philosophic 
sense.  We  use  the  term  as  commensurate  with  the  term  community, 
the  entire  population  of  a  given  district — those  united  in  mere  local 
and  political  interests.  Such  masses  of  our  species  are  frequently 
styled  societies  only  in  reference  to  some  two  or  thr  je  general  interests, 
which  may  be  as  diverse  from  one  another  as  the  countries  and  the 
climates  which  they  inhabit.  There  is,  indeed,  in  our  nature,  such  a 
tendency  to  assimilation,  that  those  societies  which  inhabit  the  same 
quarter  of  the  globe,  or  have  any  the  least  intercourse  with  one 
another,  do,  in  process  of  time,  exhibit  such  points  of  common  resem- 
blance as  easily  to  distinguish  them  from  those  who  seldom  or  never 
have  any  intercourse  with  them.  Hence  those  prominent  differential 
attributes  of  Asiatic,  African,  European  and  American  societies. 

Society,  indeed,  even  in  reference  to  these  more  prominent  points  of 
common  interest,  is  continually  in  motion,  in  transition  from  one  state 
to  another,  insomuch  that  in  a  few  centuries  the  inhabitants  of  the 
same  country  differ  from  their  ancestors  in  their  interests,  manners, 
customs  and  social  rites,  as  much  as  the  child  differs  from  the  sage,  or 
the  natives  of  Nova  Zembla  from  those  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
When,  however,  we  speak  of  an  amelioration  of  the  social  state,  we 
have  not  exclusive  reference  to  that  little  community  of  which  we  may 
happen  to  be  a  component  part ;  but  to  that  great  community  of  com- 
munities which  fills  up  the  whole  circle  of  our  national  intercourse. 
And  for  our  encouragement  in  the  work  of  amelioration,  it  is  an  ex- 
hilarating truth  that  no  person's  influence  is  necessarily  limited  to  that 
society  in  which  he  moves.  Individuals  have  often,  through  their  im- 
mediate society,  acted  upon  other  societies,  and  have  thus  extended  their 
influence  from  city  to  city,  and  from  nation  to  nation,  to  the  utmost  ex- 
tent of  an  extensive  empire.  In  this  way  it  came  to  pass  that  Aristotle, 
the  philosopher  of  Stagira,  Plato  of  Athens,  Paul  of  Tarsus,  and  Luther 
of  Saxony,  have  stamped  their  image  not  only  upon  their  own  city, 
their  own  country  or  generation,  but  upon  nations  and  empires  for  an 
indefinite  series  of  ages. 

But  it  would  be  necessary  to  the  full  completion  of  our  purpose,  and 
it  would  be  as  curious  as  it  is  necessary,  to  contemplate  society  both  as 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


49 


1^  wds,  and  as  it  now  is,  in  some  given  district,  with  special  reference 
to  what  it  ought  to  he  in  regard  to  the  entire  demands  of  human  nature 
in  its  best  attainable  state  in  this  world.  This,  indeed,  in  all  its  am- 
plitude, would  be  a  sweep  by  far  too  large  for  a  single  address.  For 
the  sake  of  a  few  facts  and  documents  as  data,  we  must,  however, 
glance,  very  briefly  indeed,  at  the  causes  that  have  conspired  in  giving 
to  modern  Europe  and  to  these  United  States  their  present  civilization, 
their  present  superiority  over  their  more  remote  ancestors,  and  over  all 
other  portions  of  the  human  race. 

The  present  state  of  society  in  this  commonwealth,  in  the  United 
States,  in  England,  in  Europe,  in  the  world,  is  the  effect  of  a  thousand 
causes,  both  co-operative  and  antagonist,  the  history  of  which  it  is  im- 
possible to  trace.  These  causes,  first  hidden  in  the  deep  and  unexplored 
recesses  of  human  nature,  work  for  a  time,  as  the  secret  fires  under  the 
mountains,  unnoticed,  unobserved,  till  on  some  favorable  crisis  they 
produce  a  shaking,  an  earthquake,  a  revolution ;  then,  and  only  then, 
they  impress  themselves  upon  the  observation  of  man,  excite  his  admira- 
tion, call  forth  his  philosophy,  and  direct  his  energies  into  correspondent 
action.  Such,  indeed,  have  been  all  the  primary  causes,  facts  and 
events  that  have  conspired  and  amalgamated  in  the  present  improve- 
ments of  European  and  American  society.  But  as  the  geographer  sees 
not  the  atoms  that  compose  the  mountains  which  he  describes,  so  the 
historian  perceives  not  that  infinity  of  little  facts,  feelings,  motives, 
actions,  which  co-operated  and  combined  in  one  of  those  grand  and 
prominent  facts  or  events  which  he  records.  His  task  it  is  to  trace 
these  minor  agencies  who  would  understand  the  mysteries  of  human 
revolutions  from  civilization  to  barbarism,  and  again  from  barbarism  to 
civilization. 

The  fall  of  the  Eoman  Empire,  the  last  of  the  four  imperial  Pagan 
despotisms,  was  indeed  an  awfully  sublime  and  transcendent  fact,  and 
essentially  connected  with  the  state  of  society  in  the  city  of  Louisville 
at  this  very  moment.  But  who  can  trace  with  persuasive  accuracy  to 
the  original  fountains  that  memorable  series  of  stupendous  revolutions 
which,  in  little  more  than  thirteen  centuries,  broke  to  atoms  that 
^'  splendid  fabric  of  human  greatness"  ?  Who  can  trace  every  little 
nil,  and  brook,  and  stream  and  river  that  swelled  the  current  of  that 
mighty  flood  which  swept  from  the  earth  those  colossal  monuments  of 
human  genius,  science,  art  and  enterprise  ? 

The  historian  faithfully  records  that  wonderful  succession  of  tri- 
umphs which,  in  seven  full  centuries,  raised  the  municipality  of  E-ome 
— a  single  city — to  be  the  mistress  of  the  world.    He  records,  with 

4 


50 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


admiration,  the  profound  policy  of  its  senate,  the  emulation  of  its 
consuls,  the  valor  and  heroism  of  its  soldiers,  which  subjected  to  the 
imperial  sceptre  of  Augustus  that  immense  region  reaching  from  the 
Euphrates  on  the  east  to  the  Atlantic  on  the  west,  and  from  the 
Ehine  and  the  Danube  on  the  north  to  the  sandy  deserts  of  Arabia 
and  Africa  on  the  south.  He  tells  also  of  its  further  extension  in  the 
first  century — of  the  conquest  of  Dacia,  of  Britain,  even  to  the  High- 
lands of  Scotland,  and  of  provinces  beyond  the  Tigris  and  the  Euphrates 
in  the  East. 

As  faithfully  he  records  the  grand  facts  that  hastened  its  decline 
and  precipitated  its  fall;  the  disastrous  defeats  which,  in  rapid  suc- 
cession, humbled  its  pride  and  ultimately  left  scarce  a  vestige  of  its 
former  strength  and  glory.  But,  in  doing  all  this,  how  many  occult 
causes  are  unobserved ;  how  many  secret  facts  are  untold ;  how  many 
fortuitous  but  concurring  agencies  are  unnoticed ;  how  many  recon- 
dite workings  of  the  human  heart  are  never  known,  which,  though  not 
the  immediate,  were  nevertheless  the  true  and  active  sources  of  all 
that  is  told  by  the  historian,  or  commented  on  by  the  philosopher ! 

Notwithstanding  these  difficulties  in  our  way  to  comprehend  the 
phenomena  of  many  of  the  acts  in  the  great  drama  of  states  and 
empires ;  of  the  revolutions  and  counter-revolutions  of  society ;  he 
who  would  understand  the  past,  or  anticipate  the  future,  by  looking 
minutely  into  all  that  is  written,  examining  and  comparing  the  actors 
and  the  actions,  and  reasoning  from  the  facts  passing  before  him  in 
his  daily  converse  with  himself  and  his  fellows,  may  have  a  general 
and  a  correct,  though  not  a  complete,  knowledge  of  the  remote  and 
proximate  causes  of  the  overthrow  and  ruin  of  the  ancient  states,  as 
well  as  of  the  elements  and  forces  that  have  given,  as  their  natural 
and  proper  result,  the  present  society  in  which  we  are  all  so  deeply 
and  so  necessarily  interested. 

Our  American  society  is  the  result  of  Spanish,  German,  French  and 
English  civilization — that  is,  the  result  of  European  civilization — that 
is,  the  consequence  of  the  downfall  of  the  Eoman  Empire,  itself  originally 
composed  of  the  most  civilized  and  improved  portions  of  Asia,  Africa 
and  Europe:  that  fall  was  the  effect  of  the  incursions  of  those  im- 
mense swarms  of  Northern  barbarians,  which,  like  a  torrent  from  the 
mountains,  rolled,  wave  after  wave,  over  the  whole  face  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  from  the  banks  of  the  Danube  to  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic, 
and  placed  itself  in  whole  nations  in  the  finest  portions  of  the  sub- 
jugated lands  of  the  Western  Empire. 

Now,  he  who  would  possess  just  and  comprehensive  views  of  Ame- 


A.MELIOEATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


51 


rican  society — of  that  singular  compound  of  race,  of  genius  and  of 
character  which  now  individualizes,  distinguishes  and  elevates  the 
American  family — must  not  only  begin  with  the  decline  and  fall  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  but  he  must  push  his  inquiries  to  the  ancient  lands  of 
the  Huns,  the  Goths,  the  Vandals,  the  hundred  tribes  and  nations  of 
ancient  Germany  and  Asiatic  Scythia ;  he  must  visit  the  plains  beyond 
the  Oxus  and  the  Jaxartes ;  he  must  go  to  Mount  Caucasus,  and  trace 
the  meanderings  of  a  hundred  rivers,  along  plains  five  thousand  miles 
in  length  and  one  thousand  in  breadth,  before  he  finds  the  germs  of 
his  own  greatness — the  root  and  origin  of  his  own  family — and  the 
causes  of  the  political  institutions,  manners  and  customs  of  his  own 
country.  This,  indeed,  is  a  work  as  far  beyond  the  ambition  as  it  is 
beyond  the  means  and  opportunities  of  a  vast  majority  of  our  con- 
temporaries. 

Monsieur  Guizot,  one  of  the  ablest  of  the  statesmen  of  France — one 
of  the  wisest  of  her  philosophers — in  his  recent  general  history  of  the 
civilization  of  modern  Europe,  a  work  of  great  erudition  and  of  thrill- 
ing interest,  in  tracing  the  immediate  elements  of  European  society, 
commences  with  the  fall  of  the  Eoman  Empire.  He  finds  the  rudi- 
ments of  all  European  institutions  and  improvements  in  a  few  great 
facts,  of  which  he  speaks  with  great  familiarity  and  precision.  From 
Rome  he  supposes  we  have  got  the  archetypes  of  all  our  municipal  and 
imperial  ideas.  From  the  barbarians  that  destroyed  it  and  located 
themselves  within  its  bounds,  we  have  got  our  greatest  polish — our 
ideas  of  liberty,  independence  and  loyalty. 

Modern  civilization,  according  to  this  historian,  was,  at  its  origin 
and  throughout  its  whole  history,  diversified,  agitated  and  confused." 
At  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  he  has  found  "Municipal  society. 
Christian  society.  Barbarian  society;"  these  three  agonizing  in  the 
same  field,  and  struggling  for  the  ascendant.  To  use  his  own  words : 
"  We  find  these  societies  very  differently  organized,  founded  upon 
principles  totally  opposite,  inspiring  men  with  sentiments  altogether 
difi'erent.  We  find  the  love  of  the  most  absolute  independence  by  the 
side  of  the  most  devoted  submission;  military  patronage  by  the  side 
of  ecclesiastic  domination ;  spiritual  power  and  temporal  power  every- 
where together :  the  canons  of  the  church — the  learned  legislation  of  the 
Romans — the  almost  unwritten  customs  of  the  barbarians — everywhere 
a  mixture,  or  rather  co-existence,  of  nations,  of  languages,  of  social 
nstitutions,  of  manners,  of  ideas,  of  impressions  the  most  diversified." 

To  the  confusion,  the  tossings  and  jostlings  of  these  elements,  he 


52 


AMELIOEATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


assigns  the  slow  progress  of  Europe,  the  storms  by  whicli  she  has  been 
buffeted,  and  the  miseries  to  which  she  has  often  been  a  prey.  These, 
however,  are  with  him  the  real  elements  of  European  civilization. 

Like  a  mass  of  heterogeneous  ingredients  thrown  into  the  same 
vessel,  by  their  intestine  motion,  their  antagonistic  operations,  the 
soft  and  more  ethereal  particles  rareified  and  subtilized  ascend,  while 
the  grosser  and  more  feculent  materials  sink  to  the  bottom  and  leave 
the  pure  liquor  to  be  drawn  off  by  itself;  so  these  remains  of  ancient 
society,  thrown  together  info  the  European  chaldron,  worked,  fer- 
mented, effervesced,  till,  drawn  off  in  various  casks,  the  new  wine  of 
European  civilization  is  found  in  many  nations,  and  still  greatly  im- 
proved by  being  shipped  across  the  Atlantic  and  racked  off  into  so 
many  sovereign  and  independent  States. 

The  ruling  passion  and  principle  of.  Eoman  society  was  the  city 
corporation — the  municipal  mode  of  life.  Indeed,  the  Koman  Empire, 
first,  midst  and  last,  was  but  a  confederacy  of  cities.  Ancient  Italy 
alone  contained  eleven  hundred  and  ninety-seven  cities ;  Graul  boasted 
of  twelve  hundred ;  Spain,  of  three  hundred  and  ^ixty ;  three  hundred 
African  cities  at  one  time  acknowledged  the  authority  of  Carthage ; 
and  in  the  time  of  the  Caesars,  Asia  Minor  alone  counted  five  hundred 
populous  cities.  Here  are  but  five  members  of  the  Roman  Empire,  a 
mere  fraction  of  its  territory,  containing  three  thousand  five  hundred 
and  fifty-seven  cities.  On  the  other  hand,  the  conquerors  of  Rome 
came  from  the  immense  plains  of  Scythia,  or  from  the  deep  and 
dense  forests  of  ancient  Germany — wandering  tribes — nations  in  camps, 
whose  delights  were  the  wild  mountains,  the  deep  valleys,  the  extended 
plains,  the  mighty  rivers,  the  ocean's  roar,  the  tented  fields,  the  forest 
chase,  unbounded  freedom,  the  independence  of  unmeasured  tracts  of 
land.  In  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  the  Christian  religion 
had  been  corrupted  into  a  hierarchy — it  had  become  a  state  engine ;  it 
had,  therefore,  lost  its  spirit,  its  purity,  its  original  power ;  yet,  as  an 
ecclesiastic  institution,  it  had  pow-er  over  the  empire,  conquered  its 
conquerors,  and  was,  beyond  doubt,  the  most  puissant  element  of  the 
new  compound. 

Such  was  the  crisis  of  the  dissolution  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and 
Buch  was  the  commencement  of  the  new  process.  In  Europe  was  then 
found  the  democratic,  the  aristocratic,  the  monarchical,  the  imperial, 
the  despotic,  the  theocratic  principle  at  work,  in  proximity,  in  amal- 
gamation, in  compromise  and  in  strife,  struggling  for  precedency. 
Violence  ruled  the  day.    There  was  no  legitimacy  but  might!  All 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


53 


claimed  something  else — antiquity,  priority,  reason,  justice,  right;  yet 
it  actually  was  might  that  gave  right  to  all. 

For  some  six  or  seven  centuries  the  territory  of  the  ancient  Eoman 
Empire  was  one  immense  wreck — a  perfect  chaos — ''a  universal  jum- 
ble:"  nothing  was  permanent,  nothing  systematic :  the  Koran  and  the 
sword  in  the  East ;  the  Roman  hierarchy,  legitimacy  and  persecution, 
feudalism,  despotism,  anarchy,  mutation,  in  the  West ;  freemen,  fideles, 
freedmen,  and  slaves,  made  up  the  four  chief  masses  of  the  new  nations. 
But  all  was  in  motion;  ''no  man  continued  long  in  the  same  rank;  no 
rank  continued  long  the  same."  Every  thing  triumphs  in  its  turn : 
feudalism  triumphs,  the  church  triumphs,  monarchy  triumphs,  the 
right  of  compulsion  in  religion  triumphs,  the  amalgamation  o^  spiritual 
and  temporal  power  in  the  same  hands  triumphs,  barbarism  triumphs. 
Again,  free  cities  rise,  charters  rise,  new  classes  rise,  central  govern- 
ment and  the  centralization  system  rise  in  public  esteem, — Peter  the 
Hermit  is  born, — the  Crusades  are  planned, — all  Europe  for  the  first 
time  sympathizes — the  spirit  of  the  recovery  of  the  holy  sepulchre, 
the  deliverance  of  the  holy  city,  inspires  all  Europe,  animates  all 
classes,  kings  and  beggars,  church  and  state,  savage  and  civilized. 
Millions  of  men  and  money  are  put  in  motion ;  immense  armies  are 
raised,  commanded  by  kings  in  person ;  a  hundred  years  scarce  quench 
the  fervors  of  this  holy  war.  But  it  finally  expired.  The  Koran  and 
the  scimetar  were  too  strong  for  an  imagination  and  a  mad  impulse,  or 
rather  the  spirit  of  the  age  had  changed ;  the  causes,  moral  and  social, 
that  had  thrown  Europe  into  Asia  ceased  to  exist ;  new  views,  new 
feelings,  new  objects,  seized  the  European  minds.  During  the  Crusades 
the  larity  had  been  too  often  in  Bome ;  they  had  seen  too  much  of  the 
character  of  their  own  priesthood,  the  nakedness  of  the  land  appeared, 
the  selfish  and  worldly  spirit  of  their  own  pastors  in  contrast  with 
those  of  the  Turks  astonished  them.  Their  newly  acquired  knowledge 
inspired  them  with  a  freedom  of  thought,  a  boldness  hitherto  unknown 
in  Europe,  their  souls  were  enlarged,  "more  political  freedom  and 
more  political  unity  characterized  the  subsequent  age."  The  compass 
— printing  and  gunpowder — the  Lutheran  reformation  and  the  English 
revolution,  changed  the  entire  aspect  of  society  in  those  countries  that 
gave  the  original  nucleus  of  American  society. 

The  history  of  European  society  may  be  thrown,"  says  Guizot, 

into  three  great  periods :  first,  a  period  which  I  shall  call  that  of 
origin  or  formation,  during  which  the  different  elements  of  society  dis- 
engage themselves  from  chaos,  assume  an  existence,  and  show  them- 
selves in  their  native  forms,  with  the  principles  by  which  they  axe 


54 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


animated :  this  period  lasted  till  almost  the  twelfth  century.  The 
second  period  is  a  period  of  experiments,  attempts,  groping:  the  dif- 
ferent elements  of  society  approach  and  enter  into  combinations,  feeling  || 
each  other,  as  it  were,  without  producing  any  thing  general,  regular, 
or  durable :  this  state  of  things,  to  say  the  truth,  did  not  terminate 
till  the  sixteenth  century.  Then  comes  the  period  of  development,  in 
which  human  society  in  Europe  takes  a  definite  form,  follows  a  deter- 
minate direction,  proceeds  rapidly  and  with  a  general  movement 
towards  a  clear  and  precise  object :  this  is  the  period  which  began  in 
the  sixteenth  century  and  is  now  pursuing  its  course." 

After  this  general — alas !  too  general-^sketch  of  the  progress  of  social 
improvement,  you  will  perhaps  be  curious  to  know  the  opinion  of  so 
eminent  a  philosopher  and  historian  as  to  the  present  state  of  civiliza- 
tion in  the  most  polished  nations  in  Europe — in  the  world.  It  is  an 
opinion  in  which  I  cordially  concur — an  opinion  in  which  many  of  the 
greatest  and  most  cultivated  minds  acquiesce.    It  is  this  : — 

Society  and  civilization  are  yet  in  their  childhood.  However  great 
the  distance  they  have  advanced,  that  which  they  have  before  them  is 
incomparably,  is  infinitely  greater."  Thus  speaks  one  who,  as  he 
imagines,  lives  at  ^Hhe  centre,  at  the  focus  of  the  civilization  of  Europe;" 
who  has  made  himself  intimately  acquainted  with  its  past  history,  and 
with  its  present  condition. 

Ladies  and  gentlemen,  after  such  a  declaration  you  will,  perhaps, 
expect  from  me  a  definition  of  this  term ;  you  will  ask.  What  is  meant 
by  civilization?  Our  historian  regards  civilization  as  fact ;  ''two 
circumstances  are  necessary  to  its  existence — it  lives  upon  two  con- 
ditions— it  reveals  itself  by  two  symptoms — the  progress  of  society — 
the  progress  of  individuals — the  amelioration  of  the  social  system,  and 
the  expansion  of  the  mind  and  faculties  of  man.  Wherever  the  exterior 
condition  of  man  becomes  enlarged,  quickened,  improved,  and  wherever 
the  intellectual  nature  of  man  distinguishes  itself  by  its  energy,  its 
brilliancy  and  its  grandeur,  wherever  these  two  signs  concur — and 
they  often  do  so,  notwithstanding  the  greatest  imperfections  in  the 
social  system — there  man  proclaims  and  applauds  civilization."  So 
says  our  philosopher. 

But,  perhaps,  for  some  minds  it  may  be  too  abstruse — the  definition 
is  more  unintelligible  than  the  term  itself.  Well,  we  shall  contrast 
civilization  with  barbarism.  Savages  of  all  ages,  it  is  agreed,  have  a 
common  character.  Two  demons  divide  the  empire  of  the  savage 
heart — selfishness  and  terror :  lust,  hatred  and  revenge  minister  to  the 
former;  while  credulity,  superstition  and  cruelty  attend  upon  the 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


55 


latter.  The  description  given  of  our  savage  ancestors,  the  Huns,  the 
Goths,  the  Scythians,  the  Scandinavians,  that  overran  all  Europe,  from 
the  Caspian  Sea  to  the  Thames,  admirably  illustrates  the  savage-  cha- 
racter, and  demonstrates  these  simple  but  strong  passions,  variously 
combined  and  excited  by  surrounding  circumstances,  to  be  the  true 
criteria  of  barbarism.  Now,  as  we  recede  from  these  we  advance  in 
civilization. 

Civilization  is  not,  therefore,  merely  intellectual  culture,  refinement 
of  taste,  high  advances  in  criticism,  eloquence,  philosophy ;  nor  is  it 
eminence  in  the  fine  arts  of  poetry,  music,  painting,  sculpture,  archi- 
tecture. The  Greeks  and  Eomans  equalled,  if  not  excelled  us  far,  in 
most  of  these  attainments;  yet,  compared  with  many  of  this  com- 
munity, they  were  an  uncivilized  and  barbarous  people.  They  lived 
and  died  under  the  tyranny  of  selfishness  and  terror.  Their  amuse- 
ments, their  exhibitions,  their  amphitheatres,  their  gladiator  feats  and 
pastimes  were  cruel,  inhuman — full  of  lust,  hatred  and  revenge.  In 
fact,  man,  fully  civilized,  is  wholly  rescued  from  the  tyranny  of  selfish- 
ness, lust,  hatred,  revenge,  terror,  cruelty,  credulity  and  superstition. 
Till  this  is  accomplished,  society  has  not  reached  that  intellectual, 
benevolent,  pacific,  moral  and  blissful  goal,  to  which  it  has  been 
advancing,  with  slow  but  steady  pace,  since  the  commencement  of  the 
sixteenth  century. 

Man  is  fully  civilized  when  all  the  powers  of  his  animal,  intellectual, 
moral  and  religious  nature  are  fully  developed  in  subordination  to  his 
ultimate  and  eternal  destiny ;  and  society  is  perfectly  civilized  when  all 
the  members  of  it,  in  their  respective  places,  stations  and  conditions, 
fully  receive  and  reciprocate  all  the  genuine  feelings  and  expressions  of 
benevolence,  brotherly-kindness  and  charity,  dictated  by  a  refined 
sensibility  and  guided  by  an  enlarged  and  cultivated  understanding. 

Thus,  by  a  long  and  circuitous  route,  I  have  arrived  at  the  main 
subject  of  my  address.  I  now  especially  invite  your  attention  to  the 
influence  of  woman  and  of  the  Bible  in  carrying  forward  the  begun 
amelioration  of  the  social  state. 

There  are  two  facts  pretermitted,  two  powers  unappreciated,  by 
Monsieur  Guizot  and  by  all  writers  on  civilization  known  to  me.  These 
are  the  two  superlative  agencies  in  the  amelioration  of  the  social  state ; 
they  are  woman  and  the  Bible ;  or  if  any  pleases  to  make  but  one  out 
of  two,  it  is  the  Bible  in  the  hand  and  heart  of  woman. 

I  admit  that  the  philosopher  gives  great  power  to  the  church,  and 
makes  it  the  chief  element  of  European  civilization.  But  with  him  it 
has  not  more  power  than  the  Koran  and  the  Mosque  among  the 


56 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


Moslems ;  or  the  temples,  altars  and  priests  among  the  Pagans.  The 
hallowed  fanes  among  the  Druids,  the  altars  among  the  Pagans,  and 
the  Mosque  among  the  Mohammedans,  have  led  the  way  in  their  civili- 
zation quite  as  much  as  the  church  of  Rome  in  the  dark  ages  has  led 
the  way  in  ours.  Nevertheless  I  concur  with  our  philosophic  historian 
in  giving  to  the  church  the  precedence  in  all  that  appertains  to  our 
civilization :  for  I  am  persuaded  that  take  that  element  out  of  his  own 
compound  agencies,  and  we  would  have  all  been  barbarians  still.  But 
I  mean  more  than  the  Church  as  defined  by  him,  when  I  speak  of 
woman  and  the  Bible.    Permit  me  then  to  explain  myself. 

Woman,  with  me,  is  to  society  what  the  spirit  is  to  the  body ;  for 
as  the  body  without  the  spirit  is  dead,  society  without  woman  is  dead 
also.  She  is  then  the  quickening,  animating,  conservative  element  of 
society.  If  man  on  this  terraqueous  ball  be  the  glory  of  God,  most 
certainly  woman  is  the  glory  of  man.  She  is  the  life,  the  beauty,  the 
ornament,  the  glory  of  society.  What  a  simple,  powerful  and  sublime 
preface  has  God  written  to  the  volume  of  her  history!  ''It  is  not 
good,"  said  he,  "  that  man  should  be  alone and  instantly  out  of  his 
side,  and  by  his  side,  stood  blooming,  smiling,  lovely  woman.  Never 
was  any  being  more  appropriately  named  than  this  woman.  She  is 
called  Uve,  which  in  our  own  language  is  equivalent  to  her  being  called 
life.  And  Adam  called  her  life,  because  she  is  the  mother  of  all  living. 
She  is  then  the  fountain  and  source  of  society. 

Now,  her  intellectual  and  moral  culture,  her  elevation  to  her  own 
proper  rank,  which  is  not  to  sit  at  the  foot,  but  to  stand  by  the  side,  of 
man,  is  af  supreme  importance  to  the  State,  to  the  Church,  to  the 
world,  and  to  the  amelioration  of  the  social  system.  But  this  subject 
has  never  yet  taken  hold  of  the  head,  the  heart  or  the  hand  of  man  in 
the  ratio  of  its  importance ;  because,  perhaps,  the  power  of  woman  for 
good  or  evil,  for  weal  or  for  woe,  has  not  yet  appeared  in  its  full  pro- 
portions to  the  mental  vision  of  even  the  sages  and  the  learned  of  our 
race.  She  is,  indeed,  in  some  points  of  view,  rightly  called  "  the 
weaker  vessel"  of  the  twain ;  but  in  this  her  weakness  are  found  some 
of  the  main  springs  of  her  power. 

It  is  essential  to  our  argument,  so  far  as  the  logic  of  it  is  concerned, 
that  we  first  form  a  clear  and  definite  idea  of  the  power  of  woman. 
But  how  shall  this  be  done  convincingly?  Not  by  reasoning  hypo- 
thetically  nor  speculatively,  out  inductively.  As  we  find  out  the  power 
of  any  agent  in  nature,  so  learn  we  the  power  of  woman.  The  power 
of  electricity,  of  the  tempest,  of  the  flood,  is  seen  in  their  eff'ects ;  the 
power     woman  is  seen  and  felt  in  her  deeds — I  do  not  say  in  her 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


57 


good  deeds  only,  but  in  her  had  deeds  also ;  for  she,  too,  as  well  as  man, 
has  some  bad  deeds.  Still,  it  is  fair  logic  to  infer  the  power  of  doing 
good,  from  her  power  of  doing  evil;  and  in  placing  this  matter  before 
you,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  you  will  a'llow  me  to  avail  myself  of  a  fair 
specimen  of  female  achievements  both  on  the  side  of  virtue  and  of 
vice. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  we  examine  the  whole  history  of  the  sex  to 
be  convinced  of  the  potency  of  woman.  The  first  melancholy  proof, 
and  perhaps  as  striking  a  proof  as  universal  history  affords,  of  the 
power  of  woman  is  found  at  the  close  of  the  first  act  of  the  great 
drama  of  human  existence — she  persuaded  her  husband  to  rebel 
against  his  God.  Adam  seems  to  have  been  so  perfectly  fascinated  by 
her  charms  and  bewitched  by  her  blandishments,  as  to  have  lost  both 
his  reason  and  his  loyalty  at  the  moment  that  she  stretched  out  her 
enchanting  hand  to  his  lips.  He  was  not  deceived"  by  the  serpent, 
as  Paul  affirms.  May  we  not  thence  infer  that  he  was  allured  and 
captivated  by  his  wife?  How  unspeakably  great,  then,  was  that  power 
which  overcame  man  in  the  glory  of  his  strength  and  prostrated  his 
understanding  and  his  resolution  in  the  very  presence  of  the  pledge  of 
inevitable  ruin ! 

Since  that  moment  of  triumph  of  Satan  over  woman,  and  of  woman 
over  man,  who  can  tithe  the  spoils  of  history,  or  form  even  a  minia- 
ture view  of  her  power  over  human  destiny?  She  never  had  any  pre- 
tensions to  physical  superiority  over  man — to  physical  equality;  but 
really  some  of  the  brightest  triumphs  of  genius,  of  intellect,  of  con- 
trivance, of  policy,  of  the  arts  both  of  peace  and  of  war,  that  brighten 
the  annals  of  human  greatness,  and  throw  a  halo  of  glory  over  our 
nature,  are  found  in  the  memoirs  of  woman. 

In  the  first  two  thousand  years  of  human  history,  and  in  all  the 
sacred  records  of  twenty  centuries,  the  names  of  but  five  women,  good 
or  bad,  have  escaped  the  general  wreck  and  oblivion  of  ancient  times. 
Of  these  five.  Eve,  the  mother  of  all  living,  is  the  first ;  and  Sarah,  the 
mystic  mother  of  all  the  faithful,  is  the  last.  Her  faith  and  her  virtues, 
her  conjugal  affection  and  devotion,  not  only  overcame  the  course  of 
nature  itself,  and  gave  to  her  husband  and  the  world  the  child  of 
promise,"  but  also  furnish  one  of  the  most  perfect  models  of  domestic 
excellence,  of  maternal  worth  and  of  female  complaisance  which  sacred 
history  affords.  Why  there  should  have  been  so  great  silence  from 
Adam  to  Moses  of  the  sayings  and  doings  of  woman,  is  only  to  be  ex- 
plained on  the  hypothesis  that  the  dark  shade  which  in  an  evil  hour 
her  folly  haf"*  entailed  upon  herself,  her  husband  and  posterity,  seema 


58 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


to  have  fallen  upon  her  own  history  for  almost  one-third  the  whole 
flight  of  time.  The  influence  of  woman  is,  indeed,  a  second  time  ad- 
duced in  the  annals  of  the  antediluvian  world ;  but  there,  alas !  it  is 
in  unison  with  a  second  catastrophe  of  human  kind — a  second  witness, 
but  too  strictly  accordant  with  the  first,  that  woman's  power  in  doing 
evi»l,  in  congenial  circumstances,  is  not  easily  exaggerated.  The  sons 
of  God,"  says  the  divine  historian  Moses,  a  heavenly  style  for  the  faith- 
ful of  all  ages, — "  the  sons  of  God  intermixed  with  the  daughters  of 
men,"  making  their  beauty,  without  regard  to  moral  excellence,  the 
supreme  attraction ;  till  the  world  was  filled  with  personal  combat, 
murder  and  rapine,  (all  couched  in  the  word  violence,)  and  became, 
even  to  the  long-sufi'ering  of  Heaven,  intolerably  wicked.  This  state 
of  things  superinduced  that  tremendous  deluge  whose  monuments  are* 
stereotyped  in  the  deep  valleys  and  on  the  lofty  mountains  that  diver- 
sify the  four  quarters  of  the  globe. 

Opening  the  postdiluvian  pages  of  sacred  and  profane  history,  we 
are,  indeed,  occasionally  furnished  with  a  bright  display  of  feminine 
power,  culminating  over  the  highest  summits  of  masculine  ambition. 
In  ascending  the  stream  of  Assyrian  history  almost  to  its  fountain,  we 
see  the  memory  of  her  greatness,  engraven  on  the  proudest  trophies 
of  human  grandeur.  Do  we  commence  our  inquiries  with  the  first 
and  most  magnificent  of  earthly  empires — the  Assyrian? — we  shall 
find  her  mighty  deeds  contemporaneous  with  its  origin.  Who  laid  the 
foundation  of  mighty  Babylon,  the  city  of  eternal  fame,  the  wonder  of 
the  world — the  metropolis  of  that  gigantic  empire  that  stretched  from 
the  fountains  of  the  Tigris  and  the  Euphrates  to  the  oceans  of  the  East 
and  of  the  West — that  mighty  emipre  that  withstood  the  tossings  of  a 
thousand  tempests,  the  swellings  of  angry  seas,  the  tumults  of  in- 
censed and  impassioned  multitudes  for  more  than  fourteen  hundred 
years — who  before  the  Macedonian  hero  led  an  army  of  three  and  a 
half  millions  of  troops  across  the  Indus  to  extend  her  dominions  in  the 
East,  and  for  the  long  term  of  forty  years  gave  laws  to  the  fairest  and 
best  portions  of  the  human  race  ?  I  say,  do  we  put  these  questions  to 
the  historians  of  ancient  times  ?  They  give  us  the  name  of  Semiramis, 
the  widow  of  the  founder  of  Nineveh,  the  Queen  of  the  Queens  of  the 
East.  In  the  life  and  achievements  of  this  peerless  heroine  of  fortunes 
80  various  and  splendid,  though  ultimately  disastrous,  we  discover 
faculties  as  enlarged,  policies  as  profound,  energy  as  unbounded,  per- 
severance as  untiring,  courage  as  dauntless,  ambition  as  towering,  as 
ever  distinguished  an  Assyrian,  Persian  or  Grecian  chief. 

But  if  woman  have  power  to  create  and  raise  up  families,  cities. 


AMELIOEATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


5^ 


states  and  empires,  she  has  power  to  destroy  them.  Thus,  if  Babylon 
rose,  Troy  fell,  by  a  woman.  The  ill  fortunes  and  overthrow  of  the 
Trojan  commonwealth  are  as  intimately  associated  in  fame  with  the 
beauty  and  perfidy  of  Helen,  as  are  the  rise  and  glory  of  Babylon  with 
the  intrepidity,  energy  and  varied  talents  of  Semiramis.  I  am  of 
opinion  that  there  never  was  a  nation,  a  state  or  an  empire — not  even 
an  administration,  save  that  of  General  Jackson — that  was  not  more  or 
less  reared  or  ruined,  strengthened  or  weakened,  controlled  or  managed, 
by  the  policy,  the  skill  or  the  dexterity  of  woman. 

Should  any  one  doubt  this  opinion,  let  him  examine  the  records  of 
the  Assyrian,  Persian,  Grecian,  Koman  or  modern  European  women; 
he  will  find  there  were  other  Kebeccas,  Miriams,  Deborahs,  Delilahs, 
Jaels,  Jezebels,  Athaliahs,  Esthers,  Herodiases,  than  those  written  in 
sacred  history.  Should  he  wish  for  a  few  samples  of  the  dark  as  well 
as  the  bright  side  of  the  picture,  let  him  contemplate  the  deeds  of  ven- 
geance, barbarity  and  general  inhumanity  of  Amestris,  wife  of  the  Per- 
sian Xerxes.  Her  demand  at  a  royal  banquet  for  the  wife  of  Masistus, 
and  her  treatment  of  that  woman,  in  more  points  than  one,  resembles 
that  of  the  vengeful  Herodias  towards  John  the  Harbinger.  Let  him 
consider  the  workings  of  jealousy  and  ambition  in  the  bloody  and  hor- 
rible deeds  of  the  queen  mother  of  Cyrus.  Let  him  examine  the  con- 
federated strength  of  these  evil  passions  in  the  proceedings  of  Queen 
Parysites,  both  sister  and  wife  of  Darius  Nothus,  towards  the  no  less 
cruel  Queen  Statira,  daughter  of  Darius  II.  A  bear  robbed  of  her 
whelps  was  milder  far  than  Queen  Parysites  towards  those  who  were 
accessory  to  the  slaughter  of  Cyrus,  her  son.  Let  him  read,  if  he  can 
without  inexpressible  horror,  her  cruelties  to  a  Carian  soldier,  to  Mith- 
ridates,  to  Mesabates,  consummated  in  the  murder  of  her  own  daughter- 
in-law,  the  beautiful  but  cruel  and  murderous  Queen  Statira. 

And  should  he  wish  for  a  perfect  sample  of  all  this  category  of  attri- 
butes, we  would  refer  him  to  the  history  and  fortunes  of  the  Egyptian 
Queen  Cleopatra,  the  ninth  of  that  name  distinguished  in  ancient-  his- 
tory. This  celebrated  woman  far  excelled  all  her  contemporaries  in 
the  rarest  assemblage  of  extraordinary  endowments  and  splendid 
crimes ;  possessing  wit,  imagination,  genius,  in  no  ordinary  measures, 
superlative  in  beauty- of  person,  in  all  the  bewitching  blandishments 
of  elegant  manners,  in  all  the  captivating  arts  of  fascination,  she  was 
the  slave  of  passion,  vain,  deceitful,  ambitious,  tyrannical,  cruel. 
Under  all  her  unrivalled  charms  was  concealed  a  demoniacal  heart, 
full  of  malignant  passions,  stratagems,  plots,  amours,  murders,  suicide. 
She  permitted  herself  to  be  carried  into  the  presence  of  Julius  Caesa.1 


60 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


that  she  might  subdue  him  by  her  charms.  She  did  so.  She  also 
beguiled  and  ruined  the  unfortunate  Anthony.  Her  voyage  to  Tarsus 
is  one  of  the  most  pompous  and  glittering  pageants  in  ancient  history. 
It  is  said  that  the  stern  of  her  ship  flamed  with  gold,  its  sails  were 
purple,  its  oars  inlaid  with  silver.  Her  pavilion  on  deck  was  of 
golden  cloth,  in  which  she  sat  robed  like  Venus,  surrounded  by  the 
most  beautiful  virgins  of  her  court,  some  representing  the  Nereiades, 
and  others  the  Graces ;  instead  of  trumpets  were  heard  flutes,  haut- 
boys, harps  and  innumerable  instruments,  warbling  the  softest  airs, 
to  which  the  oars  kept  time  and  completed  the  harmony ;  perfumes 
smoked  upon  the  deck;  while  the  banks  of  the  river,  lined  with 
countless  multitudes  of  spectators,  gave  to  the  spectacle  a  brilliancy 
and  pomp  never  surpassed.  The  end  of  this  voyage  was  to  captivate 
the  heart  of  Anthony,  in  which  she  was,  for  him,  alas !  too  successful. 
■She  boasted  to  Anthony  that  she  could  spend  a  million  of  livres  at  a 
single  supper.  This,  indeed,  she  wellnigh  did,  by  snatching  from  one 
of  her  ears  the  costliest  pearl  in  the  world,  worth  about  that  incredible 
sum,  and  casting  it  into  a  cruse  of  vinegar,  dissolved  it,  and  thus 
drank  the  health  of  the  grandson  of  Cicero,  one  of  the  triumvirate 
of  Eome. 

The  Eomans,  indeed,  always  acknowledged  the  mighty  sway  of 
woman.  Faustina,  daughter  of  the  pious  Antonine,  celebrated  for  hei 
beauty  and  gallantries,  so  ruled  her  husband  Marcus,  that  he  not  only 
elevated  her  lovers  to  the  highest  honors,  but  also  so  influenced  the 
Senate  as  to  declare  her  a  goddess,  and,  with  the  attributes  of  Juno, 
Venus  and  Ceres,  to  have  divine  honors  paid  to  her  in  her  temples. 

Julia  Msesa,  by  her  genius  and  her  largesses,  raised  her  grandson, 
the  execrable  Bassianus,  sometimes  called  Antoninias,  but  better  known 
by  the  name  of  Elagabalus,  a  Syrian  by  birth,  first  to  be  the  High- 
Priest  of  the  Sun,  and  next  to  be  the  Emperor  of  Eome.  After  he 
had  careered  the  dark  and  dismal  race  of  every  folly,  and  covered 
himself  with  the  infamy  of  every  monstrous  deed  that  could  disgrace 
humanity,  murdered  by  his  own  indignant  praetorians  and  cast  into  the 
Tiber,  she  still  had  the  address  to  raise  her  second  grandson  by  another 
mother  to  the  imperial  throne ;  and  placed  Alexander  Severus  on  the 
list  of  Eoman  Emperors,  while  his  mother  Mamsea  really  empired 
over  Eome. 

But  lest  we  should  seem  to  draw  from  the  records  of  Pagan  times 
too  many  proofs  of  woman's  ill-fated  empire  over  the  destiny  of  man, 
■before  we  open  the  annals  of  modern  Europe  we  shall  give  another 
and  a  somewhat  difi'erent  picture  of  female  greatness,  in  the  person  of 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


61 


the  Queen  of  Palmyra,  pupil  of  the  Sublime  Longinus,"  well  skilled 
in  the  Latin,  Greek,  Syriac  and  Egyptian  tongues. 

After  avenging  the  murder  of  her  husband,  Zenobia  herself  filled 
the  vacant  throne,  and,  with  the  most  manly  counsel,  governed  Pal- 
myra, Syria  and  the  East  for  five  years.  The  Eoman  Senate  for  a 
time  in  vain  attempted  to  curb  her  power ;  she  repulsed  their  general^ 
and  sent  him  back  to  Kome  alike  denuded  of  his  army  and  his  fame. 
Arabia,  Armenia  and  Persia  solicited  her  alliance.  To  the  dominions 
of  her  husband  by  her  prudence  she  added  the  populous  and  fertile 
kingdom  of  Egypt. 

But  the  Emperor  Aurelian  with  an  immense  army  invaded  Asia,, 
and  decided  the  fortunes  of  the  Queen  of  the  East  in  two  hard-fought 
battles.  Besieged  at  last  in  her  own  beautiful  city  of  Palmyra,  re- 
nowned for  its  splendid  temples,  palaces  and  porticos  of  Grecian 
architecture,  she  was  compelled  to  yield,  not  by  capitulations,  but  by 
flight — she  was  carried  to  Rome  a  splendid  trophy  of  Aurelian's  good 
fortune  and  valor.  On  entering  the  city,  as  Gibbon  relates,  ''the^ 
beauteous  figure  of  Zenobia  was  confined  by  fetters  of  gold,  a  slave 
supported  the  gold  chain  which  encircled  her  neck,  and  she  almost 
fainted  under  the  intolerable  weight  of  jewels.  She  preceded  on  foot 
the  magnificent  chariot  in  which  she  once  hoped  victoriously  to  have 
entered  the  gates  of  Rome."  So  fades  the  glory  of  this  world.  She 
was,  indeed,  treated  honorably  by  the  emperor,  who,  because  of  his 
admiration  of  her  splendid  talents  and  public  virtues,  presented  her 
with  a  beautiful  villa  on  the  bank  of  the  Tiber,  about  twenty  miles 
from  Rome,  where  the  Syrian  queen  insensibly  sunk  into  a  Roman 
matron.  Her  daughters  married  into  noble  families,  and  her  race 
continued  till  the  fifth  century. 

But  what  shall  I  say  of  the  illustrious  women  of  modern  Europe, 
whose  noble  deeds,  whose  splendid  follies,  whose  heroic  achievements, 
whose  mighty  genius  or  whose  public  virtues  have  thrown  a  lustre 
on  almost  all  the  principal  kingdoms  of  Europe  ?  Time  would  fail  me 
to  tell  of  Margaret,  Queen  of  Denmark,  the  Semiramis  of  the  North, 
mistress  of  three  kingdoms — of  Margaret  of  Valois,  mother  of  Henry 
IV.,  an  authoress,  a  poetess,  a  queen — of  another  Margaret,  mother  of 
Henry  VII.,  a  patroness  of  learning,  a  founder  of  two  colleges,  although, 
allied  and  related  to  thirty  kings  and  queens,  who  spent  her  leisure 
hours  not  in  courtly  pastimes,  but  in  translating  from  the  French  suet 
pious  books  as  A  Kempis  on  Imitating  Christ — of  Maria  Theresa,  Em- 
press Queen  of  Hungary,  daughter  of  Charles  VI.,  whose  brillian' 
achievements  and  whose  varied  fortunes  astonished  Europe  for  fortj 


62 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


years — of  her  daughter  Marie  Antoinette,  Archduchess  of  Austria 
and  Queen  of  France,  wife  of  the  unfortunate  Louis.  Voluptuous 
and  criminal,  her  prodigality  and  bad  counsels,  opposing  the  convoca- 
tion of  the  States,  terminated  in  her  own  ruin  and  in  that  of  her 
husband  king,  and  precipitated  the  reign  of  terror — the  triumph  of 
atheism  in  France. 

I  again  repeat,  time  would  fail  me  to  tell  of  the  Catharines  of  France 
and  Russia — the  Elizabeths,  the  Marys,  the  Annes  of  England,  and  a 
thousand  other  noble  and  illustrious  names.  But  I  will  be  asked. 
Why  enumerate  so  many  of  regal  dignity,  of  high  and  elevated  place, 
of  illustrious  fortune,  in  exemplifying  the  power  of  woman?  Because, 
I  answer,  amongst  these  we  have  the  best  educated  of  the  sex — those 
invested  with  the  most  ample  means  of  showing  off  to  adv.antage  the 
leading  attributes  of  female  character,  and  those  whose  deeds  are  best 
known  in  human  history.  How  much  more  familiar  to  the  million  are 
Josephine,  Maria  Louisa,  Anne  Boleyn,  Joan  of  Arc,  Lady  Jane  Grey 
and  the  present  Victoria,  than  females  of  less  conspicuous  station  ! 

To  know  the  force  of  character  of  any  individual,  he  must  be  placed 
in  a  position  on  a  theatre  where  he  has  room  to  act  his  part  fully. 
Few  persons  ever  know  themselves  or  their  most  intimate  friends  and 
relatives,  because  of  the  want  of  opportunity  of  developing  themselves. 
If  a  prophet  foretold  our  future  exploits,  more  than  Hazael  would  ex- 
claim, "  Is  thy  servant  a  dog,  that  he  should  do  such  a  deed?"  One 
reflection  forces  itself  upon  us  while  these  premises  are  present.  Had 
the  females  above  named  enjoyed  as  much  moral  as  intellectual  culture, 
and  been  as  much  under  the  government  of  the  moral  sentiments,  as 
they  were  under  the  control  of  animal  passions,  how  different  from 
what  it  now  is,  might  have  been  the  fortunes  and  the  character  of  the 
world  at  this  hour ! 

But  there  are  four  aspects  which  I  shall  henceforth  call  the  four  car- 
dinal points  of  woman,  in  which  she  must  be  contemplated  before  her 
all-controlling  influence  in  society  can  be  duly  appreciated,  especially 
her  power  of  doing  good.  There  is  no  need  now-a-days  to  talk  of  her 
talents,  nor  of  her  susceptibilities  of  the  most  polished  intellectual  and 
moral  culture.  These  are  no  longer  matters  of  doubtful  disputation. 
Notwithstanding  the  defects  in  her  education,  (and,  till  recently,  they 
were  neither  few  nor  small,)  she  has  not  merely  occasionally,  but  in 
fact  often,  astonished,  dazzled,  delighted  us  with  the  rich  and  varied 
resources  of  her  genius,  the  splendid  efforts  of  her  understanding,  the 
finished  productions  of  her  taste.  She  has  gathered  laurels  on  Mount 
Parnassus  and  wreaths  of  flowers  on  Mount  Helicon.    She  has  sat  in 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


63 


the  cells  of  the  philosophers,  and  walked  in  the  groves  of  the  Acade- 
mies, and  strewed  all  her  paths  with  flowers  of  the  sweetest  odors  and 
of  the  most  beauteous  tints. 

We  need  not  go  back  to  the  days  of  Aspasia,  whose  genius  in  poetry 
and  romance  Socrates  himself,  with  all  his  philosophic  gravity,  could 
'lot  but  admire ;  nor  to  the  time  of  Sappho,  the  poetess  of  Mytilene, 
almost  coeval  with  Eome,  whose  delicious  effusions  and  richly  varied 
odes  obtained  for  her  the  honors  of  the  tenth  muse.  Nor  need  we  call 
ip  the  memory  of  Corinna  and  her  fifty  books  of  epigrams,  to  show 
what  gifts  Pallas,  Apollo  and  Mercury  have  bestowed  on  woman. 
Our  own  times,  alike  removed  from  the  ages  of  superstition  and 
of  romance,  furnish  clearer,  more  striking,  richer  and  more  varied 
examples,  not  merely  of  her  power  to  attain  to  eminence,  but  of  her 
successful  competition  in  general  literature,  science,  and  in  the  fine 
arts  of  poetry,  music,  painting,  and  of  living  well. 

I  need  not  speak  of  the  celebrity  of  Miss  Edgeworth  as  a  writer  of 
moral  tales ;  of  Miss  Baillie  as  a  tragedian ;  of  Madame  de  Stael  as  a 
miscellaneous  writer  of  much  wit  and  vivacity ;  of  Miss  Martineau  as 
a  tourist;  of  Mrs.  Bowdler  as  a  moralist;  and  of  Miss  Sedgwick  as  a 
moral  instructor.  These  are  not  our  best  models  of  female  excellence 
even  in  the  didactic  art.  Nor  need  I  refer  to  the  celebrity  of  Mrs. 
Hemans,  now  commensurate  with  English  literature;  nor  to  that  of 
Mrs.  Sigourney,  commensurate  with  our  own ;  -  nor  to  the  miscella- 
neous and  moral  productions  of  Mrs.  Hannah  More,  or  Miss  Beecher, 
all  excellent  in  their  kind.  These  are  becoming  as  familiar  in  our 
country  as  weekly  visitors  or  household  words.  They,  indeed,  are  all 
honorable  vouchers  of  what  woman  might  be  under  a  more  philosophic, 
rational  and  moral  system  of  education ;  and,  together  with  a  thousand 
names  of  equal  renown,  show  that  the  female  mind  only  needs  the 
proper  appliances  of  good  education  to  shine  with  a  lustre,  on  a 
general  scale,  transcending  far  the  humble  standards  fixed  for  h  in 
ages,  we  hope,  forever  past. 

But  the  four  cardinal  points  in  woman  are  quite  of  a  different  cate- 
gory from  that  of  talents  and  susceptibilities.  These  are  the  points 
of  mighty  influence  from  which  she  radiates  her  powers  over  the 
world.  They  are  those  of  daughter,  sister,  wife  and  mother.  A 
woman  is  first  a  daughter — then  a  sister — then  a  wife — and  then  a 
mother ;  and  under  these  potent  and  enchanting  names  she  exercises 
all  her  transforming  influence  on  human  destiny. 

As  a  daughter,  she  re-acts  on  her  parents ;  she  opens  new  springs 
of  pleasures  in  their  hearts,  new  hopes,  new  joy  a,  new  fears,  which 


64 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


have  a  mystic  influence  over  their  characters ;  either  in  subduing  their 
spirits  to  moral  influences,  or  in  stimulating  their  career  in  the  pathiJ 
of  pride,  avarice  and  ambition. 

As  a  sister,  she  either  softens,  subdues,  mollifies  and  polishes  the 
manners  of  her  brothers ;  or  she  excites  them  to  deeds  of  chivalrous 
daring,  to  bold  adventures  in  the  ways  of  false  pride,  false  shame,  false 
honor.  It  has  been  sometimes  observed  by  those  who  attend  more 
philosophically  to  what  passes  under  their  observation,  that  it  is  always 
a  misfortune  to  a  brotherhood  to  have  no  sister  in  the  family.  Such 
persons  are  generally  more  rude,  more  awkward,  more  unpolished ;  more 
uncivilized  in  their  modes  and  manneris,  than,  all  things  else  being 
equal,  those  fraternities  are  that  enjoy  the  communion  of  sisters — 

"Whose  company  has  harmonized  mankind, 
Soften'd  the  rude  and  calm'd  the  boisterous  mind," 

As  a  wife,  when  properly  educated,  her  power  is  not  to  be  computed. 
The  weaker  vessel  though  she  may  be,  in  all  that  appertains  to  mere 
intellectual  power;  yet  in  the  department  of  feeling,  sensitiveness, 
promptness,  decision,  tenderness  of  affection  and  self-denying  devotion 
to  her  husband,  she  is  generally  his  superior.  Her  counsels,  if  not 
uniformly  infallible,  are  always  sincere  and  cordial.  Her  motives  can 
never  be  suspected,  though  her  wisdom  may;  one,  too,  so  intimately 
acquainted  with  his  weak  as  well  as  his  strong  side,  (for  most  husbands 
have  two  sides,)  cannot  fail  to  obtain  incalculable  ascendency.  There  is 
no  covenant  like  the  nuptial  covenant — no  copartnery  like  the  oneness  of 
the  matrimonial  contract.  It  is  the  identification  of  all  the  temporalities 
of  two  persons  for  life — an  amalgamation  of  all  natural  interests,  which 
places  the  parties  in  a  position  supremely  to  influence  one  another.  But 
the  recondite  secret  of  a  wife's  power  is  only  found  in  the  superiority  of 
her  love.  She  conquers  and  reigns  by  love.  Therefore,  in  the  ratio  of 
her  affections  and  her  good  sense  there  must  ever  be  her  ascendency. 

As  a  mother,  however,  her  power  is  paramount.  On  that  throne  she 
is  supreme.  The  whole  world  is  in  her  hands,  in  her  arms,  in  her 
bosom,  while  she  is  intrusted  with  the  moulding  of  the  soft  clay  of 
humanity,  and  forming  it  after  her  own  image.  The  discreet  and 
affectionate  mother  lives  forever  in  the  heart  of  her  children.  They 
never  can  throw  off  all  their  allegiance  to  her,  nor  rise  above  her 
sovereign  sway,  if  indeed  she  only  knows  how  to  wield  that  potent 
sceptre  which  the  God  of  nature  has  put  into  her  hands. 

I  believe  there  never  was  a  man  both  good  and  great,  that  adorned 
with  brilliant  virtues  our  fallen  race,  that  did  not  owe  it  to  his  mother. 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


65 


Her  wisdom,  her  piety,  her  example,  led  him  into  the  straight  paths 
of  true  wisdom,  goodness  and  greatness,  else  his  feet  had  not  found 
them.  So  true  it  is,  that  if  a  child  be  brought  up  in  the  way  that  he 
should  go,  he  will  not  in  advanced  years  desert  it,  that  it  became  a 
proverb  in  Israel  three  thousand  years  ago ;  and  who  can  find  in  the 
annals  of  ancient  or  modern  biography  an  exception  to  it,  or  a  person 
of  distinguished  excellence  who  had  not  an  excellent  mother  ? 

Ladies  and  gentlemen,  this  is  just  the  point  in  which  we  can  de- 
monstrate woman's  power  to  do  good  in  society.  I  doubt  not  you  were 
disappointed  when  I  was  instancing,  by  some  names  illustrious  in 
history,  her  power  of  doing  evil,  that  I  did  not  at  least  balance  the 
account  by  giving  more  bright  examples  of  her  power  to  bless  and  to 
do  good.  The  reason,  you  will  soon  discover,  is,  I  was  not  then  in  the 
proper  place  to  find  such  examples.  Woman  was  not  made  to  found 
cities  and  empires,  to  command  armies  and  navies,  to  enter  the  arena 
of  political  strife,  to  figure  in  camps,  in  tilts  and  tournaments,  to 
mingle  in  the  intrigues  and  cabals  of  kings  and  courts.  She  was  made 
for  other  ends,  to  move  in  other  circles,  and  to  exert  an  influence  more 
pure,  more  powerful,  more  lasting.  She  was  made  to  have  an  empire 
in  the  heart  of  man,  and  to  wield  a  mild  and  gracious  sceptre  over  the 
moral  destinies  of  our  race.  Hence  the  domestic  circle  is  the  area  of 
which  she  is  the  power,  the  light,  the  life,  the  glory.  But  though  this 
circle  be  small,  it  has  a  paramount  sway  over  every  other  circle 
in  which  man  lives  and  moves.  Hence  the  family  institution  gives 
laws  to  the  school,  the  college,  the  university,  the  church,  the  state, 
the  world.  And  so  it  comes  to  pass  that  woman's  power  is  confined 
within  this  narrow  circle  that  it  might  be  the  more  concentrated  and 
rebound  with  more  force  on  all  the  interests  of  humanity. 

And  here,  while  we  have  the  four  cardinal  points  of  woman's  true 
and  proper  sphere  before  us,  and  are  dwelling  on  the  last  and  para- 
mount of  these,  her  power  as  a  mother,  it  will  not  be  difficult  or  tedious 
to  demonstrate  her  illimitable  power  of  doing  good.  The  giving  to  the 
world  a  Moses,  a  Samuel,  a  David,  a  Josiah,  a  Luther,  a  Franklin,  a 
Washington,  is  doing  more  than  did  all  the  Pharaohs,  the  Ptolemies, 
the  Alexanders,  the  Caesars,  the  Gregories,  the  Bourbons,  the  Tudors, 
the  Stuart-s,  the  Hanoverians,  the  Guelphs,  the  Napoleons,  that  ever 
lived.  There  is  no  power  in  numbers  nor  in  mathematics  to  compute 
the  amount  of  good  eff'ected  by  a  Luther  or  a  Washington.  Not 
Saxony  only,  but  Germany,  Switzerland,  Holland,  England,  Europe, 
America,  the  world,  temporally,  spiritually  and  eternally,  have  been 
advantaged  by  the  deeds  of  Luther.    The  annals  of  eternity  alono 

5 


66 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


can  unfold  all  the  good  effects  of  the  life  of  that  reformer.  And 
yet  a  single  bias  given  by  his  mother  may  have  been,  and  doubtless 
was,  the  fountain,  the  mainspring  of  all  this  incalculable  series  of 
advantages  to  our  race  !  Is  not  the  mother  of  our  own  Washington  the 
root  and  origin  of  all  the  blessings,  civil  and  social,  accruing  to  this 
country  and  to  the  human  race  for  an  indefinite  series  of  ages  ?  When, 
like  the  pious  Hannah,  a  mother  undertakes  to  train  a  child  for  the 
Lord  and  the  human  race,  and  brings  him  up  in  the  tabern-acles  of 
piety,  she  aims  at  a  power  of  doing  good  that  reaches  far  beyond  the 
landmarks  of  time — she  may  anoint  the  head  and  the  heart  of  more 
kings  than  did  the  son  of  Hannah,  and  with  a  holier  and  more  fragrant 
oil  than  that  which  from  the  prophet's  horn  was  poured  upon  the 
head  of  Saul,  or  on  that  of  the  son  of  Jesse.  There  is  no  decree  which 
saith  to  woman's  sway,  either  as  a  daughter,  a  sister,  a  wife  or  a 
mother,  as  God  hath  spoken  to  the  waves  of  the  sea,  Hitherto  shalt 
thou  come,  and  no  farther,  and  here  let  all  thy  efforts  be  stayed."  No, 
thank  Heaven's  eternal  King,  there  is  no  limit  set  to  her  power.  It 
may  be  temporal,  spiritual,  eternal.  If  woman  has  vanquished  Samson 
the  strongest  of  men,  Solomon  the  wisest  of  men,  and  Adam  the  greatest 
of  men,  she  has  been  made  the  mother  of  the  Saviour  of  men,  and  may, 
through  the  religion  of  her  Son  and  of  her  Lord,  exert  a  transcendent 
power  over  the  destiny  of  man.  She  may  bless  a  family,  a  nation,  a 
generation,  a  world — not  only  for  a  jubilee,  an  age,  a  few  centuries, 
but  forever  and  forever. 

But  I  said  something  of  the  Bible  in  her  heart  and  in  her  hand,  as 
next  to  her,  or  in  conjunction  with  her,  the  mightiest  and  best  means 
of  civilizing,  refining,  elevating  and  ennobling  human  nature.  I  pre- 
sume so  much  upon  the  intelligence  and  good  taste  of  my  audience, 
as  not  to  have  allotted  much  space  or  time  to  the  elucidation  of  this 
point. 

It  is  certainly  well  known  to  you,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  that  women 
are  more  susceptible  of  religious  impressions  than  men.  All  classic, 
all  Pagan,  all  political,  all  sacred  history,  may  be  appealed  to  in  proof 
that  female  piety  is  larger  in  quantity  as  well  as  of  a  finer  quality  than 
that  of  man.  Woman  figures  more  eminently  in  all  the  walks  of  piety 
in  New  Testament  history.  Not  only  in  the  days  of  the  Christian 
chief  were  women  most  ardent  in  their  attachment  to  him,  more 
devoted  in  all  their  attentions  to  him,  waiting  upon  his  person,  minis- 
tering to  his  wants — ''last  at  the  cross  and  earliest  at  his  grave but 
after  his  resurrection  they  rallied  in  greater  numbers  to  his  cause, 
embraced  it  with  warmer  affections,  endured  persecution  with  greater 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


67 


constancy,  often  courting  rather  than  shunning  the  pains  of  martyrdom. 
There  is  everywhere  at  this  moment  a  preponderating  amount  of  female 
devotion,  and  a  very  striking  numerical  superiority  of  female  com- 
municants at  all  the  altars  in  our  land. 

The  reason  of  this  is  found  in  the  superior  sensitiveness  of  woman — 
in  the  delicacy  of  all  her  susceptibilities  of  moral  influence — and  in  her 
seclusion  from  the  corrupting  influences,  the  collisions,  the  revelries 
and  jarring  interests  of  a  commercial,  political  and  worldly  spirit. 
As  some  one  has  -very  beautifully  said,  ''The  current  of  female  exist- 
ence runs  more  within  the  embankments  of  home."  But  home  is  the 
centre  and  the  throne  of  the  sanctities  as  well  as  of  the  charities  of 
life.  The  duties  of  a  mother  or  of  the  mistress  of  a  family  all  tend 
to  piety  by  warming  and  softening  the  intellect  and  the  affections. 
Women,  therefore,  are  usually  the  appointed  guardians  of  domestic 
leligion.  They  are  removed  at  a  more  salutary  distance  from  the 
stirring  business,  from  the  ambitions  that  engross  the  heart  of  man  and 
the  passions  that  devour  it,  and  the  undeviating  processes  which  fix 
upon  it  day  by  day  a  thicker  and  a  thicker  crust  of  icy  selfishness. 

Add  to  this,  women  need  more  of  the  comforts  of  religion,  depend 
more  upon  its  aid,  confide  more  in  its  protection,  and  derive  from  it 
more  of  their  real  charms  and  loveliness  than  from  any  other  source 
whatever.  A  pious  lady,  well  educated,  (and  none  are  well  educated 
that  are  not  pious,  that  do  not  fear  Grod  and  keep  his  commandments,) 
has  a  power  above  every  other  female  of  the  same  circumstances,  of 
the  same  personal  accomplishments,  not  only  over  the  good  and  ex- 
cellent, but  even  over  the  irreligious  themselves.  Many  irreligious, 
and  even  profane  men,  cannot  love  a  woman  without  religion.  When 
they  think  of  marrying,  they  always  think  of  a  pure,  and  virtuous,  and 
religious  woman.  Such  only  they  regard  as  a  crown  of  glory  and 
honor ;  and  only  under  the  presidency  of  such  a  wife,  and  mother, 
and  mistress  of  a  house  would  they  dare  to  commit  the  destinies  of 
a  family.  It  is,  indeed,  a  noble  testimony  to  religion,  that  not  only 
good  men,  but  bad  men  themselves,  acknowledge  its  excellency  and 
prefer  an  alliance  with  its  friends  rather  than  with  those  who  are 
destitute  of  its  ornaments  and  guardianship,  or  opposed  to  its  purity 
and  power. 

Religion  is,  then,  the  true  dignity  of  woman.  The  Bible  in  her 
heart,  on  her  lips,  and  in  her  hand,  imparts  to  her  an  excellency, 
a  majesty  and  a  power  that  renders  her  the  most  efficient  of  all  the 
agencies  in  the  universe,  to  improve,  to  civilize  and  bless  the  world 
with  the  highest  moral  excellence,  with  the  most  refined  and  exalted 


68 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


social  pleasures  of  which  our  species  is  susceptible  in  this  state  of  trial 
and  discipline. 

I  have  said  the  Bible  in  her  heart,  and  have  I  exaggerated  the  influ- 
ence of  that  wonderful  volume  when  inscribed  upon  the  female  heart  ? 
This  I  presume  to  be  impossible.  There  is  no  hyperbole  here.  That 
book  widens,  deepens,  enlarges,  strengthens  and  elevates  the  intellectual 
and  moral  capacities  of  human  nature,  of  the  male  and  female  mind, 
above  all  other  books,  and  sciences,  and  arts  ever  taught  man  or 
woman.  The  fact  is  one  thing,  and  the  philosophy  of  it  another.  But 
so  clear  is  the  evidence  of  the  fact,  that  the  destiny  of  a  nation  might 
be  staked  upon  it.  Let  two  females  of  equal  natural  development,  of 
equal  capacity  for  mental  and  moral  improvement,  be  selected ;  let  one 
of  them  have  the  Alexandrian  or  London  library  at  her  command, 
without  the  Bible ;  and  the  other  the  Bible  only  ;  and  let  each  of  them 
devote  for  any  definite  number  of  years  so  many  hours,  daily,  to  read- 
ing and  reflection.  She  who  makes  the  Bible  her  choice  will  as  cer- 
tainly excel  the  other  in  all  the  points  of  which  we  liow  speak,  as  the 
Bible  itself  excels  all  other  books  in  the  world :  provided  only,  that 
she  reads  it  without  prejudice,  "and  subject  to  the  same  canons  of  inter- 
pretation to  which  all  other  books  of  distant  ages  and  countries  are  to 
be  subordinated. 

We  have  now  no  time  on  hand  to  eulogize  the  book  of  God ;  nor  is  it 
necessary  to  this  audience.  It  is  a  very  common  theme.  It  is,  how- 
ever, a  noble — a  sublime  one.  It  might  well  occupy  the  talents  of  an 
angel — the  descriptive  powers  of  a  cherub.  It  is  the  book  of  the 
Divine  nature ;  it  is,  indeed,  the  book  of  God — and  the  book  of  man. 
Other  books  have  nations  or  individual  men,  or  specific  sciences  or  arts, 
for  their  subject;  this  is  the  book  of  man.  Human  nature  is  here  as 
fully  revealed  as  the  Divine.  They  are  revealed  in  comparison,  in  con- 
trast, in  things  similar,  in  things  dissimilar.  The  fountains  of  the 
great  deep  of  human  thought,  of  human  motives,  of  human  action,  are 
broken  up ;  and  man,  inward  and  outward,  is  contemplated  not  in  the 
dim  taper  light  of  time,  but  in  the  strong  bright  light  of  eternity ;  not 
merely  as  respects  his  position  on  the  terraqueous  globe,  nor  in  human 
society,  but  as  resj  octs  all  his  positions  and  attributes  in  a  whole 
universe,  a  boundless  future,  a  vast  eternity.  The  speaker  is  God;  the 
hearer,  man ;  the  subject,  human  nature,  human  relations,  human  des- 
tiny; the  object,  eternal  life,  immortal  glory. 

The  divine  mind,  the  eternal  Spirit,  breathes  through  the  signs  of 
that  book — through  its  words,  its  types,  its  figures,  its  principles,  its 
precepts,  its  examples — upon  our  moral  nature.  It  quiciiens,  animates, 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


69 


Durifies,  enlaiges,  elevates,  and  dignifies  it  by  an  assimilation  of  it  to 
an  incarnation  of  the  Divinity  itself ;  and  capacitates  man  and  woman 
for  higher  joys,  purer  delights,  and  a  more  efficient  agency  in  impart- 
ing bliss  to  others,  than  all  the  documents,  volumes,  facts  and  events 
in  all  the  other  records  of  man,  or  developments  of  God  visible  to 
mortal  eye.  But  I  said  I  intended  neither  comment  nor  encomium  on 
the  Bible :  I  therefore  hasten  to  the  capital  and  closing  point  of  my 
address. 

Society  is  not  yet  fully  civilized.  It  is  only  beginning  to  be.  Things 
are  in  process,  in  progress  to  another  age — a  golden — a  millennial — a 
blissful  period  in  human  history.  Selfishness,  violence,  inordinate  am- 
oition,  revenge,  duelling,  even  tyranny,  oppression  and  cruelty,  are  yet 
exerting  a  pernicious  influence  in  society.  These  are  the  real  draw- 
backs on  human  happiness — the  loud  calls  on  genuine  philanthropy. 
Woman,  I  believe,  is  destined  to  be  the  great  agent  in  this  grandest  of 
•oil  human  enterprises — an  efibrt  to  advance  society  to  the  acme  of  its 
most  glorious  destiny  on  earth. 

Already'  she  exerts  a  great  influence  in  all  works  of  benevolence.  In 
the  visiting  societies,  in  quest  of  the  destitute,  the  sick,  the  wounded, 
the  miserable — in  the  labors  of  the  Sunday-school — in  the  active  and 
constant  charities  of  the  Christian  church,  her  reputation  is  commen- 
surate with  the  institutions  themselves,  and  her  influence  is  universally 
acknowledged.  These,  too,  are  acts  of  eternal  renown.  The  great 
Benefactor  gave  a  fame  lasting  as  time  and  the  human  race  to  the  sister 
of  Martha  for  such  an  act  of  love.  Such  ladies  as  Mrs.  Chaupone,  Mrs. 
Trimmer,  Mrs.  Carter,  Mrs.  Barbauld,  Mrs.  Hannah  More,  Mrs.  He- 
mans,  &c.,  have  an  extensive  fame  and  an  extensive  usefulness;  but  the 
space  which  they  occupy  is  but  a  speck  compared  with  that  filled  with 
the  Mary  that  anointed  the  Lord  for  his  sepulture.  The  labors  of  Mrs. 
Fry,  or  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  are  not  those  of  genius,  poetry, 
imagination,  but  of  genuine  benevolence.  It  is  not  the  shedding  of  a 
few  sympathetic  tears  over  some  high- wrought  imaginative  tale  of  woe, 
found  in  books  of  fiction,  in  the  volumes  of  romance,  but  the  pouring 
of  the  oil  and  the  wine,  the  genuine  tears  of  benevolence,  into  the  real 
wounds  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  anguish,  that  is  inscribed  in  the 
book  of  Heaven's  heraldry,  and  to  be  divulged  in  celestial  ears  with 
angelic  admiration  and  delight. 

But  we  ask,  because  we  expect,  more  than  this.  We  ask  for  a  female 
cordon  to  stretch  through  the  whole  length  of  this  land,  against  the 
appalling  progress  of  fashionable  vices,  not  merely  against  the  luxurious 
extravagances  of  costly  raiment,  splendid  furniture  and  sumptuous 


70 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


modes  of  living,  which  in  themselves  are  great  evils,  and  fast  precipi- 
tating this  nation  against  that  fatal  rock  on  which  the  proudest  empires 
have  been  dashed  to  pieces ;  but  against  the  remains  of  barbarism  still 
existing  amongst  us — duelling,  revenge,  \;^iolence,  oppression,  &c. 

Am  I  interrogated  on  what  J  mean  by  a  female  cordon  ?  I  answer, 
that  all  ladies  of  education,  of  elevated  standing,  of  moral  excellence, 
shall,  with  one  consent,  frown  from  their  presence  those  who  delight 
in  such  deeds — who  either  perpetrate  them,  or  take  pleasure  in  those 
that  do  them ;  that  they  show  a  profound  veneration  for  the  philan- 
thropic Author  of  our  religion,  who  has  peremptorily,  and  on  pain  of 
eternal  ruin,  forbidden  all  malice,  violence,  revenge,  cruelty,  murder 
and  oppression. 

They  can  do  more  than  all  legislative  enactments,  than  all  human 
codes  and  punishments,  to  exterminate  these  horrible  remains  of  savage 
paganism,  so  incongruous  with  the  doctrine  and  principles  of  the  Prince 
of  Peace.  Were  it,  for  example,  to  be  known  and  depended  upon,  as 
certain  as  death,  that  every  one  concerned  in  a  duel  was  to  be  enrolled 
as  a  coward — as  one  that  feared  a  whimsical,  imaginative,  unwritten, 
unintelligible  code  of  honor,  more  than  the  laws  of  the  eternal  God — 
as  one  that  dreaded  the  scorn  of  the  wicked  more  than  the  scorn  of  all 
in  the  heavens,  was  to  be  debarred  the  company  of  ladies,  and  to  be 
excluded  from  the  participation  of  their  smiles,  I  am  confident  that  we 
should  never  again  hear  of  a  single  rencounter  of  the  sort,  that  the  soil 
of  such  a  community  would  not  again  be  polluted  by  the  tread  of  one 
that  in  time  of  peace  had  passionately,  revengefully  and  recklessjy  shed 
the  blood  of  his  brother. 

But  before  such  consolidated  virtue  can  be  warrantably  hoped  for, 
the  standard  of  female  education  must  be  greatly  elevated  and  im- 
proved. Incomparably  more  attention,  than  at  present,  must  be  paid 
to  the  training  and  development  of  the  moral  sentiments.  The  heart, 
rather  than  the  head,  the  affections,  rather  than  the  intellect,  must  be 
the  centre  of  the  whole  circle  of  education,  on  which  must  operate  all 
the  scholastic  forces  from  the  lessons  of  the  nursery  up  to  those  of  the 
sage  philosopher.  The  dignity  of  human  nature,  its  sublime  origin,  its 
godlike  organization,  its  magnificent  and  glorious  destiny,  its  mysterious 
and  spiritual  relations  to  an  immense  universe,  to  high  orders  of  intel- 
ligences, to  the  principalities,  authorities  and  hierarchies  of  the  heavens, 
must  be  standing  topics  in  the  every-day  bill  of  intellectual  and  moral 
fare,  from  the  abecedarian  up  to  the  seniors  of  the  highest  school  in  the 
land. 

Every  subject,  every  object  of  thought  in  all  the  regions  of  mind  and 


AMELIOEATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


71 


matter,  in  literature,  science  and  art,  must  be  laid  under  tribute  to 
religion  and  morality.  If  there  be  design,  utility,  beauty,  loveliness, 
apparent  in  any  thing,  it  must  be  traced  up  to  the  eternal  Source  of  all 
wisdom,  goodness,  beauty  and  loveliness,  and  made  a  text  to  show 
forth  his  infinite  excellencies  to  the  opening  genius  of  the  youthful 
inquirer.  Every  thing  must  be  taught  and  learned  in  all  its  connections 
with  the  being,  perfections  and  designs  of  the  Creator.  The  arche- 
types of  the  universe  must  be  found  in  his  infinite  and  eternal  intelli- 
gence, and .  every  beauty,  melody  and  harmony  in  nature  and  society, 
must  be  made  to  engage  the  afifections  more  and  more  to  him — "  Him 
first,  him  last,  him  midst  and  without  end all  nature,  science,  art  and 
learning,  must  be  made  to  reveal  and  extol.  This  course  will,  under 
the  dews,  the  rains  and  the  sunshine  of  heavenly  and  divine  influence, 
secure  the  heart  to  all  that  is  good,  and  honorable,  and  excellent  in 
earth  and  heaven. 

Finally,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  be  it  remembered  that  it  is  only  when 
woman  is  viewed  in  her  first  cardinal  point,  that  she  is  within  the 
circle  of  direct  didactic  influence.  It  is  only  as  a  daughter  that  she  is 
immediately  under  parental  education  and  discipline.  She  must,  while 
only  sustaining  this  position  to  the  family,  be  made  to  comprehend  all 
that  is  indicated  in  that  very  dear  and  interesting  title.  But  for  our 
consolation  it  ought  to  be  distinctly  and  emphatically  stated,  that  when 
a  daughter  is  so  trained  and  educated  as  to  understand  all  that  is 
implied  in  filling  up  the  whole  measure  of  the  duties  of  a  daughter,  she 
is  an  accomplished  sister,  will  make  a  good  wife,  an  excellent  mother. 
A  good  daughter  must  inevitably  be  a  good  sister,  a  good  wife,  a  good 
mother.  If,  then,  proper  care  be  taken  of  our  daughters,  and  their 
education  be  conducted  on  rational  and  moral  principles,  no  person  need 
fear  to  endorse  for  the  reputation,  excellency  and  moral  worth  of  the 
sister,  the  wife  or  the  mother. 

Who  is  it,  then,  who  desires  a  deep  and  more  thorough  reformation 
of  public  manners  and  customs,  or  who  is  it  that  seeks  for  social 
pleasures  of  the  highest  earthly  order,  and  would  advance  the  ameliora- 
tion of  the  social  state  to  the  highest  point  within  the  grasp  of  rational 
or  religious  anticipation  ?  Let  him  turn  his  attention  to  more  rational, 
scientific,  liberal  and  moral  education  of  woman.  Let  him  bear  in 
mind  that  she  must  take  the  precedence  as  the  most  puissant  leader  in 
every  work  of  moral  reform  in  society.  Hers  is  the  delightful  task,  as 
well  as  the  sovereign  power,  to  mould  human  nature  after  a  divine 
model.  She  sows  the  seed,  she  plants  the  germs  of  human  goodness 
and  human  greatness.    She  infixes  the  generous  purpose,  the  salutary 


72 


AMELIORATION  OF  THE  SOCIAL  STATE. 


and  noble  principles  in  tlie  youthful  heart.  She  makes  the  men  and 
women  of  future  times,  and  shapes  the  character  and  destinies  of  pos- 
terity even  to  the  t^ird,  and  to  the  fourth,  and  sometimes  to  the  tenth 
generation.  Ought  not,  then,  every  patriot,  every  philanthropist,  every 
good  citizen,  every  Christian  in  the  land  to  rally  all  his  forces,  to 
summon  all  his  energies,  to  co-operate  in  the  great  cause  of  female 
education?  It  is  not  the  education  of  the  daughters  of  the  affluent  and 
honorable  only,  or  chiefly,  of  which  we  speak — it  is  the  education  of  all 
— it  is  common,  it  is  universal  female  education,  and  to  a  more  liberal 
extent  than  has  yet  been  imagined — for  which  we  speak,  when  we  plead 
for  that  female  education  indispensable  to  the  full  and  proper  ameliora- 
tion of  the  social  state. 

Individual,  family  or  national  wealth  never  can  be  more  advanta- 
geously appropriated,  than  in  the  mental  and  moral  education  of  all  the 
sons  and  daughters  oi  the  States.  We  owe  it,  then,  to  ourselves,  to 
our  children,  to  our  country,  to  the  world,  to  bestir  ourselves  in  this 
most  useful,  honorable  and  beneficent  of  mortal  undertakings.  Let 
us,  then,  awaken  to  our  responsibilities,  and  to  our  power  of  blessing 
others,  and  of  being  blessed,  and  place  our  energies  and  our  influence, 
along  with  our  other  means,  on  the  side  of  woman's  high  advancement 
in  all  the  paths  of  literature  and  science,  of  religion  and  morality. 
Then  must  we  greatly  enhance  and  sweeten  the  charms  of  home — of 
the  social  hearth — the  domestic  circle — the  city — the  church — the 
world.  Then  may  we  anticipate  a  day  of  richer  blessings,  of  purer 
pleasures,  of  more  lasting  joys  to  the  human  race ;  and,  on  the  weU- 
fledged  wings  of  vigorous  and  healthful  hope,  we  may  glide  down  the 
whole  vista  of  time,  to  those  eternal  scenes  of  holier  delight,  of  more 
refined  ecstasy,  which  fill  the  raptured  vision  of  the  saint,  in  those 
climes  of  eternal  peace  and  social  bliss,  where  every  eye  is  filled  with 
uncreated  light,  and  every  heart  witn  love. 


ADDRESS 

ON  THE 

RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 

TO  THE 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  UNION  LITERARY  SOCIETY  OF 
MIAMI  UNIVERSITY,  OHIO,  1844. 


Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen, 

Members  of  the  Union  Literary  Society  of  Miami  University : — 

Soon  as  I  had  obtained  my  own  consent  to  appear  before  you  on  tbe 
present  occasion,  in  pursuance  of  the  very  polite  and  flattering  invi- 
tation I  had  received  from  you,  I  immediately  laid  all  my  powers  of 
invention  under  tribute  to  furnish  a  subject  worthy  of  your  attention. 
But,  to  my  great  disappointment,  I  never  knew  them  pay  any  tax  im- 
posed upon  them  with  so  much. reluctance.  Weeks  passed  away  before 
I  could  even  fix  upon  any  topic;  and  after  I  had  resolved  upon  one, 
new,  unexpected  and  inexorable  calls  upon  my  time  and  labor,  so 
crowded  upon  me  as  to  leave  but  a  few  fragments  to  devote  to  a  subject 
which,  in  my  humble  opinion,  deserves  a  year  rather  than  a  few  hours, 
and  a  volume  rather  than  a  single  address. 

Accustomed  only  to  read  what  is  written,  or  to  speak  extempora- 
neously, and  not  at  all  to  recite  from  memory,  I  have  sketched  a  few 
thoughts  upon  the  responsibilities  of  men  of  genius  ;  which,  with- 
out further  introduction  or  apology,  I  now  submit  to  your  most  kind 
and  candid  consideration. 

Human  responsibility,  gentlemen,  is  a  momentous  theme,  and  of 
transcendent  importance  to  the  world.  In  the  amplitude  of  its  com- 
prehension it  contemplates  man  in  every  power  and  capacity  of  his 
nature,  and  in  all  the  conditions  of  his  existence.  It  views  him  in  all 
his  relations  to  that  mysterious  and  incomprehensible  whole,  of  which 
he  is  so  important  a  part,  indicated  by  the  all-engrossing  terms  of 
Creator  and  creature.  A  complete  and  perfect  knowledge  of  the  subject, 
were  it  made  dependent  upon  our  own  exertions,  would  require  an  in- 
umate  and  perfect  acquaintance  with  the  universe.    But  in  this  it  may 


74 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


be  said  to  correspond  with  every  other  subject  of  thought;  as  no  one 
ever  yet  understood  an  atom  of  the  universe  who  did  not  understand  it 
all.  We  are  not,  however,  made  dependent  for  the  science  of  our  duty 
upon  our  ability  to  acquire  a  knowledge  that  is  wholly  unattainable. 
The  divine  precept  happily  comes  to  our  relief,  and  rescues  man  from  a 
difficulty  absolutely  insurmountable. 

Men,  indeed,  are  not  generally  satisfied  with  a  clear,  broad  precept. 
They  are  curious  to  know  the  reason  why  it  is  so  commanded.  This 
they  have  not,  in  any  case,  perfectly  succeeded  in  ascertaining;  and,  in 
most  instances,  never  can.  Still  it  is  some  satisfaction  to  know  any  of 
the  reasons,  and  to  comprehend  the  more  immediate  causes  of  things, 
involving  either  duty  or  happiness.  Hence  the  pleasure  felt  in  an 
excursion  into  the  regions  of  fancy  and  abstract  speculation,  even  on 
the  most  familiar  subjects.  There  is  sometimes  a  very  great  satisfaction 
in  discovering  an  end  of  all  human  attainments,  and  in  perceiving  that 
there  is  a  fixed  goal  beyond  which  even  imagination  itself  cannot 
stretch  its  wings. 

Still  reason  has  something  to  do  with  the  ascertainment  and  com- 
prehension of  human  responsibility;  and  it  is  important  just  to  know 
how  much  lies  within  its  lawful  precincts,  and  what  lies  beyond  them. 
But  even  this  view  of  the  subject  is  too  large  for  the  present  occasion; 
and  we  have  therefore  confined  our  efibrts  to  a  single  branch  of  the 
mighty  theme — viz.  the  responsibilities  of  men  of  genius. 

I  do  not,  however,  expect  to  escape  the  difficulties  which  lie  upon 
the  whole  subject  of  human  responsibility,  by  asking  your  special 
attention  to  a  single  branch  of  it.  This  special  department  cannot, 
indeed,  be  considered  without  a  general  view  of  the  whole  subject.  We 
must  have  just,  if  not  adequate,  conceptions  of  the  responsibilities  of 
man,  before  we  can  form  a  correct  estimate  of  the  responsibilities  of  a 
particular  class  of  men.  But  as  it  is  my  aim  to  give  a  proper  direction, 
if  need  be,  to  a  particular  class  of  mind,  I  prefer  to  solicit  your  atten- 
tion, gentlemen,  to  this  very  prominent  branch  of  the  great  subject. 

And,  in  the  first  place,  it  would,  in  accordance  with  well-established 
usage,  seem  to  be  incumbent  on  me  to  define  a  man  of  genius,  as  well 
as  our  acceptation  of  the  term  responsibility.  When  not  in  a  very 
great  haste  to  arrive  at  a  given  point,  or  when  in  quest  of  entertain- 
ment as  well  as  of  business,  I  sometimes  indulge  in  a  circuitous  rather 
than  in  a  direct  approach  to  the  precise  point  in  hand. 

Allow  me,  then,  to  remark  that  the  development  of  genius  as  well  as 
of  responsibility,  has  much  to  do  with  the  proper  comprehension  of 
that  irost  mysterious  and  sublime  something  called  mind.   I  speak  not  ^ 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


75 


of  its  essence.  The  whole  doctrine  of  essences,  whether  of  mind  or 
of  matter,  is  contraband  in  every  province  of  legitimate  philosophy. 
No  sane  person,  trained  in  the  schools  of  useful  learning,  in  this  our 
age  of  reason,  presumes  to  scan  any  essence  or  quintessence  whatever. 
The  doctrine  of  the  fifth  essence  is  now-a-days  not  more  ridiculous  than 
the  doctrine  of  the  first  essence.  If  at  any  time  we  should  be  seized 
with  a  fit  of  the  Muses,  we  might  with  Milton  sing  of 

"Ethereal  light,  quintessence  pure, 
Sprung  from  the  deep." 

Or,  if  wrapt  in  the  visions  of  an  hypothetical  philosophy,  we  might, 
with  the  genius  of  Stagy ra,  speculate  upon  "  the  quintessential  purity 
of  a  heavenly  body  immutable."  But  this  matter-of-fact  inductive  age 
disdains  such  idle  dreams,  and  repudiates  the  ideas  and  almost  the 
name  of  essence  and  of  quintessence,  with  all  the  retinue  of  imaginative 
properties,  accidents  and  ends.  The  rigid  Baconians,  to  a  man,  are 
willing  to  acknowledge  that  there  are  three  topics,  once  the  darling 
themes  of  all  the  sons  of  hypothesis,  which  now  lie  beyond  the  limits 
of  true  philosophy.  These  are  the  origin,  the  essence  and  the  end  of 
any  thing,  mental  or  material. 

The  phenomena  of  mind  and  of  matter  come  honorably  and  fairly 
within  the  empire  of  observation  and  of  reason.  Many  of  their  attri- 
butes we  can  and  do  apprehend,  while  their  essences  will  forever  remain  a 
terra  incognita — a  subject  so  metaphysically  abstruse  that  no  mind  can 
grasp  it  in  any  one  of  its  predicaments.  The  mind,  indeed,  may  seize  • 
any. thing  as  gross  as  ether,  or  the  subtle  fluids  that  roll  their  invisible 
currents  through  the  channels  of  a  vein  infinitely  minute;  but  the 
sanctum  sanctorum  of  its  own  awful  residence  is  not  to  be  approached, 
much  less  entered,  by  the  ablest,  the  most  profound  and  erudite  of 
human  kind.  Its  capacity  and  elasticity  are,  indeed,  appreciable  by 
those  who  attentively  consider  its  operations.  It  grasps  a  universe,, 
and  yet  may  be  filled  with  a  single  idea.  Like  the  human  eye,  at  one 
time  it  seizes  a  hemisphere,  and  at  another  it  sees  only  a  single  animal- 
cule. Its  spirituality  is  demonstrated  by  the  celerity  and  compass  of 
its  movements.  When  we  spread  out  upon  the  largest  canvas  which 
the  most  vigorous  imagination  has  stretched,  a  universe  composed  of 
one  hundred  millions  of  suns  and  two  thousand  millions  of  attending 
planets,  moving  in  orbits  wide  as  those  that  fill  the  area  of  our  solar 
system,  the  mind  finds  no  difficulty  in  sweeping  the  uttermost  circle  of 
such  a  universe,  and  of  still  ranging  through  fields  of  space  far  beyond 
its  precincts,  from  which  subtracted,  the  existing  universe  would  seem 
to  be  but  an  atom. 


76 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


But  the  celerity  of  its  movement  is  no  less  wonderful  than  tK. 
almost  illimitable  extent  of  its  comprehension.  Light  itself,  tha*> 
bounds  eight  millions  of  miles  in  a  minute,  moves  as  the  sloth,  com- 
pared with  the  speed  of  its  flight."  Infinite  duration  and  boundless 
space  are  the  immense  fields  through  which  it  gambols  with  inefi'able 
pleasure.  Nor  do  the  unapproachable  heights  or  the  unfathomable 
depths  of  nature  lie  beyond  its  sublime  aspirations.  These  indeed, 
though  beyond  an  angel's  ken  and  its  own  comprehension,  are  never- 
theless the  only  areas  that  seem  to  aff'ord  it  room  to  spend  its  mighty 
energies,  or  fatigue  itself  in  impetuous  sallies. 

That  Pagan  philosophers  should  have  regarded  the  human  mind  as 
an  emanation  from  the  Supreme  Divinity,  is  by  no  means  an  irrational 
or  absurd  hypothesis;  yet  it  is  an  undefined  and  undefinable  specu- 
lation, and  explains  not  at  all  the  mysteries  of  its  awful  existence.  It 
is  a  creature,  and  therefore  no  part  of  the  Creator ;  and  it  is  a  creature 
of  every  day's  manifestation.  Like  sparks  stricken  off  from  Nature's 
-eternal  and  unwasting  Sun,  there  are  every  moment  myriads  of  them 
ushering  into  existence,  commencing  a  career  boundless  as  space  and 
lasting  as  the  years  of  eternity. 

While  the  realms  of  matter  have  all  been  filled  up  and  peopled  with 
their  appropriate  orbs,  so  that  no  new  star  has  been  born  since  the  first 
Sabbath,  nor  a  single  new  atom  added  to  the  masses  of  the  original 
creation,  during  the  progress  of  all  the  ages  of  time,  mind  is  constantly 
springing  into  existence,  but  never  going  out;  so  that  the  machinery 
of  nature  seems  to  be  but  one  grand  laboratory  for  the  continuance, 
production  and  manifestation  of  these  new  creations ;  while  all  its  vast 
dominions  seem  to  constitute  but  one  splendid  and  magnificent  theatre 
on  which  individual  minds  are  to  be  the  eternal  actors. 

Creation,  gentlemen,  is  a  very  grand  and  sublime  subject.  It  had  its 
beginning,  but  where  shall  it  end  ?  In  its  alphabet  it  has  no  omega, 
and  within  its  vocabulary  the  word  annihilation  is  not  found.  It  is 
matter  first,  and  mind  second ;  and  these  combined  constitute  all  its 
wonders.  Now,  as  the  forms  of  matter  are  exceedingly  variant  and 
numerous,  what  shall  we  think  of  the  mysterious  and  multiform  diver- 
sities of  mind  and  character !  Of  these  developments  one  there  is  to 
which  the  ancients  have  consecrated  the  name  genius;  and  it  is  to  this 
manifestation  of  mind  your  attention  is  now  specially  solicited. 

What  then,  gentlemen,  mean  we  by  the  word  genius?  Shall  we 
regard  it  as  a  supernal  spirit  suddenly  inspired,  or  a  guardian  angel 
Allotted  to  a  good  or  great  man  ?  This  family  of  genii,  it  would  seem, 
is  now  extinct.    Once,  indeed,  it  was  a  large  and  powerful  family,  and 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


77 


of  illustrious  fame;  but,  like  other  great  families,  it  had  its  own  feuds 
and  broils.  Two  parties  were  formed,  each  calling  itself  the  good  genii 
and  the  other  the  evil  genii.  A  furious  w^ar  arose  between  them ;  and, 
after  a  hundred  battles,  they  agreed  to  divide  between  themselves  the 
empire  of  the  world — allotting  to  every  individual  a  guardan  genius, 
good  or  evil,  as  he  desired  or  deserved.  But,  like  other  mystic  agents, 
they  have  gone  the  way  of  all  fictions,  and  now  gently  repose  in  the 
bosom  of  oblivion. 

Since  that  time  the  etymology  of  the  name  has  been  the  amusement 
of  the  critics.  Some  would  have  it,  and  the  word  giant,  of  kindred 
Grecian  extraction,  because  both  alleged  to  be  the  ofispring  of  gignomai, 
regularly  descended  from  the  venerable  Geno,  alias  Geino,  of  prolific 
memory.  From  denoting  a  sort  of  sub-divinity,  it  thus  became  the- 
representative  of  a  highly  gifted  man.  But,  as  gigno,  one  of  its  ances- 
tors, means  to  beget,  it  rather  indicates  one  class  of  great  men,  of 
which  there  are,  at  least,  two  illustrious  categories — the  great  in  reason, 
and  the  great  in  fancy.  Conception  and  comparison  distinguish  the 
former — imagination  and  invention  the  latter.  These  are  the  men  of 
genius — those  the  men  of  talents.  Men  of  genius  soar  on  eagles' 
pinions  to  worlds  of  fancy;  while  men  of  talents.  Atlas-like,  stand 
under  the  real  world.  The  loftier  regions  of  fiction  and  romance 
delight  the  former,  while  the  realities  of  earth  and  its  mighty  destinies 
engross  the  attention  and  command  the  energies  of  the  latter.  Men 
of  genius  create  new  worlds — men  of  talents  carry  them.  Strength 
(for  so  talentum,  from  talao,  would  seem  to  indicate)  characterizes  the 
one ;  while  activity  and  celerity  of  movement  distinguish  the  operations 
of  the  other.  While,  then,  invention  is  the  boast  of  genius,  execution 
is  the  glory  of  talent.  Combined,  they  make  earth's  great  ones ;  and, 
leagued  with  virtue,  constitute  the  real  nobility  of  human  nature. 

Example,  however,  is  always  more  intelligible,  and  generally  niore 
eloquent,  than  definition.  We  shall,  then,  summon  its  aid.  Genius, 
we  have  said,  is  distinguished  by  invention,  creation,  origination ; 
talent  by  effort,  enterprise  and  great  achievements.  Energy  is  prime 
minister  to  talent ;  the  love  of  admiration,  to  genius. 

Homer  excelled  in  genius ;  Virgil  in  talent ;  Shakspeare  and  Milton 
in  both.  In  the  fine  arts  of  painting,  sculpture  and  music,  as  well  as 
in  poetry,  oratory,  and  even  in  the  useful  arts,  that  have  contributed  to- 
the  progress  of  civilization  and  comfort,  we  have  numerous  happy 
illustrations  of  both  genius  and  talent.  Raphael  in  his  cartoons,  Michael 
Angelo  in  his  frescoes,  and  our  own  Benjamin  West  in  his  historic 
paintings,  are,  par  excellence,  models  of  genius  in  the  department  of 


78 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


painting.  In  sculpture,  Phidias,  Praxiteles  and  Polydore  are  as 
bright  a  constellation  of  genius  as  Demosthenes,  Cicero  or  Sheridan, 
in  oratory;  or  as  Milton,  Pope  or  Byron,  in  poetry.  In  the  useful 
arts  a  Fulton  and  an  Arkwright  afford  as  fine  specimens  of  genius  as  a 
Mozart  in  music,  or  a  Scott  in  romance.  On  the  other  hand,  we  dis- 
cover in  a  Butler,  a  Luther,  a  Franklin,  a  Washington,  the  mighty 
power  of  talent;  and  in  a  Locke,  a  Bacon  or  a  Newton,  the  still 
superior  force  of  genius  and  talent  combined. 

Before  dismissing  the  definition  of  a  man  of  genius,  it  deserves  to  be 
noted  that  in  the  question  of  responsibility  we  give  precedence  to 
genius,  not  in  contrast  with  talent,  but  because  a  man  of  genius  is 
always  more  or  less  possessed  of  talent;  whereas  a  man  of  talent  is 
not  necessarily  a  man  of  genius.  Genius,  then,  in  this  view,  compre- 
hends talent ;  while  talent  does  not  necessarily  comprehend  genius. 

It  is  now  expedient  that  we  advance  more  into  the  interior  of  our 
subject,  and  endeavor  to  form  some  conception  of  the  term  responsi- 
bility. 

The  doctrine  of  responsibility  is  the  doctrine  of  moral  relations 
between  an  inferior  and  a  superior — between  a  dependent  and  an  inde- 
pendent being ;  as  well  as  between  such  co-ordinates  as  enter  into  any 
social  compact  implying  or  involving  obligations  to  each  other.  It  is, 
therefore,  a  doctrine  of  paramount  importance,  in  the  social  system,  to 
every  individual  member  of  it.  It  is,  indeed,  the  doctrine  of  human 
destiny,  involving  the  whole  subject  of  human  happiness  and  human 
misery. 

As  there  is  not  one  lawless  atom  in  the  material  universe,  so  there  is 
not  one  irresponsible  agent  in  the  social  system.  The  order  of  mate- 
rial nature  is,  indeed,  the  outward  symbol  of  the  order  of  spiritual 
nature,  and  that  is  the  order  of  obedient  dependence.  We  shall,  then, 
enter  the  holy  place  of  moral  obligation  by  passing  leisurely  through 
the  outer  court  of  physical  obligation. 

In  the  material  universe  all  the  inferior  masses  are  under  law  to  the 
superior.  One  of  the  sublime  designs  of  the  Creator  is,  that  all  the 
central  masses  of  the  universe  shall  not  only  be  the  largest  masses  in 
their  respective  systems,  but  also  radiating  centres  to  their  systems. 
Thus  he  has  constituted  the  great  masses  perennial  fountains  of  bene- 
ficence to  all  the  subordinate  masses  that  move  round  them.  Our  own 
bright  orb,  representative  of  all  the  suns  of  creation,  is  an  unwasting 
fountain  of  life  to  its  own  glorious  system.  Ko  sooner  does  he  show 
his  radiant  face  than  floods  of  life  teem  from  his  bosom  upon  some 
thirty  attendant  planets,  which,  in  sublime  majesty  and  in  expressive 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


79 


silence,  ceaseless  move  around  him.  Light,  heat,  life  and  joy  emanate 
from  him.  These  are  the  sensible  demonstrations  of  his  bounty  to  hia 
waiting  retinue  of  worlds.  "What  other  emanations  of  goodness  .he 
vouchsafes  to  those  who  obey  him  are  yet  unknown,  and  perhaps 
unknowable  to  us  while  confined  to  this  our  native  planet.  In  the 
purer  and  more  elevated  regions  of  ether  he  may  perhaps  generate  and 
mature  the  ultimate  and'  more  recondite  elements  of  the  vital  principle, 
which,  combining  with  our  atmosphere,  quicken  it  with  all  the  rudi- 
mental  principles  of  animal  existence. 

In  the  realms  of  matter,  so  far  as  fact,  observation  and  analogy 
authenticate  any  conclusion,  the  law  is  universal,  viz.  that  the  minors 
must  be  subject  to  the  majors;  that  the  inferior  masses  shall  depend 
on  the  superior  for  all  that  gives  them  life  and  comfort.  But  that  the 
satellites  of  all  systems  and  of  all  ranks  requite  their  suns  in  some 
way  by  receiving  from  them  their  beneficence,  and  thereby  maintain- 
ing, through  their  respective  gravities,  their  central  positions  and 
perpetual  quiescence,  while  they  all  move  forward  in  one  grand  concert 
around  the  throne  of  the  Eternal,  in  awful  grandeur  musing  his  praise, 
is  not  to  be  questioned  or  doubted  by  any  one  conversant  with  God's 
grand  system  of  designs.  On  these  sublime  though  simple  principles 
are  suspended  the  order,  beauty  and  felicity  of  the  universe.  Destroy 
this,  and  a  scene  of  disorder,  confusion  and  destruction  would  in- 
stantly ensue,  that  would  not  leave  an  atom  of  the  universe  unscathed. 

Such  is  also  the  order  of  the  intellectual  system.  One  great  mind, 
nature's  spiritual  and  eternal  sun,  constitutes  the  mighty  centre  around 
which,  in  their  respective  orbits,  aU  pure  minds,  primary  or  second- 
ary— angelic  or  human — revolve.  In  this  system  the  great  minds  as 
certainly  govern  the  inferior,  as  in  material  nature  the  large  masses 
govern  the  less.  Now,  as  the  power  of  mind  consists  in  intelligence, 
educated  mind  must  as  certainly  govern  uneducated  mind,  and  the 
more  vigorous  and  talented  the  less  favored,  as  the  great  material 
masses  govern  the  inferior. 

Some,  indeed,  argue  that  all  power  is  in  mind,  and  that  volition  is 
the  cause  of  aU  motion.  Phrenologists,  moreover,  depose  that  there  is 
no  organ  for  the  will.  Hence  volition  is  the  mind  moving  in  a  certain 
direction.  It  is  the  whole  mind  in  action  to  efi'ect  a  change  in  some 
person  or  thing.  Hence  all  changes,  aU  motions  in  the  universe,  are 
but  the  volitions  of  an  intelligent  agent.  So  God  willed  light ;  and  his 
iiat,  or  will  expressed  in  words,  gave  it  being.  And  as  the  same 
volition,  guided  by  intelligence,  that  created  the  masses,  still  upholds 
them  in  being  and  directs  aU  their  movements,  may  we  not  affirm  that 


80 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


intelligence  governs  the  universe  ?  Educated  mind,  or  intelligence,  is, 
then,  the  supreme  power  in  every  department  of  nature.  Hence,  men 
of  genius  must  always,  every  thing  else  being  equal,  direct  and  govern 
those  not  so  highly  gifted  as  themselves.  May  we  not  then  conclude 
that  it  is  Heaven's  own  law  that  superior  minds  must  always  govern 
the  inferior? 

But  this  reasoning  supposes  mental  inequalities ;  and  who  believes 
that  all  men  {i.e.  all  minds)  are  equal,  either  by  nature,  education  or 
art?  If  the  sun  and  planets  were  all  equal,  the  material  universe 
would  stand  still.  If  all  minds  were  equal,  there  would  be  no  govern- 
ment in  the  world.  But  it  might  need  none.  If  so,  however,  it  cer- 
tainly could  not  move.  The  sun  never  would  set  in  one  half  of  the 
world,  and  consequently  never  rise  in  the  other,  if  it  depended  on 
human  volition,  and  if  one  half  of  the  world  had  just  as  much  power 
as  the  other  half. 

The  beauty  as  well  as  the  happiness  of  the  universe  requires  in- 
equality. Equal  lines,  smooth  surfaces  and  eternal  plaias  have  no 
beauty.  We  must  have  hill  and  dale,  mountain  and  valley,  sea  and 
land,  suns  of  all  magnitudes,  worlds  of  all  sizes,  minds  of  all  dimen- 
sions, and  persons  and  faces  of  divers  casts  and  'colors,  to  constitute 
a  beautiful  and  happy  world.  We  must  have  sexes,  conditions  and 
circumstances — empires,  nations  and  families — diversities  in  person, 
mind,  manners,  in  order  to  the  communication  and  reception  of  happi- 
ness. Hence,  our  numerous  and  various  wants  are  not  only  incentives 
to  action,  but  sources  of  pleasure,  both  simple  and  complex — physical, 
intellectual  and  moral. 

Hence  the  foundation  and  the  philosophy  of  unequal  minas — unequal 
in  power,  in  capacity  and  in  taste — unequal  in  intelligence,  activity 
and  energy.  The  inequalities  of  mind  are  numerous  and  various  as 
the  inequalities  of  matter.  One  mind  sports  with  worlds — another, 
with  atoms.  One  man  perches  himself  on  Mount  Chimborazo  and 
communes  with  the  stars — another  delves  into  the  earth  in  search  oi 
hidden  treasures,  and  buries  himself  in  mines  and  minerals.  One  man 
moves  along  with  the  tardiness  of  the  ox  in  the  drudgery  of  life— 
another  ascends  in  a  balloon  and  soars  above  the  clouds.  Here  we 
find  a  Newton  measuring  the  comet's  path,  a  Franklin  stealing  fire 
from  heaven,  a  Columbus  in  search  of  a  new  world;  and  there  a 
sportsman  with  his  hounds  in  quest  of  a  fox.  One  delights  in  his 
revelling  and  song,  in  riotous  living  and  the  giddy  dance — another,  in 
locking  up  his  golden  pelf  in  an  iron  chest.  Talk  we,  then,  of  minds 
equally  endowed  by  nature  or  improved  by  art !    No  such  minds  ever 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


81 


composed  any  community.  Varieties,  all  manner  of  varieties,  are 
essential  to  society.  The  world  needs  the  rich  and  the  poor — the 
young  and  the  aged — the  learned  and  the  unlearned — the  healthy  and 
the  infirm — the  cheerful  and  the  melancholic.  These  call  forth  all  our 
energies,  open  channels  for  all  the  social  virtues,  lay  the  basis  of  our 
various  responsibilities,  and  constitute  much  of  the  happiness  of  this 
life.  They  furnish  opportunities  for  communicating  and  receiving 
benefits. 

The  positive  and  the  negative  belong  as  much  to  society  as  to  elec- 
tricity. These  relative  states  belong  to  all  earth's  categories.  Some 
are  positive,  and  some  negative,  in  health,  wealth,  genius,  learning, 
cheerfulness,  contentment;  the  one  imparts,  and  the  other  receives, 
blessings,  and  thus  the  circle  of  social  happiness  is  completed. 

But  the  world  that  now  is,  in  more  senses  than  one,  is  the  ofifspring 
of  a  world  that  once  was.  We  have  derived  more  than  our  flesh,  blood 
and  bones  from  our  ancestors.  We  speak  their  language,  read  their 
books,  learn  their  customs,  imbibe  their  spirit,  copy  their  manners,  and 
are  the  complex  result  of  all  their  institutions.  Our  language,  religion 
and  morality,  are  alike  hereditary.  We  shall  just  as  soon  invent  a 
new  language  as  a  new  religion,  objectively  considered.  Of  all  crea- 
tures, man  is  the  most  imitative.  His  whole  person,  head,  face  and 
hands,  body,  soul  and  spirit,  are,  more  or  less,  shaped  through  the 
influence  of  this  mysterious  law  of  transformation.  We  do  not  only 
speak  the  language  of  our  own  country,  but  the  provincialisms  of  our 
nurseries.  The  gift  of  all  tongues  did  not,  because  it  could  not,  annul 
the  Galilean  brogue.  Nor  does  the  casual  interchange  of  nations 
deface  the  national  head,  form  of  person,  or  gait,  of  early  education 
and  youthful  association. 

Need  we  further  proof  that  men  are,  to  an  extent  involving  all  their 
essential  interests,  subject  to  the  law  of  imitation,  and,  consequently, 
example  and  precept  are  the  two  grand  formative  influences  of  human 
destiny  ?  From  this  point,  then,  we  may  look  more  earnestly,  as  well 
as  more  intelligently,  on  the  whole  subject  of  human  responsibilities. 
If,  indeed,  as  could  be  clearly  shown,  it  is  most  certain  that  the  phy- 
sical, intellectual  and  moral  constitution  of  one  generation  essentially 
depends  upon  the  intelligence,  religion  and  morality  of  its  immediate 
predecessor ;  and  if  parents,  teachers,  and  men  of  more  advanced  age, 
unavoidably  impress  their  image  on  those  brought  into  life,  and  up  to 
manhood,  under  their  influence ;  follows  it  not,  that  men  of  transcend- 
ent genius  have  a  mighty  influence,  and  are  awfully  responsible  to  God 
for  the  application  of  that  intellect  and  influence  delegated  to  them? 

6 


82 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


It  is  a  startling  proposition,  that  a  truly  intelligent  and  religious  com- 
munity could,  according  to  the  laws  of  our  own  being,  gradually  intro- 
duce a  more  vigorous,  long-living,  intellectual  and  moral  population, 
than  is  possible  to  any  ignorant  and  immoral  people  in  existence ;  yet 
it  is  not  more  startling  than  true. 

But  let  us,  for  the  sake  both  of  argument  and  illustration,  look  for 
a  moment  at  some  of  the  men  of  genius  that  have  lived  in  the  world. 
A  mere  specimen  or  two  of  those  of  the  last  and  present  century  must, 
for  the  present,  suffice. 

In  works  of  genius  and  general  literature,  no  writer  of  the  eighteenth 
century  obtained  a  higher  conspicuity  or  a  greater  celebrity  than  Vol- 
taire. Distinguished  from  infancy  with  superior  intellectual  endow- 
ments, a  sprightly  imagination,  great  versatility  of  genius,  a  ready  and 
sparkling  wit ;  he  is  said  to  have  written  poetry  while  yet  in  his  cradle. 
When  passing  through  the  College  of  Louis  the  Great,  comet-like,  he 
dazzled  with  the  lustre  of  his  genius,  and  the  brilliancy  of  his  path, 
not  only  his  fellow-students,  but  all  the  great  masters  of  science  and 
literature  which  then  adorned  that  royal  college.  In  admiration  of 
his  powerful  intellect,  and  captivating  eloquence,  and  in  anticipation 
of  his  future  greatness,  Ninon  de  I'Enclos  bequeathed  to  him  two 
thousand  livres  to  purchase  a  library. 

The  vivacity  of  his  wit  and  humor,  as  well  as  his  devotion  to  the 
muses,  early  drew  him  away  from  the  study  of  the  law,  gave  him  a 
passport  to  the  society  of  men  of  learning,  and  introduced  him  to  the 
courtiers  of  Louis  XIV.  Even  in  his  youth  he  became  a  favorite  both 
of  the  tragic  and  of  the  comic  muse.  He  successively  shone,  a  star  of 
the  first  magnitude,  amongst  the  courtiers  of  St.  Cloud,  St.  James  and 
those  of  Berlin.  His  ascendency  over  the  French  king,  over  George  1. 
and  his  queen  Caroline,  and  afterwards,  over  the  Prussian  monarch, 
from  whom  he  received  a  pension  of  two-and-twenty  thousand  Kvres, 
are  to  be  regarded  as  the  trophies  of  his  genius ;  as  monuments  of  his 
extraordinary  endowments. 

In  proof  of  his  powers  of  satire,  and  that  against  the  government 
too,  the  Bastille  was  honored  with  his  company  for  one  whole  year. 
And  had  it  not  been  for  the  admiration  of  his  CEdipus,  the  first-fruits 
of  his  tragic  muse,  on  the  part  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  he  might  have 
been  doomed  to  a  longer  imprisonment.  This  admonition  did  not  long 
restrain  the  impetuosity  of  his  mind,  its  recklessness  of  the  moral 
consequences  of  its  career.  His  Lettres  Fhilosophiques,  so  profane 
and  dissolute  in  their  witticism,  soon  obtained  the  honor  of  a  public 
conflagration  at  the  hand  of  the  public  hangman,  and  that,  too,  by 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


83 


Older  of  the  Parliament  of  France.  Despite  of  all  these  marks  of 
public  displeasure,  by  the  singular  merits  of  his  Mahomed,  Merope 
and  Alzire,  he  obtained  the  honor  of  the  first  dramatic  poet  of  the 
age,  and  was  again  introduced  to  the  Court  of  France,  as  the  peculiaj 
favorite  of  Madame  de  Pompadour. 

His  other  works,  published  while  in  Geneva,  at  Ferney  and  at  Paris, 
both  comic  and  tragic,  both  philosophical  and  literary,  gave  him  a 
very  high  rank  amongst  the  men  of  literature  and  of  taste;  so  that 
in  the  esteem  of  admiring  myriads,  he  commanded  the  homage  and 
guided  the  taste  of  the  literati  of  the  whole  French  Empire,  during  the 
last  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  While  at  Ferney,  in  the  midst  of 
his  little  colony  of  artisans,  abounding  in  wealth,  and  rich  in  fame, 
he  was  not  only  in  the  continual  receipt  of  the  adulations  of  philoso- 
phers and  princes,  but  also  of  princely  presents,  and  liberal  gifts  from 
some  of  the  sovereigns  of  Europe.  Dissatisfied  with  these  rewards  of 
his  genius  and  labors,  and  wearied  with  the  luxurious  ease  of  that 
delightful  abode,  he  languished  for  the  daily  incense  of  praise,  and 
the  admiring  plaudits  of  the  French  capital.  Even  in  his  gray 
hairs,  and  at  the  advanced  period  of  fourscore  and  four  years,  he 
returned  to  the  metropolis,  as  he  said,  to  seek  glory  and  death." 
Honors  extraordinary  were  crowded  thick  upon  him  on  his  arrival 
in  Paris.  The  learned  critics  emulated  each  other  in  the  despatch 
with  which  they  ofi'ered  incense  at  his  shrine;  and,  finally,  he  was 
crowned  with  the  poetic  wreath  in  a  full  theatre,  amidst  applauding 
thousands.  The  excitement,  however,  was  too  powerful  for  his  en- 
feebled constitution.  The  weight  of  so  many  honors  oppressed  him. 
The  complimentary  visits  of  Parisian  ceremony  stole  away  sleep  from 
his  pillow,  and  compelled  him  to  resort  to  opium  for  relief;  one 
large  dose  of  which  finally  took  away  his  senses,  and  immediately 
despatched  him  from  the  worship  of  infidels  to  the  presence  of  his 
God. 

Thus  perished  this  extraordinary  genius ;  the  founder  of  a  new  sect 
of  philosophers,  distinguished  more  for  their  wit  and  their  licentious- 
ness, than  for  the  profundity  of  their  science  or  their  influence  in  the 
cause  of  civilization.  Thus  perished  the  author  of  seventy-one  octavo 
volumes,  not  one  of  which  was  seasoned  with  one  pure  emotion,  with 
a  single  tribute  to  religion  or  pure  morality ;  all  of  them,  however, 
characterized  by  a  great  versatility  of  genius,  a  glowing  imagination, 
a  peculiar  ease  and  fluency  of  style,  and  for  a  great  variety  of  know- 
ledge, such  as  it  is ;  much  of  it,  indeed,  incorrect,  little  of  it  useful, 
and  all  of  it  poisoned  with  the  seeds  of  anarchy,  libertinism  and  irre- 


84 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


ligion.  Thus  perished  the  fickle-minded,  wavering  and  inconstant 
Voltaire,  who,  as  some  one  has  justly  said,  was  a  free-thinker  in  Lon- 
don, a  courtesan  at  Versailles,  a  Christian  at  Nantz  and  an  infidel  at 
Berlin.  Assuming  at  one  time  to  be  a  moralist,  pleading  for  tolera- 
tion, and  dissuading  from  war ;  at  another,  acting  the  bufi'oon ;  now 
writing  a  tragedy,  then  a  farce ;  to  day  a  philosopher,  cold  as  Dioge- 
nes ;  to-morrow  an  enthusiast,  ardent  as  Peter  the  Hermit ;  to-day  a 
parasite,  fulsome  as  Tertullus ;  to-morrow  a  satirist,  severe  as  Juvenal ; 
now  a  voluptuary,  feasting  in  princely  style,  again  a  miserable  ascetic, 
worshipping  mammon ;  now  as  modest  as  a  sage,  anon  as  bold  as  an 
atheist,  denouncing  the  Messiah,  and  contemning  the  hope  of  im- 
mortality. 

Such  was  the  man  whose  anarchical  theories,  whose  polished  liber- 
tinism, whose  atheistic  reasonings,  more  than  those  of  any  other,  pol- 
luted almost  all  the  illustrious  youth  of  France  during  the  reigns  of 
Louis  XV.  and  XVI.  Such  was  the  master-spirit  of  the  master-spirits 
of  the  French  Eevolution; — that  reign  of  terror  whose  infamous  annals 
are  destined  to  demonstrate  to  the  human  race  the  madness  of  atheism, 
the  weakness  of  philosophy,  the  desolating  tumults  of  passion,  and 
the  necessity  of  religion  and  righteousness  to  the  prosperity,  the 
honor  and  the  happiness  of  every  nation  and  people. 

But  on  what  canvas  can  be  grouped,  and  by  what  historic  pencil 
sketched,  the  ruined  myriads,  deluded,  polluted  and  destroyed,  by  the 
conversation,  writings  and  examples,  of  such  a  genius  as  that  of  Vol- 
taire, Volney,  Diderot,  or  that  of  our  own  less  gifted,  but  equally 
morally  distempered  and  licentious,  Paine?  His  Common  Sense," 
and  his  "  Eights  of  Man,"  are  but  the  charm  through  which  he 
fascinated  and  beguiled  untold  thousands  into  the  downward  paths 
of  ruin  and  disgrace ; — temporal,  spiritual  and  eternal.  He,  too, 
was  but  the  deluded  votary  of  a  more  gifted  and  still  more  depraved 
genius. 

And  who  were  the  Dantons,  the  Marats,  the  Eobespierres,  of  the  age 
of  despotism,  the  triumph  of  anarchy  ?  Men  of  the  school  of  Voltaire, 
Diderot  and  Gabriel  Mirabeau.  It  will  remain  a  secret  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Great  Day,  how  much  poison  has  been  infused  into  society 
through  the  intoxicating  cup  of  a  false,  though  fascinating  philosophy, 
sparkling  with  the  brilliant  display  of  elevated  genius,  administered 
by  such  men  as  the  speculative  Hume,  the  eloquent  Gibbon  or  the 
accomplished  Eousseau. 

Our  two  great  historians,  before  they  commenced  their  proud  monu- 
ments of  elevated  genius,  had  travelled  through  France ;  and  one  of 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


85 


them  both  wrote  and  spoke  the  language  of  Voltaire  as  fluently  and  as 
eloquently  as  his  own  vernacular.  These  men  had  themselves  drunk 
deeply  of  the  continental  philosophy — had  become  too  familiar  with  the 
licentious  principles  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  first  impulse 
to  delineate  the  fortunes  of  England  seems  to  have  sprung  up  in  the 
bosom  of  a  skeptic,  who  had  first  conceived  a  false  theory  of  the 
genius  of  human  nature,  and  afterwards  sought,  in  the  annals  of 
his  country,  facts  to  prove  it.  Such,  it  appears,  was  the  character 
of  David  Hume.  Destined  to  the  law  by  his  parents,  ''he  preferred 
Virgil  and  Cicero  to  Voet  and  Vinnius,"  while  his  taste  for  philosophy 
led  him  to  write  an  "  Inquiry  into  the  Principle  of  Morals,"  a  "  Treat- 
ise on  Human  Nature,"  and  an  essay  on  "  Natural  Eeligion,"  before 
he  completed  a  single  volume  of  his  history  of  England.  A  man  of 
distinguished  talents,  and  an  elegant  historian,  he  certainly  is ;  but  the 
spirit  and  tendency  of  his  writings  are  most  clearly,  though  most  in- 
sidiously, irreligious  and  immoral.  His  sentiments  are  often  clothed 
in  equivocal  and  fallacious  language,  and  are  intended  indirectly  to 
sap  and  mine  the  influence  of  the  Bible.  With  all  "  the  careless  in- 
imitable beauties  of  Hume,"  as  Gibbon  calls  them — i.e.  "his  solecisms, 
his  Scotticisms,  his  gallicisms,  his  violations  of  the  rules  of  English 
grammar,"  severely  exposed  by  Dr.  Priestley  in  his  philosophical  dis- 
quisitions, he  is  still,  in  language  and  style,  the  beau  ideal  of  all 
English  historians.  But  this  is  a  small  matter  compared  with  the  sly 
narcotic  poison  of  his  infidelity;  which  has,  in  truth,  perverted  the 
facts  of  his  history,  and  rendered  it  rather  a  panegyric  of  skepticism  - 
than  a  faithful  record  of  facts.  Like  Voltaire,  as  one  of  our  late  re- 
viewers has  said,  "  Hume  adopted  history  as  the  vehicle  of  opinions 
which  he  could  make  palatable  to  the  million  in  no  other  way."  His 
swppressio  veri,  and  his  suggestio  falsi,  have  beguiled  other  writers 
into  very  great  errors,  distortions  and  suppressions  of  fact.  Keight- 
ley,  in  his  "Outlines  of  History,"  Gleig,  in  his  "Family  History," 
and  even  Mrs.  Markham,  in  her  history,  so  admirably  adapted,  in 
many  respects,  to  children,  have  been  imposed  on  by  Hume;  and 
that,  too,  when  his  infidelity  perverted  his  genius,  and  discolored 
the  facts  which  lay  before  him  in  the  annals  of  the  world.  All  this, 
and  perhaps  more,  might  be  said  of  the  still  more  highly  endowed  and 
more  eloquently  accomplished  author  of  the  "  Decline  and  Fall  of  the 
Roman  Empire." 

Gifted  by  nature,  and  adorned  by  art,  no  historian  either  in  our 
language  or  in  any  other  known  to  us,  possessed  a  much  more  fas- 
cinating style  of  narration  than  Edmvnd  Gibbon.    If,  indeed,  second 


86 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


to  any  English  historian,  he  is  second  only  to  the  more  learned  and 
polished  Robertson ;  not,  indeed,  in  the  rich  easy  and  flowing  eloquence 
of  his  splendid  periods,  but  in  the  more  sublime,  more  chaste,  nervous 
and  classic  character  of  his  general  style  and  manner.  But  the  subtle 
poison  of  an  insidious  skepticism  is  infused  into  the  whole  perform- 
ance ;  and  ere  the  youthful  reader  is  aware  of  it,  he  is  beguiled  into 
an  indefinable  incertitude  and  dubiety  on  the  whole  subject  of  historical 
veracity,  and  charmed  into  an  unutterable  suspicion  that  Christianity 
and  polytheism  are  but  modifications  of  the  same  superstitious  credu- 
lity of  poor  human  nature. 

I  presume  not  to  descant  upon  the  history  of  those  mighty  chiefs — 
the  men  of  high  renown — whose  genius,  like  that  of  Byron,  or  that  of 
Napoleon,  have  been  the  subject  of  a  thousand  comments — orations — 
.eulogies.  Those  rare  prodigies,  like  comets  of  stupendous  magnitude, 
seldom  appear  in  our  own  horizon,  and  when  they  do,  are  so  far 
beyond  the  aspiration  of  our  youth  as  to  afford  no  very  strong  in- 
centive to  their  ambition.  As  those  burning  mountains  of  lofty  sum- 
mit, seldom  trodden  by  human  foot,  need  no  parapet  to  prevent  the  too 
near  approach  of  the  unwary  traveller,  so  these  giants  of  enormous 
stature  are  placed  so  far  above  all  aspiration,  as  not  to  seduce  by  their 
example  one  in  a  hundred  millions  of  our  race.  Still  their  history  ia 
a  part  of  the  history  of  humanity,  and,  as  such,  is  not  without  its  use. 
Their  towering  ambition,  transcendent  success  and  tragic  end,  together 
with  the  tendency  of  their  course,  are  beacons,  not  without  a  moral 
influence  to  the  human  mind.  The  evils  they  have  done  while  they 
lived,  and  the  evils  they  are  still  doing,  and  yet  to  do,  cannot  be  easily 
computed. 

The  good  or  evil  that  men  do  while  they  live,  lives  after  them; 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other  is  ''always  interred  with  their  bones. 
Their  example  lives,  and  in  the  long  series  of  cause  and  effect,  in 
the  complex  and  mysterious  concatenation  of  things,  their  actions  are 
pregnant  with  effects  on  human  destiny  that  whole  centuries  do  not 
always  either  unfold  or  annihilate. 

Can  any  one  compute  the  expenditures  of  human  life,  the  numoer 
of  widows,  orphans  and  bereaved  parents,  occasioned  by  the  insatiate 
ambition  of  the  late  Emperor  of  the  French  ?  What  tears  and  groans 
and  agonies,  did  each  of  his  hundred  battles  cost  the  nations  in  which 
he  sought  that  harvest  of  renown,  which,  for  a  few  years,  he  reaped  in 
the  admiration  of  the  world !  But  who  can  fix,  either  in  time  or  place, 
the  last  effect  which  his  wild  career  of  glory  shall  have  entailed  upon 
the  human  race? 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


87 


But  it  is  not  the  military  chiefs,  the  ambitious  aspirants  after  civil 
or  military  renown,  with  whom  we  have  to  do.  A  Voltaire,  a  Paine, 
a  Byron  or  a  Scott  come  more  legitimately  within  the  precincts  of  our 
subject.  These  all  were  men  of  high  responsibilities,  because  of  the 
greatness  of  their  talents,  their  lofty  genius,  their  rare  attainments. 
But  whither  tended  the  labors  of  their  lives?  Of  the  two  former, 
but  one  opinion  obtains  amongst  all  Christians — their  whole  influence 
was  decisively  against  religion,  morality  and  good  government.  The 
French  Eevolution  is  a  lesson  known  to  all  men,  demonstrating  the 
indissoluble  connection  between  atheism,  anarchy  and  misrule.  It 
was  as  certainly  the  offspring  of  atheism,  as  the  Spanish  Inquisition 
was  the  child  of  the  Papacy,  or  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Glympus  the 
creation  of  Paganism. 

Men  reason  against  both  common  sense  and  philosophy,  when  they 
argue  either  themselves  or  others  into  the  hallucination,  that  a  good 
civil  government  can  anywhere  exist  without  sound  religion  and  sound 
morality;  or,  indeed,  that  a  people  can  be  moral,  in  the  proper  sense 
of  the  word,  without  religion.  Without  temples,  altars,  priests  and 
religion  by  civil  law  established,  they  may,  indeed,  be  intelligent, 
religious,  moral,  and,  consequently,  prosperous;  but  without  true 
religion  no  state  can  be  moral,  prosperous  and  permanent.  All  em- 
pires that  have  fallen,  all  states  and  nations  that  have  passed  away, 
have  perished  thjrough  irreligion,  immorality  and  vice. 

Now,  as  the  master-spirits  of  the  French  Eevolution  were  the  dis- 
ciples of  Voltaire  and  his  associates,  we  read  the  power,  the  charactei 
and  the  tendency  of  their  genius  and  talent  in  that  momentous  event, 
prolific  of  instruction,  not  only  to  the  living,  but  to  ages  yet  unborn. 
If  England  in  the  days  of  her  Commonwealth  was  a  proof  of  the  genius 
of  her  Cromwell,  or  if  the  riches  and  glory  of  Israel,  at  the  era  of  the 
erection  of  their  temple,  constituted  a  proof  of  the  wisdom  and  sound 
policy  of  their  Solomon,  so  was  France  in  the  days  of  her  Pantheon, 
during  the  tyranny  of  her  Danton,  Eobespierre,  Marat,  &c.,  a  proof 
of  the  philosophy,  policy  and  virtues  of  her  Voltaire,  Volney  and 
Gabriel  Mirabeau. 

But  why,  it  may  be  asked,  mention  in  the  same  chapter  such  men 
as  Byron,  Burns  and  Scott?  This,  indeed,  demands  an  explanation. 
They  are  not,  then,  at  all  to  be  classed  with  such  men  as  Voltaire, 
Volney  or  Mirabeau,  except  as  men  of  genius  and  favorites  of  public 
fame.  Still  the  influence  of  a  Byron,  a  Burns,  a  Scott,  may  be  as 
greatly  mischievous  as  their  genius  was  transcendently  great  and 
admirable.    That  they  have  all  said  many  beautiful  things — that  they 


88 


liave  expressed  the  purest  and  the  noblest  sentiments  and  views  in  the 
finest  style,  in  language  the  most  chaste,  the  most  classic  and  the 
most  exuberantly  rich  and  fascinating,  is  admitted,  with  the  greatest 
pride  of  English  literature  and  of  Englishmen.  That  much  of  their 
poetry  and  fiction  is  deeply  imbued  with  sentiments  of  piety  and 
humanity,  is  also  most  cheerfully  conceded ;  and  that  most  men  may 
improve  their  language,  their  taste  and  their  style  by  the  perusal  and 
the  study  of  their  admirable  productions,  we  also  admit.  And  if  any 
one  please  to  add,  that  three  such  men  almost  contemporaneous  have 
not  adorned  any  nation,  ancient  or  modern,  with  richer  specimens  of 
rare  genius  of  the  finest  texture  and  the  most  exuberant  growth,  I 
will  not  at  all  dissent  from  him ;  and  yet  I  must  say,  that  in  view  of 
the  tendency,  the  whole  tendency  of  the  products  of  their  genius,  and 
in  my  estimate  of  human  responsibility,  I  would  not,  for  ''all  that 
wealth  or  fame  e'er  gave,"  be  the  author  of  their  works.  I  cannot  but 
view  them  as  decidedly  tending  to  impiety,  and  consequently  to  im- 
morality. They  may  not,  indeed,  Bulwer-like,  have  made  the  libertine 
a  successful  adventurer,  or  the  licentious  rake  a  man  of  honor  and  of 
good  fortune.  They  may  not  have  decorated  vice  with  the  charms  of 
innocence,  or  thrown  around  the  sensualist  the  robes  of  virtue ;  they 
may  not  have  commended  to  juvenile  fancy  a  plausible  prodigal,  or 
introduced  to  the  favorable  regard  of  unsuspecting  youth  some  amorous 
knight  of  easy  virtue :  still  they  have  so  mingled  up  virtue  and  vice, 
piety  and  impiety,  wisdom  and  folly,  moral  beauty  and  moral  deformity, 
as  to  confound  the  understanding  and  blunt  the  pure  sensibilities  of 
our  nature.  They  have  created  false  virtues,  and  if  they  have  not 
called  good  evil  and  evil  good,  they  have  made  certain  vices  of  much 
less  frightful  mien,  under  the  names  of  gallantry,  patriotism,  chivalry, 
heroism,  &c.  Human  nature  is  exaggerated,  discolored,  misrepre- 
sented, in  many  points.  A  wrong  direction  is  given  to  the  mind,  false 
motives  are  inspired,  unworthy  principles  instilled  in  the  minds  of  the 
less  discriminative  readers  of  their  works,  and  wrong  conceptions  of 
honor,  greatness  and  goodness  inculcated  upon  all.  In  some  respects 
the  author  of  Waverley  is  to  be  excepted  from  this  sweeping  censure.' 
Of  a  better  temperament,  of  a  more  moral  constitution  and  of  a  more 
religious  education,  more  historic  too  and  descriptive  than  merely 
fanciful  or  imaginative,  he  is  more  conversant  with  fact  and  reality, 
and  generally  more  nearly  approaches  nature  and  truth,  than  most  of 
his  contemporaries  or  predecessors.  Still  he  occasionally  outrages  the 
moral  sense  and  good  taste,  by  making  his  outlaws  heroic,  noble  and 
honorable  men ;  thus  creating  false  virtues  and  dishonoring  the  true. 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEX  OF  GE^s'IUS. 


89 


That  as  life  was  eking  out  he  condemned  his  course,  the  prostitution  of 
his  admirable  genius  and  unparalleled  powers  of  description,  is  to  my 
mind  a  gratification,  though  no  extenuation  of  the  aberrations  of  his 
otherwise  splendid  and  unparalleled  career. 

I  have  not  arrayed  before  you,  gentlemen,  a  per  contra  list  of  the 
great  reformers  and  benefactors  of  mankind ;  I  have  not  laid  before 
you  any  samples  of  the  men  of  genius  selected  from  prophets,  apostles, 
saints  or  martyrs ;  I  have  not  told  you  of  the  inventors  of  useful  arts, 
of  the  founders  of  benevolent  institutions,  or  of  the  great  and  splendid 
discoveries  of  men  of  science.  Nor  have  the  Christian  poets,  writers, 
orators,  reformers,  missionaries,  been  arrayed  before  you.  We  have 
not  spoken  of  the  wide-spread  and  long-enduring  influence  of  a  Claude, 
a  Wickliffe,  a  Luther,  or  a  Calvin,  or  of  the  bright  deeds  of  illustrious 
fame  of  a  Barnard,  a  Howard,  or  a  Eobert  Raikes.  No,  these  are 
common  and  familiar  as  household  words.  Yet  the  last  mentioned  of 
these,  though  of  no  remarkable  genius,  by  setting  on  foot  the  Sunday- 
school  system,  has  done  for  the  world  more  than  all  the  conquerors  of 
nations,  founders  of  empires  and  great  political  demagogues  whose  names 
axe  inscribed  upon  the  rolls  of  fame.  Eternity  alone  can  develop  the 
wide-spreading  and  long-continued  series  of  good  and  happy  conse- 
quences, direct  and  indirect,  resulting  from  their  schemes  of  benevolence 
and  deeds  of  mercy.  Their  noble  influence  may  be  compared  in  its 
beginnings  to  the  salient  fountain  of  some  of  earth's  grandest  rivers, 
which,  though  not  ankle-deep,  issuing  from  beneath  a  little  rock  on  some 
lofty  mounttain's  brow,  after  wending  its  serpentine  way  for  thousands 
of  miles  through  many  a  rich  valley  and  fertile  plain,  and  receiving  the 
contributions  of  numerous  tributary  streams,  finally"  disembogues  its  deep 
broad  flood  into  the  ocean,  carrying  on  its  majestic  bosom  the  products 
of  many  climes  and  the  wealth  of  many  nations.  So,  in  the  course  of 
ages,  the  labors  of  the  more  distinguished  benefactors  of  mankind,  at 
first  humble  and  circumscribed,  yield  largely  accumulating  revenues 
of  glory  and  felicity ;  and  carry  down,  not  only  to  the  remotest  times 
and  to  the  most  distant  nations,  manifold  blessings;  but  occasionally, 
transcending  the  boundaries  of  earth  and  time,  they  flow  into  eternity 
itself,  carrying  home  to  God  and  the  universe  untold  multitudes  of 
pure  and  happy  beings. 

But,  gentlemen,  to  escape  the  imputation  of  merely  theorizing  on 
this  subject  in  the  form  of  vague  generalities,  allow  me  to  press  the 
subject  on  your  attention  in  the  more  practical  form  of  a  few  leading 
epecifications. 

First,  then,  it  is  a  pairamount  responsibility  resting  upon  all  persons 


90 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


having  talents — upon  every  one  possessing  genius,  to  cultivate  those 
noble  powers  which  God  has  bestowed  upon  them.  The  gift  of  genius 
is  a  special  call  upon  its  possessor  to  cultivate  and  improve  it  to  the 
highest  possible  degree.  It  is  already  established  that  men  of  superior 
intellect  and  moral  power  must  govern  the  world.  Men  might  as 
successfully  legislate  against  the  Ten  Commandments,  or  enact  statutes 
against  conjugal  affection  or  filial  reverence,  as  to  think  of  legislating 
against  the  subordination  of  inferior  to  superior  minds.  God  has  so 
constituted  the  world.  As,  then,  it  must  be  so,  how  great  the  respon- 
sibility resting  upon  those  possessed  by  nature  of  the  higher  mental 
endowments,  to  cultivate  them  to  the ,  utmost  perfection  !  The  marble 
in  the  quarry,  the  ore  in  the  mountain,  or  the  diamond  in  the  sand,  is 
not  susceptible  of  greater  improvement  and  polish  by  art,  than  is  the 
human  mind,  especially  a  highly  gifted  mind.  Education  adorns  as 
well  as  enlarges  and  strengthens  the  human  soul.  Demosthenes  might 
always  have  stammered  in  his  father's  blacksmith-shop  but  for  his 
devotion  to  intellectual  improvement. 

But  it  is  not  intellect  alone,  however  highly  cultivated,  that  commands 
either  the  admiration  or  the  reverence  of  mankind.  It  is  not  mere  in- 
tellect that  governs  the  world.  It  is  intellect  associated  with  moral 
excellence.  Hence  the  necessity  of  the  proper  cultivation  of  the  moral 
nature  of  man.  That  the  divine  similitude  of  man  consists  more  in 
his  moral  than  in  his  merely  intellectual  constitution,  needs  neither 
argument  nor  proof.  And  that  the  Supreme  Lawgiver  and  Governor 
of  the  universe  reigns  over  the  empire  of  mind  by  goodness,  justice  and 
truth,  rather  than  by  mere  intellect,  whether  called  knowledge,  wisdom 
or  power,  is  equally  plain  to  all  who  can  reason,  or  indeed  think  on  what 
passes  before  them  in  the  developments  of  nature,  society  and  religion. 

That  the  moral  nature  of  man  is,  therefore,  to  be  sedulously  and 
constantly  cultivated,  is  not  more  obviously  evident  than  is  the  still 
more  interesting  fact,  that  in  the  direct  ratio  of  its  importance  is  the 
facility  with  which  it  may  be  accomplished,  provided  it  be  submitted 
to  the  proper  means,  timously  commenced,  and  perseveringly  prose- 
cuted when  most  susceptible  of  moral  impressions.  It  is  in  this 
department  that  the  law  of  improvement  is  necessarily  the  law  of 
healthful  exercise,  whose  immutable  tendency  is  enlargement  and  cor- 
roboration. He,  then,  that  would  gain  the  full  advantage  of  his  talents, 
and  secure  the  legitimate  rewards  of  genius,  must  pay  a  supreme 
regard  to  the  cultivation  and  high  development  of  his  moral  nature. 
In  this  way  only  can  he  obtain  and  wield  an  influence  commensurate 
with  all  his  powers  of  blessing  and  being  blessed.    Had  Demosthenes, 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


91 


the  model  orator  and  statesman  of  both  Greece  and  Rome,  devoted  his 
mighty  genius  to  the  moral  as  well  as  the  intellectual  improvement  of 
his  mind,  the  bribe  of  Harpalus,  the  parasite  of  Alexander,  would  not 
have  tempted  him ;  nor  would  he  have  terminated  his  days  by  poison, 
obscuring  the  glories  of  his  great  name  by  self-murder,  the  greatest 
and  meanest  of  mortal  sins. 

But,  in  the  second  place,  it  is  supremely  incumbent  on  all  men  of 
genius  that  they  choose  a  calling  most  fa,vorable  to  the  promotion  of 
the  best  and  greatest  interests  of  human  kind.  In  the  social  system 
there  are  many  offices  to  be  filled,  many  services  to  be  performed,  and 
consequently  many  persons  needed  to  perform  them.  Of  these  offices 
there  are  all  degrees  of  comparison — the  needful,  the  more  needful, 
the  most  needful — the  honorable,  the  more  honorable,  the  most  honor- 
able. The  scale  of  utility  is,  indeed,  the  scale  of  honor.  That  calling 
is  always  the  most  honorable  that  is  the  most  useful ;  and  that  is  the 
most  useful  which  is  the  most  necessary  to  the  completion  and  perfec- 
tion of  human  happiness.  ''The  glory  of  God,"  (a  phrase  more  current 
than  well  understood,)  the  glory  of  God  can  best  be  promoted  by 
promoting  the  happiness  of  man.  Indeed,  it  can  be  promoted  in  no 
other  way.  Now,  as  man  is  susceptible  of  individual  and  social  hap- 
piness— of  animal,  intellectual  and  moral  gratifications  and  pleasures — 
that  happiness  is  to  be  regarded  the  highest  which  comprehends  the 
greatest  variety  and  the  largest  amount  of  blessedness. 

It  so  happens,  however,  that  whatever  produces  the  greatest  amount 
of  moral  felicity  also  yields  the  greatest  variety  of  enjoyment.  This 
is  founded  upon  the  fact  that  moral  pleasure  is  not  only  most  exquisite 
in  degree,  but  is  itself  founded  upon  the  harmonious  fruition  of  our 
entire  constitution.  Hence  the  virtuous  man  is  always  the  most  happy 
man,  because  virtue  is  essential  to  the  entire  enjoyment  of  his  whole 
animal,  intellectual  and  moral  nature.  The  restraints  which  virtue 
imposes  upon  the  minor  gratifications  are  laid  only  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  the  major  both  in  variety  and  degree. 

Now,  as  intellect  and  society  are  essential  to  morality  and  virtue, 
those  offices  and  callings  which  have  most  to  do  with  these,  are  most 
productive  of  human  happiness.  From  conceptions  of  this  sort  arose 
the  preference  given  to  what  are  usually  called  the  learned  professions. 
But  law,  physic  and  theology  are  but  chapters  in  this  great  category ; 
they  are  not,  in  my  opinion,  the  component  parts  of  it ;  they  do  not 
engross  the  learned  professions.  For  unfortunately  it  does  not  always 
follow  that  those  who  engage  in  these  three  professions  are  either 
learned  men  or  learned  in  their  respective  professions,  nor  is  it  true 


92 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


that  these  are  the  only  callings  that  require  much  learning.  Some  of 
the  mechanical  arts,  politics  and  agriculture,  require  as  much  learning 
as  either  law  or  medicine.  The  school-master's  vocation  and  that  of 
the  professor  of  language  and  science  ought  to  be  not  only  regarded, 
but  actually  constituted,  learned  professions.  Indeed,  all  professions 
would  be  the  better  of  a  little  more  learning  than  is  usually  thought 
indispensable.  A  learned  carpenter  and  cordwainer  there  might  be,  as 
well  as  a  learned  blacksmith,  without  any  detriment  to  those  callings 
or  to  the  learned  professions.  And  as  all  men  are  in  this  community, 
in  virtue  of  our  political  institutions,  constituted  politicians,  lawgivers, 
judges  and  magistrates,  whenever  the  people  pronounce  their  sove- 
reign fiat,  the  number  of  learned  professions  might  be  at  least  doubled, 
and  perhaps  quadrupled,  without  any  detriment  to  the  state  or  any 
jeopardy  of  human  happiness. 

In  this  allusion  to  learned  callings  it  may  be  regarded  as  a  culpable 
omission  should  I  not  name  the  militaiy  and  naval  professions.  True, 
indeed,  so  far  as  any  callings  are  purely  belligerent,  they  are  not  very 
nearly  allied  to  the  theory  of  human  happiness,  how  important  soever 
they  may  be  to  that  of  human  safety.  The  preservation  and  enjoyment 
of  human  life,  rather  than  the  scientific  destruction  of  it,  fall  more 
directly  within  the  purview  of  our  present  remarks.  Generals,  heroes 
and  conquerors  are  very  illustrious  men  in  the  esteem  of  the  more  rude 
and  barbarous  nations  of  the  world,  but  as  civilization  advances  they 
uniformly  fall  back  into  the  rank  and  file  of  Nimrod,  Tamerlane^ 
Alaric  and  Company. 

One  of  the  greatest  misfortunes  entailed  upon  society  is  the  opinion 
that  great  generals  are  great  and  noble  men,  and  that  those  callings 
which  have  the  most  gunpowder,  lead,  epaulettes  and  music  about 
them,  are  the  most  splendid,  honorable  and  useful.  False  views  of 
glory  and  greatness  are  not  indeed  confined  to  those  circles  of  earth's 
great  ones,  but  are  unfortunately  extended  to  other  circles  connected  as 
much  with  the  animalism  of  human  nature  as  they.  Political  chiefs 
and  successful  demagogues  are  everywhere  hailed  as  men  of  great 
parts  and  good  fortunes.  Every  senator  is  an  honorable  man,  and 
every  governor  is  an  impersonation  of  excellency.  The  worship  paid 
to  these  political  dignitaries  deludes  the  unwary  into  the  idolatry  of 
fiuch  offices  and  officials,  and  turns  their  judgment  awry  from  the 
oracles  of  reason  and  the  true  philosophy  of  human  greatness  and 
human  happiness.  Indeed,  such  is  the  mania  for  political  honors  and 
political  office,  that  more  seem  to  desire  the  honor  of  an  office  than  to 
be  an  honor  to  the  office. 


RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


93 


We  would  not,  indeed,  divest  useful  offices  of  their  proper  honor. 
To  serve  a  society  faithfully,  whether  as  a  scavenger  of  Kome  or  as  a 
king  of  the  French,  is  an  honor  to  any  man.  But  to  serve  society  in 
any  capacity  promotive  of  its  moral  advancement,  is  the  highest  stye 
and  dignity  of  man.  True,  indeed,  that  in  the  great  category  of  morai 
improvement  there  are  numerous  departments,  and  consequently  many 
offices.  There  are  authors,  teachers  of  all  schools,  ministers  of  all 
grades,  missionaries  of  all  mercies,  ambassadors  of  all  ranks,  employed 
as  conservators,  redeemers  and  benefactors  of  men.  These,  in  the 
tendencies  and  bearings  of  their  respective  functions,  sweep  the  largest 
circles  in  human  affairs.  They  extend  not  only  to  the  individual  first 
benefited,  not  only  to  those  temporally  benefited  by  him,  in  a  long 
series  of  generations,  but  breaking  through  the  confines  of  time  and 
space,  those  benefits  reach  into  eternity  and  spread  themselves  over 
fields  of  blessings,  waving  with  eternal  harvests  of  felicity  to  multi- 
tudes of  participants  which  the  arithmetic  of  time  wholly  fails  to  com- 
pute, either  in  number  or  in  magnitude.  The  whole  vista  of  time  is 
but  the  shaft  of  a  grand  telescope  through  which  to  see,  at  the  proper 
angle,  the  teeming  harvests  of  eternal  blessedness  flowing  into  the 
bosoms  of  the  great  moral  benefactors  of  human  kind.  To  choose  a 
calling  of  this  sort,  is  superlatively  incumbent  on  men  of  genius.  As 
Wesley  said  of  good  music,  so  say  we  of  good  talents.  The  devil,  said 
the  reformer,  shall  not  have  all  the  good  tunes ;  and  we  add,  nor  the 
law,  nor  politics,  nor  the  stage,  all  the  good  talents. 

If  men  are  held  responsible,  not  only  for  all  the  evil  they  have 
done,  but  also  for  all  the  good  they  might  have  done — as  undoubtedly 
they  will  be;  and  if  they  are  to  be  rewarded,  not  for  having  genius 
and  talent,  but  for  having  used  them  in  accordance  with  the  Divine 
will,  and  the  dictates  of  conscience,  then  what  immense  and  over- 
whelming interests  are  merged  in  the  question — to  what  calling  should 
men  of  great  parts  and  of  good  education  devote  themselves  ?  Taste, 
inclination  and  talent  are  altogether,  and  always,  to  be  taken  into  the 
account  in  a  matter  of  such  thrilling  interest.  But  we  are  speaking 
of  men  of  genius  in  general,  and  not  of  a  particular  class.  The 
historic  painter  may,  like  our  great  West,  give  us  Bible  characters  and 
Bible  scenes.  We  may  as  well  have  the  patriarchal  scenes,  tabernacle 
ctnd  temple  scenes,  official  personages  and  festivals  upon  the  walls  of 
Dur  rooms  and  museums,  as  the  island  of  Calypso,  or  the  ruins  of  the 
Capitol,  or  the  Pantheon,  or  the  panorama  of  Mexico,  Paris  or  Water- 
loo. The  poet  may  sing  of  Zion,  and  Siloam,  of  Jerusalem  and  its 
King,  as  well  as  of  the  wratn  of  Achilles,  the  siege  of  Troy,  or  the 


94 


EESPONSIBILITIES  OF  MEN  OF  GENIUS. 


adventures  of  Eneas.  An  orator  may  as  well  plead  for  God  as  for  man, 
for  eternity  as  for  time,  for  heaven  as  for  earth ;  he  may  as  well  plead 
for  man's  salvation,  as  for  his  political  rights  and  immunities ;  and  the 
same  learning  and  eloquence  that  gain  for  a  client  a  good  inheritance 
or  a  fair  reputation,  might,  also,  have  gained  for  him  an  unfading 
crown,  and  an  enduring  inheritance.  It  depends  upon  the  taste  of  the 
man  of  genius  of  any  peculiar  kind,  to  what  cause  he  may  supremely 
devote  it.  It  is  his  duty,  however,  to  bring  it  to  the  best  market,  and 
to  consecrate  it  to  the  noblest  and  most  exalted  good. 

But,  finally,  it  is  not  only  incumbent  on  men  of  genius  that  they 
cultivate  their  talents  to  the  greatest  perfection,  and  that  they  select 
the  noblest  and  most  useful  calling,  but  that  they  also  prosecute  them 
with  the  greatest  vigor,  and  devote  themselves  to  them  with  the  most 
persevering  assiduity.  It  is  not  he  that  enters  upon  any  career,  or 
starts  in  any  race,  but  he  that  runs  well,  and  perseveringly,  that  gains 
the  plaudits  of  others,  or  the  approval  of  his  own  conscience. 

Life  is  a  great  struggle.  It  is  one  splendid  campaign^  a  race,  a  con- 
test for  interests,  honors  and  pleasures  of  the  highest  character,  and 
of  the  most  enduring  importance.  Happy  the  man  of  genius  who  cul- 
tivates all  his  powers  with  a  reference  thereunto,  who  chooses  the  most 
noble  calling,  and  who  prosecutes  it  with  all  his  might.  Such  a  one, 
ultimately,  secures  to  himself  the  admiration  of  all  the  great,  the  wise, 
the  good.  Such  a  one  will  always  enjoy  the  approbation  of  his  own 
judgment  and  conscience :  and,  better  still,  the  approbation  of  his  God 
and  Redeemer.  How  pleasing  to  him  who  has  run  the  glorious  race, 
to  survey  from  the  lofty  summit  of  his  eternal  fame,  the  cumulative 
results  of  an  active  life,  developed  in  the  light  of  eternity!  How 
transporting  to  contemplate  the  proximate  and  the  remote,  the  direct 
and  the  indirect  beatific  fruits  of  his  labors  reflected  from  the  bright 
countenances  of  enraptured  myriads,  beaming  with  grateful  emotion  to 
him  as  the  honored  instrument  of  having  inducted  them  into  those 
paths  of  righteousness  which  led  them  into  the  fruition  of  riches, 
honors  and  pleasures  boundless  as  the  universe  and  enduring  as  the 
ages  of  eternity !  That  such,  gentlemen,  may  be  your  happy  choice 
and  glorious  destiny,  is  the  sincere  desire  of  your  friend  and  orator. 


ADDRESS. 


IS  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY  AN  INDUCTIVE  SCIENCE? 


DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE  CHARLOTTESVILLE  LYCEUM,  1840. 


Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Lyceum  : — 

The  desire  of  knowledge,  and  the  power  to  acquire  it,  are,  by  a 
benevolent  provision  of  the  great  Author  of  Nature,  jointly  vouchsafed 
to  man.  The  centripetal  principle  of  self-preservation  which  pervades 
every  atom  of  the  universe,  the  great  globe  itself,  with  every  thing 
that  lives  and  moves  upon  it,  is  not  more  universal  than  is  the  desire 
to  know,  in  every  being  that  has  the  power  to  know.  This  is  the  soul 
of  the  soul  of  man, — the  energizing  principle,  which  stimulates  into 
action  his  whole  sensitive,  perceptive  and  reflective  powers ;  and  were 
it  our  duty  to  collect  and  classify  the  criteria  by  which  to  appreciate 
the  intellectual  capacity  of  an  individual,  we  would  give  to  his  desire 
of  knowledge  an  eminent  rank  among  the  evidences  of  his  ability  to 
acquire  it. 

To  direct  into  proper  channels,  and  to  control  within  rational  limits, 
the  desire  of  knowledge,  have  always  been  paramount  objects  in  every 
government,  human  and  divine,  which  has  legislated  on  the  subject 
of  education,  or  sought  the  rational  happiness  of  man.  Indeed,  the 
Divine  Father  of  our  race,  in  the  first  constitution  given  to  man,  sus- 
pended his  destiny  on  the  proper  direction  and  government  of  this 
desire.  He  was  pleased  to  test  the  loyalty  of  his  children  by  imposing 
a  restraint,  not  so  much  upon  their  animal  appetites  as  upon  their 
desire  to  know.  The  God  of  reason  hereby  intimates  to  all  intelli- 
gences, that  the  power  to  control  this  master  passion  is  the  infallible 
index  of  man's  power  of  seK-government  in  every  thing  else.  How 
wisely  and  how  kindly,  then,  did  he  denominate  the  forbidden  tree, 
"  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil"  !  And  perhaps  it  is  just  at 
this  point,  and  from  this  view  of  the  subject,  that  we  acquire  our  best 
conceptions  of  the  reason  of  high  intelligences — of  the  fall  of  that 


96 


IS  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY 


mighty  spirit  whose  desire  to  know,  transcended  the  law  of  his  being 
and  the  object  of  those  sublime  endowments  bestowed  upon  him. 
That  he  was  experimentally  acquainted  with  this  paramount  desire  of 
rational  nature,  is  obvious  from  the  policy  of  the  temptation  which  he 
offered.  Its  point  was  lo  stimulate,  not  the  animal,  but  the  intellectual 
appetite  of  our  mother  Eve,  by  dogmatically  affirming  that  God  forbade 
the  fruit,  because  he  knew  that  if  they  should  eat  it,  they  would  be 
as  gods,  knowing  both  good  and  evil." 

But  while  it  appears  most  probable  that  all  intelligences,  angelic 
and  human,  embodied  and  disembodied,  are  superlatively  fallible  and 
vulnerable  in  this  one  point,  and  that  their  catastrophe  was  so  far,  at 
least,  homogeneous,  as  to  afford  plausible  ground  of  inference  that  the 
not  holding  or  employing  any  power  bestowed  upon  us  in  abeyance  to 
the  will  of  the  donor,  is  the  radical  sin  of  our  nature,  and  the  prolific 
fountain  of  all  the  follies  and  misfortunes  of  man ;  still  the  desire  of 
knowledge  is  one  of  the  kindest  and  noblest  instincts  and  impulses  of 
our  nature.  "Without  it,  the  power  to  know  would  have  been  com- 
paratively, if  not  altogether,  useless  to  man. 

The  physical  wants  of  the  infant  do  not  more  naturally  nor  neces- 
sarily prompt  his  first  animal  exertions  to  find  relief,  than  does  this 
innate  principle,  this  natural  desire  of  knowledge,  urge  the  mind  into 
the  pursuit  of  new  ideas.  The  ineffable  pleasure  of  the  first  concep- 
tion only  invites  to  a  second  effort ;  and  success  in  that,  stimulates  to 
a  third;  and  so  on,  in  increasing  ratios,  till  the  full-grown  man,  on  his 
full-fledged  wings  of  intellectual  maturity,  soars  aloft,  as  the  eagle  from 
the  mountain-top,  in  quest  of  new  and  greater  discoveries.  And  never 
did  the  miser's  love  of  gold  bear  a  more  direct  proportion  to  his  success 
in  accumulating  it,  than  does  the  desire  of  knowledge  in  the  bosom  of 
the  successful  aspirant  after  new  ideas  keep  pace  with  his  intellectual 
attainments. 

This  again  suggests  to  us  a  good  reason  for  the  variety  and  immen- 
sity of  creation.  Man  needs  such  a  universe  as  this,  and  the  universe 
needs  such  a  being  as  man,  not  merely  as  a  component  part,  but  as  the 
worthy  guest  of  it.  Every  thing  that  exists  is  to  be  enjoyed  by  a 
being  who  has  the  power  of  understanding  and  admiring  it.  Now,  as 
the  human  power  to  know  and  to  enjoy  is  naturally  cumulative  and 
progressive,  the  objects  to  be  known  and  enjoyed  must  be  proportion- 
ably  vast  and  illimitable.  And  here  again  arises  a  new  proof  of  design 
and  adaptation  in  this  grand  and  eloquent  universe  of  God.  For  it  is 
not  only  in  the  infinitude  and  variety  of  its  parts — in  its  physical,  intel- 
lectual and  moral  dimensions ;  but  in  the  immeasurable  aggregate  of 


AN  INDUCTIVE  SCIENCE? 


97 


its  provisions,  as  respects  variety,  extent  and  duration,  that  it  is  so 
adapted  to  the  human  constitution — to  this  unquenchable  thirst  for 
knowledge — this  eternally  increasing  intellectual  power  of  knowing 
and  enjoying,  bestowed  on  our  rational  and  moral  nature. 

In  all  the  language  of  celestial  or  terrestrial  beings,  there  is  no  word 
of  more  comprehensive  and  transcendent  import  than  the  term  uni- 
verse. In  its  mighty  grasp,  in  its  boundless  extent,  it  embraces  Creator 
and  creature — all  past,  all  present,  all  future  existences  within  the 
revolving  circles  of  time,  and  the  endless  ages  of  eternity.  Our  finite 
minds,  indeed,  with  all  their  gigantic  powers  of  acquisition,  cannot 
compass  infinite  ideas,  but  they  can  divide  and  subdivide  the  mighty 
whole  into  such  small  parts  and  parcels  as  come  within  their  easy 
management.  We  have,  therefore,  divided  the  universe  into  innume- 
rable solar  systems  spread  over  fields  of  space  so  immense  as  to  make 
imagination  herself  flag  in  her  most  vigorous  efforts  to  survey  them. 
These  systems  we  have  again  divided  into  planets,  primary  and 
secondary;  and  these  again  into  various  kingdoms — mineral,  vegetable, 
animal,  intellectual.  These  we  have  further  distributed  into  genera, 
species  and  individuals,  until  a  single  individual  becomes  a  distinct 
theme  of  contemplation.  Even  that  we  often  find  an  object  too  large 
for  our  feeble  efforts,  and  set  about  separating  an  individual  existence 
into  the  primary  elements  of  its  nature,  the  attributes,  modes  and  cir- 
cumstances of  its  being,  before  it  comes  within  the  easy  grasp  of  a 
special  operation  of  our  minds. 

But  the  feast  of  the  mind,  the  joy  of  the  banquet,  is  not  found  in  these 
distributions  and  classifications  of  things,  but  in  viewing  every  organ 
and  atom  of  every  creature  in  reference  to  itself,  and  to  the  creature  of 
which  it  is  a  part ;  then  that  creature  as  related  to  other  creatures  of 
its  own  species  and  genera;  and  these  again  in  reference  to  other 
ranks  and  orders  belonging  to  the  particular  world  of  which  they  are 
atoms ;  and  that  world  itself  as  connected  with  others ;  and  then  aU  as 
related  to  the  Supreme  Intelligence,  the  fountain  and  source  of  all  that 
is  wise,  and  great,  and  good,  and  beautiful  and  lovely — the  Parent  of 
all  being  and  of  all  joy ;  and  thus  to  look  through  universal  nature, 
and  her  ten  thousand  portals  and  avenues,  up  to  nature's  uncreated 
and  unoriginated  Author. 

It  is,  indeed,  a  sublime  and  glorious  truth  that  this  to  us  unsearch- 
able and  incomprehensible  universe  can  all  be  converted  into  an 
infinite  and  eternal  fountain  of  joy,  an  inexhaustible  source  of  pure 
and  perennial  bliss,  commensurate  with  the  whole  capacity  of  man. 
But  this,  to  us,  is  yet  in  the  boundless  future,  and  must  depend  upon 

7 


98 


IS  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY 


the  proper  direction  given  to  our  desires  and  pursuits  in  the  contem- 
plation and  study  of  the  universe.  The  fields  of  science  are  innume- 
rable. But  few  of  them  have  ever  passed  under  the  observation  of  our 
greatest  masters.  Not  one  of  them  is  yet  understood.  The  whole 
universe,  indeed,  is  yet  to  be  studied ;  and  with  such  care  and  attention 
that  the  worlds,  and  systems  of  worlds — of  ideas  within  us,  shall 
exactly  correspond  to  the  worlds  and  systems  of  worlds  without  us. 
As  exactly  as  the  image  in  the  mirror  resembles  the  face  before  it,  so 
must  the  ideas  within  us  correspond  to  the  things  without  us,  before 
we  can  be  said  to  understand  them.  What  ages,  then,  must  pass  over 
man,  before  the  single  system  to  which  he  now  belongs  shall  have 
stamped  the  exact  image  upon  his  soul,  and  left  as  many  sciences 
within  him  as  there  are  things  cognate  and  homogeneous  without  him ! 
Before  this  begins  to  be  accomplished,  the  seven  sciences  of  the  ancients 
will  not  only  have  multiplied  into  the  seventy  times  seven  of  the 
modems,  but  into  multitudes  that  would  bankrupt  the  whole  science 
of  numbers  to  compute.  If  Socrates,  the  great  master  of  Grecian 
philosophy,  could  only  boast  that  he  had  attained  so  much  knowledge 
of  the  universe  as  to  be  confident  that  he  knew  nothing  about  it — 
comprehended  no  part  of  it — how  much  of  that  science  of  ignorance 
ought  we  to  possess,  to  whom  so  many  fountains  of  intelligence  have 
been  opened  from  which  the  sage  of  Athens  was  debarred  I 

But  as  there  is  nothing  isolated  or  independent  in  all  the  dominions 
of  God,  so  there  cannot  be  an  isolated  or  detached  science  in  any  mind, 
save  that  in  which  the  original  archetypes  of  all  things  were  arranged 
before  one  of  them  was  called  into  existence.  And  this  is  now,  and 
always  has  been,  the  insuperable  obstacle  to  the  perfect  comprehension 
of  any  one  science,  the  basis  of  which  is  in  the  realms  of  mind  or 
matter. 

Still  the  desire  to  know  rises  with  the  consciousness  of  our  ignorance, 
and  even  of  our  present  inability,  and  we  promise  ourselves  a  day 
of  grace  in  which  we  shall  not  only  know  in  part,  and  prophesy  in 
part,  but  shall  see  clearly,  comprehend  fully  and  know  as  we  are 
known.  Till  then  we  must  be  content  to  study  the  primer  of  Nature 
and  learn  the  elements  of  things  around  us,  as  preparatory  to  our 
admission  into  the  high-school  of  the  universe.  Indeed,  the  greatest 
genius,  the  most  gifted  and  learned  in  all  human  science,  rises  but  to 
the  portico  of  that  school,  the  vestibule  of  that  temple,  in  which  the 
true  science  of  true  bliss  is  practically  taught,  and  rationally  com- 
municated to  man. 

There  is  one  science,  however,  in  which  it  is  possible  to  make  great 


AN  INDUCTIVE  SCIENCE? 


99 


proficiency  in  this  life,  and  which,  of  all  the  sciences,  is  the  most 
popular,  and  withal  the  least  understood.  It  has  been  a  favorite  in 
all  the  schools  of  the  ancients,  and  of  the  moderns,  but  has  never 
been  successfully  taught  by  Grecian,  Roman,  Indian  or  Egyptian  phi- 
losophy. It  is,  indeed,  neither  more  nor  less  than  the  science  of 
happiness — than  the  philosophy  of  bliss.  But  some  of  you  will  im- 
mediately ask,  ''Where  shall  that  science  be  found?  In  what  temple 
does  she  deign  to  dwell  ?  By  what  rites  are  her  ears  to  be  propitiated 
to  our  prayers  ?  And  by  what  less  ambiguous  name  shall  she  be 
called?" 

To  introduce  her,  without  proper  ceremonies,  to  your  acquaintance, 
would  be  as  impolitic  on  my  part  as  it  would  be  perplexing  to  my 
inventive  powers  to  find  for  her  a  pleasing  and  familiar  name.  But, 
in  the  absence  of  such  a  designation,  I  will  state  the  five  points  of 
which  she  treats. 

Whether  it  is  because  we  have  only  five  senses,  five  fingers  on  each 
hand,  or  because  there  are  five  points  in  Calvinism,  and  as  many  in 
Arminianism,  that  this  divine  science  has  only  five  points,  I  leave  it 
to  more  learned  doctors  and  sages  than  your  humble  servant  to  decide. 
But  so  it  is :  she  has  five  points  peculiarly  her  own,  which  no  other 
science  in  the  universe  has  ever  been  able  to  develop  with  either 
certainty  or  satisfaction  to  any  man.  These  five  points  are — the  origin, 
the  nature,  the  relations,  the  obligations  and  the  destiny  of  man. 

Many,  indeed,  of  the  teachers,  admirers  and  votaries  of  a  science 
sometimes  called  ''moral  philosophy,"  as  taught  by  the  ancients  and 
by  the  moderns,  have,  with  a  zeal  and  devotion  truly  admirable,  and 
worthy  of  a  better  cause,  inculcated  upon  the  youth  of  past  and  present 
times  the  sufficiency  of  human  reason,  or  of  human  philosophy,  to  clear 
up  all  doubts  and  uncertainty  upon  every  subject  connected  with  man's 
relations  and  responsibilities  to  the  universe. 

That  there  are  sciences  physical,  mental  and  moral,  truly  and 
properly  so  called,  I  doubt  not ;  but  that  the  science  sometimes  called 
"moral  philosophy,"  which  professes,  from  the  mere  light  of  nature, 
to  ascertain  and  establish — indeed,  to  originate  and  set  forth — 
the  origin,  nature,  relations,  obligations  and  destiny  of  man — is  a  true 
Bcience  of  the  inductive  order,  founded  upon  facts,  upon  observation 
and  experiment,  and  not  upon  assumption,  plagiarism,  imagination,  I 
cannot  admit.  If,  then,  we  cannot  set  forth  the  science  of  happiness, 
nor  find  for  it,  at  this  time,  an  appropriate  name ;  we  shall  attempt  to 
expose,  in  part  at  least,  the  fallacy  and  imposition  of  all  human  science 
(especially  of  moral  philosophy,  which  in  this  particular  arrogates  to 


100 


IS  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY 


itself  more  than  every  other  science)  in  attempting  to  settle  or 
develop  any  one  of  these  five  points  with  any  degree  of  certainty, 
authority  or  evidence,  either  salutary  or  satisfactory  to  any  man  of 
sense. 

This  is  neither  the  time  nor  the  place  for  mere  definitions,  meta- 
physical arguments,  nor  for  abstract  reasonings.  A  definition  or  two 
we  may  have  occasion  to  ofier;  but  we  shall  rely  much  more  upon  a 
safer  and  more  palpable  evidence  in  demonstrating  the  perfect  impo- 
tency  of  philosophy  and  human  reason,  however  cultivated,  possessing 
only  the  mere  light  of  nature,  to  decide  and  enforce  any  one  of  these 
five  cardinal  points. 

It  will,  I  presume,  be  conceded  by  all  persons  of  education  and  good 
sense,  that  human  happiness  demands  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  our 
powers  and  capacities,  in  harmony  with  all  our  relations  and  obliga- 
tions to  the  creation  of  which  we  are  a  part,  and  that  a  knowledge  of 
those  relations  and  obligations  is  essential  to  the  fulfilment  and  enjoy- 
ment of  them;  consequently  there  is  a  very  great  intimacy  between 
the  knowledge  of  these  points  and  the  philosophy  of  bliss. 

It.  will  also  be  conceded  that  the  knowledge  of  our  obligations  and 
relations  presupposes  a  knowledge  of  our  origin  and  destiny;  and, 
therefore,  whatever  system  of  reasoning,  whatever  science,  fails  to 
reveal  these,  cannot  possibly  develop  those.  These  things  premised, 
I  hasten  to  show,  that  while  moral  philosophy  proposes  to  do  all  this, 
she  has  never  done  it  in  any  one  instance — her  greatest  masters  and 
most  eloquent  and  powerful  pleaders  being  accepted  as  credible  testi- 
mony in  the  case. 

That  moral  philosophy  assumes  to  teach  man  his  obligations  and 
relations  to  Creator  and  creatures,  and  to  make  him  virtuous  and 
happy,  is  first  to  be  proved.  Whose  testimony,  then,  shall  we  hear  ? 
That  of  the  greatest  of  Roman  philosophers — the  most  learned  of  her 
scholars — the  most  profound  of  her  reasoners— the  most  eloquent  of 
her  orators — the  most  accomplished  of  her  citizens — the  unrivalled 
Cicero  ?  He  was,  indeed,  an  honor  to  human  nature ;  and,  without 
exaggeration,  in  my  opinion,  the  greatest  man  Pagan  Rome  ever  pro- 
duced. Many  a  fine  encomium  on  philosophy  may  be  gleaned  from 
his  numerous  writings ;  but  a  few  sentences  will  suffice  to  imprint  his 
views  on  every  mind.  Philosophy,"  says  he,  ''is  the  culture  of  the 
mind  that  plucketh  up  vice  by  the  roots — the  medicine  of  the  soul  that 
healeth  the  minds  of  men.  From  philosophy  we  may  draw  all  proper 
helps  and  assistance  for  leading  virtuous  and  happy  lives.  The  cor- 
rection of  all  our  vices  and  sins  is  to  be  sought  for  from  philosophy. 


AN  INDUCTIVE  SCIENCE? 


101 


0  Philosophy!"  adds  he,  ''the  guide  of  life — the  searcher  out  of 
virtue  and  the  expeller  of  vice,  what  would  we  be,  nay,  what  would  be 
the  life  of  man,  without  thee !  Thou  wast  the  inventress  of  laws,  the 
mistress  of  morals,  the  teacher  of  discipline !  For  thee  we  plead — 
from  thee  we  beg  assistance.  One  day  spent  according  to  thy  precepts 
is  preferable  to  an  immortality  spent  in  sin."*  So  spake  the  gigantic 
Roman,  standing  on  the  shoulders  of  the  more  gigantic  Greek  phi- 
losophers, Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle,  Zeno,  and  a  hundred  others  of 
minor  fame. 

We  shall  next  hear  the  oracle  of  modern  philosophers  who  filled  the 
chair  of  Dugald  Stewart,  the  greatest  of  metaphysicians.  Philo- 
sophy," says  he — quoting  the  most  renowned  of  the  stoics  of  Roman 
fame,  the  distinguished  Seneca — ''Philosophy  forms  and  fashions  the 
soul,  and  gives  to  life  its  disposition  and  order,  which  points  out  what 
is  our  duty  to  do,  and  what  is  our  duty  to  omit.  It  sits  at  the  helm, 
and  in  a  sea  of  peril  directs  the  course  of  those  who  are  wandering 
through  the  waves."  "Such,"  says  our  model  philosopher  in  American 
schools.  Brown  of  Edinburgh,  ''is  the  great  practical  object  of  all 
philosophy."  "It  comprehends,"  adds  this  standard  author,  ''the 
nature  of  our  spiritual  being,  as  displayed  in  all  the  phenomena  of 
feeling  and  of  thought — the  ties  which  bind  us  to  our  fellow-men  and 
to  our  Creator,  and  the  prospect  of  that  unfading  existence,  of  which  life 
is  but  the  first  dawning  gleam."  (Vol.  i.  ch.  14.)  Such,  then,  are  the 
pretensions  of  philosophy,  mental  and  moral,  in  the  esteem  of  Christian 
as  well  as  in  that  of  Pagan  sages. 

I  believe  this  to  be  the  orthodox  creed  of  all  the  popular  schools  in 
Britain  and  in  America.  Indeed,  both  Hartley  and  Paley  might  be 
quoted  as  going  still  further,  in  ascribing  to  moral  philosophy  an  almost 
superior  excellence  in  some  points  even  to  Revelation  itself.  But 
we  need  not  such  exaggerated  views.  The  preceding  will  suffice  for 
a  text. 

We  shall  now  look  for  the  exemplification  of  the  fruits  of  this  boasted 
and  boastful  philosophy  in  the  admissions,  declarations  and  acts  of 
its  teachers,  and  in  the  lives  and  morality  of  its  students  and  admirers. 

The  witnesses  to  be  heard  in  this  case  are  the  Grecian  and  Roman 
lawgivers  and  philosophers.  We  have  not  time  to  hear  them  depose 
singly  and  separately :  we  shall  therefore  examine  them  in  companies. 

The  Greek  philosophy  is  all  arranged  in  three  lines ;  as  the  learned, 


*  See  Cic.  Tuscul.  Disputations,  lib.  2,  caps.  4  and  5  ;  lib.  3,  cap.  3;  lib.  4,  cap.  88  j 
lib.  5,  cap.  2 


102 


IS  MOEAL  PHILOSOPHY 


since  and  before  the  revival  of  literature,  have  conceded.  These  three 
great  lines  are  the  Ionic,  the  Italic  and  the  Eleatic.  The  Ionic  was 
founded  by  the  great  Thales  of  the  Ionian  Miletus ;  the  first  natural 
philosopher  and  astronomer  of  Greece,  who  divided  the  year  into  three 
hundred  and  sixty-five  days ;  observed  the  diameter  of  the  sun ;  and 
foretold  eclipses,  about  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century  before  Christ. 
The  Italic  was  founded  by  that  great  lawgiver  and  philosopher,  Pytha- 
goras, who  established  a  school  in  Italy  a  little  after  the  middle  of  the 
fifth  century  before  Christ.  The  Eleatic  was  founded  by  Leucippus 
and  Parmenides,  of  Elae,  early  in  the  fifth  century  before  Christ ;  the 
chiefs  of  which  may  be  alluded  to  in  the  sequel.  These  schools  are 
all  named  from  the  country  or  place  in  which  they  were  originally 
located. 

The  Eleatic  school  was  wholly  atheistic,  root  and  branch.  Leu- 
cippus first  taught  the  doctrine  of  atoms,  afterwards  adopted  by  the 
learned  and  facetious  Democritus.  While  Heraclitus,  the  great  Ephe- 
sian  philosopher,  wept  over  the  follies  of  men,  Democritus  laughed  at 
them,  and  taught  that  the  universe  was  but  the  fortuitous  concourse  of 
atoms.  The  more  refined  and  accomplished  Epicurus  speculated  at 
great  length  upon  the  same  theories,  somewhat  modified ;  and  each  of 
these  great  names  headed  a  sect  of  atheists,  who,  while  they  agreed 
in  the  essential  doctrine,  difi'ered  in  minor  points.  The  essential  doc- 
trines of  all  the  sects  of  the  Eleatic  school  were,  that  the  world  was 
made  by  the  god  Chance — a  fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms ;  that  it  is 
governed  by  no  intelligence,  ruled  by  no  governor  and  preserved  by 
no  providence.  That  the  soul,  if  there  be  any,  dies  with  the  body ; 
consequently  there  is  no  future  life.  That  there  is  neither  virtue  nor 
vice,  moral  good  nor  moral  evil  by  nature,  or  any  other  law  than  that 
of  custom  and  public  utility.  That  pleasure  is  the  chief  good,  and  pain 
the  greatest  evil,  to  man. 

With  the  moral  theories  of  this  school  other  distinguished  philoso- 
phers concurred,  amongst  whom  Laertius  ranks  Theodorus,  Archelaus 
and  Aristippus,  teaching  that  upon  fit  occasions  (that  is,  when  not 
likely  to  be  detected)  theft,  sacrilege,  and  other  enormities  which  we 
cannot  name,  might  be  committed,  because  nothing  was  by  nature  or 
of  itself  base,  but  by  law  and  custom.  I  shall  certainly  be  allowed  to 
dismiss  this  school  without  further  hearing,  without  a  more  formal 
proof  that  moral  philosophy,  in  their  hands,  was  not  what  our  great 
moral  philosophers,  from  Cicero  down  to  Stewart  and  Brown  of  Scotch 
and  American  fame,  have  affirmed,  viz.  ''The  guide  of  life,  the  stand- 
ard of  ''artue,  the  path  to  happiness." 


AN  INDUCTIVE  SCIENCE? 


103 


We  shall  now  hear  the  second  school — the  Italic.  Pythagoras  him- 
self, the  great  Grecian  father  of  the  Metempsychosis,  and  his  distinguished 
pupil,  the  Locrian  Timaeus,  have  opened  the  mysteries  of  this  line  in 
their  leading  differential  attributes.  This  school  believed  in  souls,  and 
taught  their  immortality  too.  But  curious  souls  they  were,  and  un- 
enviable their  immortality.  "  The  soul  of  the  world,"  said  they,  is 
an  immortal  soul,  and  human  souls  are  but  emanations  from  it;  to 
which,  after  some  ages  of  transmigrations,  they  return  and  are  re- 
absorbed." This  is  a  miniature  of  the  darling  peculiarity  of  Pytha- 
goreanism.  These  emanation  souls  were,  by  an  insuperable  necessity, 
to  make  the  tour  of  some  definite  number  of  human  bodies — clean  and 
unclean ;  and  on  their  return  to  the  anima  mundi,  to  lose  their  indi- 
viduality and  identity,  and  to  be  amalgamated  with  it.  This  soul  of 
the  world,  moreover,  was,  by  the  god  Necessity,  compelled  to  change 
worlds.  Hence  a  succession  of  new  worlds  and  of  new  transmigrations 
of  the  soul  of  the  world  was  to  fill  up  the  series  of  infinite  ages.  This 
was  illustrated  by  a  bottle  of  sea-water,  well  corked,  tossing  about  in 
the  tumults  of  the  ocean  until  the  cork  decayed,  or  till  the  bottle 
dashed  upon  a  rock.  In  either  event  its  soul,  or  the  water  within,  mingled 
with  the  water  of  the  ocean,  and  so  lost  its  identity ;  yet  it  was  as  im- 
mortal as  the  ocean,  because  a  part  of  it.  If  the  illustration  was  good, 
the  proof  was  better.  This  learned  lawgiver  and  philosopher,  blessed 
with  a  retentive  memory,  was  able  to  prove  his  doctrine  by  narrating 
nis  own  various  and  numerous  transmigrations,  antecedent  to  the  name 
and  body  of  Pythagoras.  His  delighted  followers  heard  of  his  curious 
and  brilliant  intrigues  and  singular  freaks  while  his  soul  was  taber- 
nacling in  other  mortal  tenements. 

If  any  one  can  find  reasons  of  morality  or  of  piety,  motives  to  virtue 
or  sources  of  joy  in  this  school,  he  must  excel  the  ingenious  Ovid 
himself,  who  had  to  amend  it  in  one  or  two  points  to  suit  the  licen- 
tiousness of  his  own  poetry.  If  not  elegantly,  he  is  correctly  trans- 
lated in  the  following  lines,  taken  from  his  fifteenth  book : — 

"0  you  whom  horrors  of  cold  death  affright, 
Why  fear  you  Styx  ?  vain  name !  and  endless  night, 
The  dreams  of  poets,  and  feign'd  miseries 
Of  forged  hell,  whether  last  flames  surprise 
Or  age  devour  your  bodies :  they  ne'er  grieve. 
Nor  suffer  pain.    Our  souls  forever  live, 
Yet  evermore  their  ancient  houses  leave 
To  live  in  new,  which  them  as  guests  receive." 

But  need  we  ask,  How  can  human  souls  enjoy  or  suffer  any  thing 


104 


IS  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY 


with  a  reference  to  the  past,  having  first  lost  every  feeling  of  persona, 
identity?  This  school,  then,  was  as  ineffectual  a  guide  of  life — as 
whimsical  a  standard  of  virtue — as  fallacious  a  way  of  happiness,  as 
the  Eleatic. 

There  yet  remains  another  school — the  Ionic  school,  more  ancient, 
and  therefore  more  orthodox,  than  either  of  the  former  two.  Thales, 
its  founder,  was  followed  by  Anaximander  and  Anaximenes :  these 
were  followed  by  Anaxagoras,  the  instructor  of  Pericles,  and  Archelaus, 
the  alleged  master  of  Socrates.  These  all,  down  to  Socrates,  devoted 
themselves  to  physics  and  not  to  morals ;  therefore  they  are  out  of  our 
premises.  Not  so  Socrates  :  of  him  Cicero  has  said,  He  was  the  first 
to  call  philosophy  from  the  heavens,  to  place  it  in  cities,  and  to  intro- 
duce it  into  private  houses :  that  is,  to  teach  public  and  private  morals." 
He  was,  indeed,  the  first  and  the  last  of  all  the  Grecian  philosophers 
that  wholly  devoted  himself  to  morals. 

Plato  and  Xenophon  were  his  immediate  pupils;  Aristotle  and 
Xenocrates  theirs.  The  Ionic  school,  in  its  theological  and  moral 
departments,  was  now  merged  in  the  Socratic ;  but  that  soon  branched 
off  into  several  sects — the  Platonic,  or  old  Academic;  the  Aristotelian, 
or  Peripatetic ;  the  Stoic,  founded  by  Zeno ;  the  middle  Academy,  by 
Arcesilaus;  and  the  new  Academy,  by  Carneades.  Between  these 
two  last  Academies  there  was  no  real  nor  permanent  difference.  If  not 
in  all  their  conclusions,  they  were,  in  all  their  modes  of  reasoning, 
skeptical.  Their  discriminating  principles  were,  that  nothing  could 
be  known,"  and  that  every  thing  was  to  he  disputed/'  consequently, 
nothing  was  to  be  assented  to,  said  the  absolute  skeptic.  ''No,"  said 
the  Academics,  "  the  probable,  wherever  you  find  it,  must  be  assented 
to,  but,  till  it  be  found,  you  are  to  doubt."  And  the  misfortune  was, 
they  rarely  or  never  found  the  probable ;  and  in  effect  the  Academics 
and  followers  of  Pyrrho,  the  absolute  skeptic,  were  equally  atheists  all 
their  lives.  Meanwhile,  as  said  the  learned  Bishop  of  Gloucester, 
"  they  talked  perpetually  of  their  verisimile  and  of  their  probabile, 
amidst  a  situation  of  absolute  doubt,  darkness  and  skepticism — like 
Sancho  Panza  of  his  island  on  the  terra  firmaT'  Pyrrho  dogmatically 
affirmed  that  ''no  one  opinion  was  more  probable  than  another,"  and 
that  there  were  no  moral  qualities  or  distinctions.  Beauty  and  de- 
formity, virtue  and  vice,  happiness  and  misery,  had  no  real  cause,  but 
depended  on  comparison — in  one  word,  that  "all  was  relative." 

The  lights  of  all  Pagan  philosophy  are  now  reduced  to  the  three 
sects  of  the  Socratic  school — the  Platonic,  the  Peripatetic  and  the 
Stoic.    If  we  find  no  surer,  no  clearer  moral  lights  in  these  three,  all 


AN  INDUCTIVE  SCIENCE? 


105 


Grecian,  all  Eoman  philosophy  is  a  varied  and  extended  system  of 
skepticism,  so  far  as  the  origin,  moral  obligations  and  destiny  of  man 
are  invplved. 

The  Stoic,  (for  we  shall  take  the  last  first,)  so  called,  not  from  Zeno, 
their  founder,  nor  from  his  city ;  but  from  the  painted  porch  in  Athens, 
from  which  he  promulged  his  doctrines,  by  another  route  arrived  at 
the  same  goal  with  Epicurus.  In  their  abstractions  they  discovered,  I 
had  almost  said,  that  pain  was  pleasure ;  at  least,  that  pain  was  no  evil. 
Epicurus  taught  that  pleasure  was  the  only  good — Zeno,  that  virtue 
alone  was  bliss — Epicuras,  that  virtue  was  only  valuable  as  the  means 
of  pleasure.  Both  agreed  in  demanding  from  their  disciples  an  abso- 
lute command  over  their  passions,  and  both  supposed  it  practicable. 
They  both  boldly  asserted  that  the  philosophy  which  they  taught  was 
the  only  way  to  happiness ;  and  yet  both  agreed  that  there  was  no 
future  state  of  happiness  or  misery,  and  equally  justified  self-murder. 

Could  any  evidence  dissipate  the  delusion  of  the  competency  of 
philosophy  to  be  either  the  standard  of  virtue  or  the  guide  of  life, 
methinks  it  might  be  found  in  this  best  of  Pagan  schools.  Amongst 
its  brightest  ornaments  were  Chrysippus,  Cato  of  Utica,  Epictetus, 
Seneca  and  Marcus  Antoninus  the  Pious.  Plausible  in  many  of  their 
dogmata,  prepossessing  in  their  displays  of  certain  virtues,  fascinating 
in  some  of  their  theories,  most  ingenious  in  all  their  speculations,  they 
breathed  contempt  both  of  pleasure  and  pain,  commanded  the  extin- 
guishment of  passion  and  appetite,  eulogized  temperance  and  self- 
government,  and  extolled  the  dignity  of  virtue  and  the  rules  of 
modesty  and  piety ;  while  themselves  were  addicted  to  vicious  indul- 
gences, sensual  pleasures,  and  even  to  gross  intemperance  itself. 
Zeno  drank  to  excess,  and  killed  himself  rather  than  endure  the  pain 
of  a  broken  finger;  Chrysippus  died  of  a  surfeit  of  sacrificial  wine; 
Cleanthus  followed  his  example ;  while  Cato  of  Utica  thrust  the  dagger 
into  his  own  heart ;  Epictetus  gave  to  the  human  will  a  power  almighty, 
above  that  of  the  gods  themselves,  and  advised  suicide  in  certain  cases ; 
Seneca  taught  that  no  man  ought  to  fear  God — that  a  virtuous  man 
equalled  him  in  happiness;  he  justified  the  drunkenness  of  Cato,  and 
plead  for  self-murder ;  while  many  of  them  indulged  in  the  grosser 
and  more  nameless  vices  of  the  Paoran  world.  Of  none  of  the  Stoics 
could  as  much  in  truth  be  said  as  Cowley  says  of  Epicurus : — 

*'  His  life  he  to  his  doctrine  brought. 
And  in  a  garden's  shade  that  sovereign  pleasure  sought  ; 
Whoever  a  true  Epicure  would  be 
Maj  there  find  cheap  and  virtuous  luxury." 


106 


IS   MORAL  PHILOSOPHY 


The  Peripatetic  school,  so  denominated  from  the  peripaton,  or  walk 
of  the  Lyceum  in  which  Aristotle  taught  his  philosophy,  next  claims 
our  attention.  With  the  moral  part  of  his  theory  our  demonstration 
lies.  Aristotle,  then,  with  all  his  prodigious  parts,  great  erudition 
and  various  and  profound  studies,  was  a  polytheist.  He  asserted  the 
eternity  of  the  world  both  in  matter  and  form.  He,  indeed,  held  a 
supreme  abstract  Intelligence,  which  he  called  the  Supreme  God — 
pretty  much  the  anima  mundi  of  Pythagoras.  This  Supreme  God 
was  the  life  and  soul  of  all  the  gods  inferior ;  for  all  the  stars  were, 
with  him,  true  and  eternal  gods.  He  denied  that  Providence  ever 
stooped  beneath  the  moon,  and,  consequently,  superintended  not  human 
affairs.  His  moral  sentiments  and  theories,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
corresponded  with  his  theological  views.  He  not  only  approved  but 
prescribed  the  exposing  and  destroying  of  weak  and  sickly  children. 
He  encouraged  revenge.  Vacillating  in  all  his  theories  of  the  soul, 
he  doubted  at  one  time  its  future  existence,  and  finally  concludes  the 
ninth  chapter  of  his  third  book  of  Ethics  with  these  words :  Death  is 
the  most  dreadful  of  all  things ;  for  that  is  the  end  of  our  existence : 
for  to  him  that  is  dead  there  seems  nothing  further  to  remain,  whether 
good  or  evil."  Dic^earchus,  one  of  his  most  learned  followers,  whom 
Cicero  extols,  wrote  books  to  prove  that  souls  are  mortal ;  and  many 
of  his  followers  compared  the  soul  to  the  harmony  of  a  musical  instru- 
ment, which  has  no  existsnce  when  the  instrument  is  destroyed.  The 
Platonic  school,  or  the  old  Academic,  is  not  much  better  than  the 
Peripatetic.  Plato  is  designedly  obscure  in  aU  his  speculations  on 
divinity.  He  affirms  one  Supreme  God,  but  he  had  no  concern  in  the 
creation  or  government  of  the  world,  and  recommended  the  people  to 
worship  a  plurality  of  inferior  deities.  He  extols  the  oracles,  and 
advises  the  consultation  of  them  in  all  matters  of  religion  and  worship. 
He  prescribed  great  licentiousness  of  manners ;  allows,  and  sometimes 
commands,  the  exposing  and  destroying  of  children.  He  declares  that 
OD  proper  occasions  lying  is  not  only  profitable,  but  lawful.  He  argues 
the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  speaks  of  the  rewards  and  punish- 
ments of  a  future  Ufe.  He  sometimes,  however,  equivocates  on  this 
subject,  and  seems  to  believe  in  the  transmigration  of  souls ;  while 
again  he  will  have  the  soul  immortal  from  a  necessity  of  nature,  oi 
from  an  antecedent  immortality.  He  taught  the  Greeks  to  love  them- 
selves and  hate  the  barbarians  as  enemies ;  by  which  term  he  denoted 
all  other  nations. 

But  yet  there  remains  Socrates  himself,  the  father  of  the  Greek 
moral  philosoplv.    Though  not  followed  in  the  best  part  of  his  specu- 


AN  INDUCTIVE  SCIENCE? 


107 


lations  by  even  his  own  Plato,  who,  nevertheless,  with  the  exception 
of  Xenophon  in  some  points,  followed  him  more  closely  than  any 
other  disciple  of  the  Socratic  school,  he  clearly  asserted  and  boldly 
taught  one  God,  the  immortality  of  the  soul  and  future  retributions. 
Paradoxical,  however,  though  it  be,  he  did  not  fully  believe  the  doc- 
trine which  he  taught.  Sometimes  he  believed  it;  at  other,  times, 
his  reasonings  not  fully  proving  it,  he  seems  to  doubt  it.  He  appears, 
indeed,  to  have  died  a  skeptic.  He  both  taught  and  practised  poly- 
theism, and  amongst  his  last  words  ordered  a  sacrifice  to  the  god  of 
physic. 

As  Plato  represents  him  in  his  Phcedon,  the  more  nearly  he  ap- 
proached death,  the  more  he  doubted  his  own  doctrine.  To  his  sur- 
rounding friends  he  says,  "  I  hope  that  I  shall  go  to  good  men  after 
death;  but  this  I  will  not  absolutely  affirm."  But  as  to  his  going  to  - 
the  gods  he  is  positive.  ''If,"  says  he,  ''I  could  affirm  any  thing 
concerning  matters  of  such  a  nature,  I  would  affirm  this."  Again, 
"That  these  things  are  so,  as  I  have  represented  them,  it  does  not 
become  any  man  of  understanding  to  affirm ;  though,  if  it  appear  that 
the  soul  is  immortal,  it  seems  reasonable  to  think  that  either  such 
things,  or  something  like  them,  are  true  with  regard  to  our  souls  and 
their  habitations  after  death ;  and  that  it  is  worth  making  a  trial,  for 
the  trial  is  noble." 

To  his  judges  he  says,  "  There  is  much  ground  to  hope  that  death  is 
good ;  for  it  must  necessarily  be  one  of  the  two :  either  the  dead  man 
is  nothing,  and  hath  not  a  sense  of  any  thing,  or  it  is  only  a  change  or 
migration  of  the  soul  hence  to  another  place — according  to  what  we 
are  told  " — 

Kara  ro  Xeyo/ieva. 

Finally,  he  says,  "Those  who  live  there  are  both  in  other  respects 
*  happier  than  we,  and  also  in  this,  that  ever  after  they  are  immortal." 
If  the  things  which  are  told  us  are  true,  Eenep  ra  Xeyofieva  aXede  tartv. 
Such  are  the  triumphs  of  philosophy.  Such  is  its  power  to  guide  the 
life,  the  piety,  the  morality,  the  destiny  of  man. 

But  we  are  about  still  further  to  despoil  it  of  the  little  light  that  it 
has,  and  divest  it  of  all  its  glory,  even  in  the  points  in  which  the  throe 
mightiest  of  Grecian  philosophers — Socrates,  Plato  and  Aristotle — most 
deserve  and  have  most  enjoyed  the  admiration  of  the  world. 

Eemember  the  last  words  of  Socrates — ^^If,  indeed,  the  things  that 
have  been  told  us  are  true''  Who,  then,  will  have  the  temerity  to 
affirm  that  moral  philosophy  is  a  true  science ;  that  it  builds  upon  its 
own  foundation  and  uses  only  its  own  materials ;  while  its  father  and 


108  IS  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY 

founder  at  last  shifts  it  off  the  basis  of  reason  and  its  own  researches, 
and  seeks  for  a  foundation  in  the  traditions  of  former  times  ? 

Tradition,  then,  and  not  induction,  originated  in  the  minds  of  the 
Socratic  school  all  the  light  of  the  origin,  moral  obligations  and  destiny 
of  man,  which  this  school  and  the  Grecian  and  the  Roman  world  from 
it  enjoyed. 

The  history  of  the  whole  matter  is  this : — The  Romans  borrowed 
from  the  Greeks,  the  Greeks  stole  from  the  Egyptians  and  Phenicians, 
while  they  borrowed  from  the  Chaldeans  and  Assyrians,  who  stole  from 
the  Abrahamic  family  all  their  notions  of  the  spirituality,  eternity  and 
unity  of  God,  the  primitive  state  of  man,  his  fall,  sacrifice,  priests, 
altars,  immortality  of  the  soul,  a  future  state,  eternal  judgment  and 
the  ultimate  retribution  of  all  men  according  to  their  works. 

We  might,  indeed,  pursue  the  same  course  in  reference  to  the  Per- 
sians, the  Egyptians,  the  Indians,  the  ancient  Gauls,  and  trace  all  the 
light  in  them  to  the  same  common  origin. 

The  Indians,  Egyptians,  Phenicians,  Greeks,  Romans,  made  very 
great  advances  in  geometry,  astronomy,  natural  history,  philosophy, 
language,  politics,  oratory,  and  the  fine  arts  of  architecture,  sculpture, 
painting,  poetry  and  music.  But  in  the  points  before  us  they  degene- 
rated into  superstition,  mythology,  licentiousness  and  barbarity. 

As  we  examine  and  compare  all  the  systems  of  moral  philosophy  and 
theology,  ascending  the  streams  of  antiquity  we  find  the  Druids  among 
the  Gauls,  the  Magi  among  the  Persians,  the  Brahmins  among  the 
Indians,  the  philosophers  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  all  borrow- 
ing from  one  original  and  universal  tradition.  The  writings  of  Con- 
fucius and  Zoroaster,  of  Borosus  and  Sanchoniathon,  and  every  ancient 
monument  which  has  escaped  the  wreck  of  time,  bear  inscribed  upon 
them  the  same  unequivocal  testimony. 

Thus  the  lawgivers,  philosophers  and  sages  of  Greece  travelled  into 
Egypt  and  the  East  in  quest  of  knowledge.  Amongst  the  Grecian 
lawgivers  and  sages  who  visited  this  ancient  and  celebrated  country  in 
search  of  new  ideas,  were  Orpheus,  Rhadamanthus,  Minos,  Lycaon, 
Triptolemus,  Solon,  Pythagoras,  Plato,  &c. ;  by  whom  the  Greeks,  as 
generally  acknowledged  by  themselves,  imported  from  Egypt  their 
theology,  philosophy  and  learning. 

Philosophy,  or  human  reason,  as  may  appear  in  the  sequel,  is  very 
inadequate  to  the  discovery  of  ideas  on  any  of  the  great  points  involved 
in  _  the  origin,  obligations  and  destiny  of  man.  Hence,  sensible  and 
learned  men  of  former  times  and  of  the  present  day  assign  to  traditwn 
or  revelation,  har-^ed  down  orally,  and  neither  to    natural  religion" 


AN  INDUCTIVE  SCIENCE? 


109 


nor  moral  philosophy,  all  knowledge  upon  these  subjects.  Great  and 
learned  names  may  be  found  in  abundance,  to  sanction  the  conclusion 
to  which  we  are  forced  to  come,  from  the  facts  now  standing  in  our 
horizon.  These  will  say,  with  the  distinguished  Puffendorf,  in  his  Law 
of  Nations,*  ''It  is  very  probable  that  God  himself  taught  the  first 
men  the  chief  heads  of  natural  laws,  which  were  preserved  and  spread 
abroad  by  means  of  education  and  custom."  ''Nature,"  says  Plutarch, 
in  his  treatise  on  Education,  "  nature  without  learning  or  instruction 
is  a  blind  thing."  ''Vice  can  have  access  to  the  soul  by  many  parts  of 
the  body;  but  virtue  can  lay  hold  of  a  young  man  only  by  his  ears." 
And  "Man,"  says  Plato,  "if  not  properly  educated,  is  the  wildest  and 
most  untractable  of  all  earthly  animals."  And,  declare  a  host  of  close 
observers,  "  No  man  has  ever  been  found  possessed  of  a  spiritual  con- 
ception by  the  mere  exercise  of  his  own  powers." 

But,  to  complete  our  premises,  two  things  are  yet  wanting — a  just 
view  of  tradition,  and  of  the  comparative  claims  of  reason  and  faith  as 
faculties  or  powers  of  acquiring  knowledge  of  the  highest  and  most 
important  character.  On  these  we  have  time  for  but  a  few  remarks. 
And,  first,  of  tradition  as  the  first  and  chief  source  of  knowledge  to 
man. 

Before  an  efi'ort  to  sketch  the  history  of  ancient  tradition,  we  must 
define  the  term.  According  to  Milton — a  name  of  high  renown — "tra- 
dition is  any  thing  delivered  orally  from  age  to  age."  But,  in  its  more 
enlarged  signification,  it  denotes  any  thing — fact,  event,  opinion — 
handed  down  to  us,  whether  by  word  or  writing.  Still,  the  ancient 
traditions  being  accounts  of  things  delivered  from  mouth  to  mouth, 
without  written  memorials,  while  speaking  of  them  I  shall  use  the 
term  as  defined  by  Milton — Things  delivered  orally  from  age  to  age. 

Few  of  us  have  paid  much  attention  either  to  the  nature  or  the 
amount  of  that  knowledge  possessed  in  the  remotest  ages  of  the  world, 
or  to  the  safe  and  direct  manner  by  which  it  was  communicated  from 
one  generation  to  another.  It  was  a  true  and  practical  knowledge  of 
those  five  elements  which  was  essential  to  the  science  of  happiness. 
On  no  one  of  these  points  did  mun,  could  man,  begin  to  speculate  or 
philosophize  till  tradition  was  corrupted  by  fable,  and  men  began  to 
doubt.  Hence  the  era  of  philosophy,  mental  and  moral,  was  the  era 
of  skepticism.  For,  in  the  name  of  reason,  why  should  a  man  institute 
a  demonstration  a  priori  or  a  posteriori  to  ascertain  a  fact  for  whic}i 
he  had  direct,  positive  and  unequivocal  evidence  ? 


*  Vol.  ii.  chap.  iii.  sect.  20 


110 


IS  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY 


That  the  first  man  never  was  an  infant,  reason  and  philosophy  are 
compelled  to  admit;  and  that  he  was  spoken  to  before  he  spoke,  and 
that  by  a  superior  Being,  are  postulates  which  will  be  no  sooner  de- 
manded than  conceded  by  every  man  having  any  pretensions  to  science 
or  reason.  Of  course,  then,  the  adult  Adam  received  knowledge  orally 
from  its  fountain — ^knowledge  of  his  origin,  nature,  relations,  obliga- 
tions and  destiny.  If  he  did  not  fully  comprehend  each  or  all  of 
these,  he  could  not  possibly  be  ignorant  of  any  one  of  them.  He  lived 
for  nine  hundred  and  thirty  years,  an  adult  life  all  the  time ;  and  cer- 
tainly was  the  oracle  of  the  world  for  the  first  thousand  years  of  its 
history. 

But  there  were  two  witnesses  from  the  beginning;  and  two  wit- 
nesses most  credible,  becaiise  every  feeling  of  human  nature  compelled 
Adam  and  Eve  to  give  a  true  history  of  their  experience  to  their  own 
children.  Methuselah,  who  lived  to  the  age  of  nine  hundred  and 
sixty-nine — the  very  year  of  the  deluge — conversed  with  Adam  for 
two  hundred  and  forty- three  years ;  and  with  Shem,  the  son  of  Noah, 
for  almost  one  hundred  years.  Thus,  not  only  all  the  experience,  all 
the  acquisitions,  of  these  two  great  and  learned  sages,  (for  great  and 
learned  they  truly  were,)  but  all  the  science  of  the  antediluvian  world 
was  carried  down  to  Shem  by  the  lips  of  one  man.  Now,  as  Shem 
lived  five  hundred  years  after  the  flood,  he  must  have  been  the  greatest 
of  moral  oracles  that  ever  lived.  All  antiquity,  from  Adam  to  himself, 
came  to  his  ears  by  one  man,  corroborated  too  by  the  concurrent  testi- 
mony of  many  others. 

The  amount  and  variety  of  knowledge  which  Methuselah  possessed 
and  communicated  would,  without  much  reflection,  be  almost  incredible 
to  any  one  who  has  not  closely  looked  into  the  fragments  of  sacred 
history  which  are  extant  at  this  hour.  Besides,  their  knowledge  of 
geology,  astronomy,  natural  history,  chronology  and  general  physics 
was  much  more  extensive  than  we  imagine. 

Enoch,  the  father  of  Methuselah — the  most  enlightened  and  perfect 
man  that  lived  during  the  first  two  thousand  years  of  human  history- 
was  a  most  gifted  teacher  of  the  science  of  morals.  He  taught  a  future 
judgment,  the  co7ning  of  the  Lord,  with  ten  thousand  of  his  saints,  to 
punish  the  wicked ;  and,  in  his  translation  to  heaven — body,  soul  and 
spirit — forty-four  years  before  Seth,  the  immediate  son  of  Adam,  died, 
gave  an  exemplification  of  the  immortality  of  the  saints  to  all  his  con- 
temporaries and  to  posterity  through  all  generations.  At  the  time  of 
his  translation,  Seth,  Enos,  Cainan,  Mahalaleel,  Jared,  Methuselah  and 
Lamech  were  all  of  mature  age  and  reason;  so  that  all  the  generations 


AN  INDUCTIVE  SCIENCE? 


Ill 


between  Adam  and  Noah  had  the  advantage  oi  the  doctrine,  manner 
of  life  and  translation  of  Enoch.  The  origin  of  the  universe  and  of 
man — his  nature,  relations,  obligations  and  destiny — were,  therefore, 
matters  of  fact  or  direct  testimony  amongst  the  antediluvians,  and 
faithfully  communicated  from  the  mouth  of  one  individual,  corrobo- 
rated by  many  concurrent  witnesses,  into  the  ears  of  Shem.  Shem, 
too,  became  an  oracle  of  the  postdiluvians  for  five  hundred  years; 
spending  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  his  life  with  Abraham,  and 
fifty  with  Isaac,  his  son.  Thus  the  entire  experience  of  Adam  came  to 
Shem  through  one  individual,  and  passed  through  him  to  Isaac;  so 
that  from  the  tongue  of  Methuselah  the  words  of  Adam  fell  upon  the 
ears  of  Shem,  and  from  the  tongue  of  Shem  may  have  fallen  upon  the 
ears  of  Abraham  and  Isaac. 

The  vast  knowledge  of  ten  antediluvian  generations,  with  the  sub- 
sequent details  of  four  hundred  years — a  period  of  two  thousand  one 
hundred  and  fifty-six  years — is  transferred  to  Isaac  through  two 
persons. 

But,  while  I  thus  speak  of  two  persons,  I  would  not  be  understood 
as  making  them  the  sole  depositaries  of  all  the  learning  and  knowledge 
of  twenty  generations  of  men.  In  keeping  the  chronicles  of  the  world, 
Adam  was  aided  eight  hundred  years  by  his  son  Seth ;  almost  seven 
hundred  by  his  grandson  Enos ;  six  hundred  by  Cainan ;  five  hundred 
by  Mahalaleel;  four  hundred  by  Jared;  three  hundred  by  Enoch;  two 
hundred  by  Methuselah;  and  sixty-four  by  Lamech,  the  father  of 
Noah  and  grandfather  of  Shem.  Shem,  also,  after  the  deluge,  was 
aided  by  ten  generations  of  men  with  whom  he  conversed ;  for,  of  the 
twenty  generations  of  our  Lord's  ancestors  whose  history  he  could 
give,  he  had  seen  with  his  own  eyes  twelve.  How  vast  and  varied, 
then,  were  the  stores  of  tradition  and  of  personal  experience  pos- 
sessed by  this  most  learned  of  all  the  sages  of  mankind  !  A  fit  person, 
indeed,  in  the  character  of  the  King  of  Salem  and  priest  of  the 
Most  High  God,  to  bless  the  patriarch  Abraham,  the  holder  of  the 
promises. 

But,  to  trace  the  history  of  tradition  down  to  Moses :  Isaac,  it  will 
be  remembered,  lived  long  enough  with  Shem  to  have  learned  it  all 
from  him.  He  also  conversed  not  only  with  Jacob,  but  for  more  than 
fifty  years  with  Levi.  Levi  told  the  story  to  his  son  Kohath ;  Kohath 
told  it  to  his  son  Amram ;  and  Amram  to  his  son  Moses.  So  that  aU 
ancient  knowledge  reached  Moses  from  Adam  down  to  his.  own  times 
— a  period  of  two  thousand  four  hundred  and  thirty-three  years — by 
only  six  persons. 


112 


IS  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY 


Meanwhile,  the  knowledge  of  the  true  and  only  God  and  of  these 
cardinal  points  was  in  Egypt,  from  other  sources  of  tradition,  when 
Abraham  first  reached  it.  Other  branches  of  the  human  family  beside? 
that  of  Shem  took  notes  of  facts  and  events.  And  we  know  that  all 
the  knowledge  of  Shem,  communicated  to  Jacob,  Joseph  and  Levi, 
went  down  into  Egypt  with  these  persons  as  early  as  the  year  of  the 
world  2298. 

Now,  we  learn  from  profane  history  that  Cadmus,  with  his  Pheni- 
cian  colony,  founded  Thebes,  and  Cecrops  and  Danaus,  with  their 
Egyptian  relations,  founded  Athens  and  Argos,  about  the  time  of 
Moses.  Carrying  with  them  the  science  and  learning  of  Egypt  into 
these  new  states,  we  can  easily  discover  how  the  knowledge  of  the 
East  came  into  Europe,  and  how  the  traditionary  revelation  in  Abra- 
ham's family  bf^i^^Lrne  a  common  fountain  of  knowledge  to  the  whole 
human  race. 

With  regard  to  the  correctness  and  authority  of  these  traditions, 
moderns  generally  entertain  very  erroneous  conceptions.  We  suppose 
them  to  be  of  no  higher  authority  than  many  of  the  legendary  tales  of 
more  modern  times.  But  this  is  owing  to  our  want  of  a  little  philo- 
sophy, and  to  our  confounding  the  character  of  the  traditions  after  the 
confusion  of  speech  and  the  dispersion  of  mankind  with  those  which 
existed  while  the  world  was  all  of  one  language  and  of  one  speech. 

Could  we  place  ourselves  among  the  antediluvians  while  all  mankind 
spoke  one  language,  and  then  among  the  postdiluvians  after  the  con- 
fusion of  speech,  the  contraction  of  human  life  and  the  wide  dispersion 
of  mankind  over  the  earth,  we  should  find  some  data  by  which  to 
appreciate  the  all-important  difference  between  the  ancient  and  the 
most  ancient  traditions. 

Can  any  one,  the  least  acquainted  with  human  nature,  possessing  a 
little  of  the  philosophy  of  himself,  imagine  that  Adam  and  Eve  would 
not  freely  communicate  to  every  son  and  daughter,  to  the  tenth  gene- 
ration, who  visited  them,  all  they  had  orally  learned  from  their  Creator, 
or  by  subsequent  revelation,  on  the  three  great  questions  which  human 
reason  and  haman  philosophy  frankly  confess  they  cannot  answer,  viz. 
What  am  I?  Whence  came  I?  and  Whither  do  I  go?  Would  not  the 
venerable  pair  most  cheerfully  and  faithfully  narrate  their  experience 
to  their  own  offspring — give  a  clear  and  full  record  of  the  past — and 
intimate  all  their  anticipations  of  the  future?  With  what  thrilling 
iu^erest  would  they  detail  the  incidents  of  the  patriarchal  state,  and 
the  sad  series  of  events  accompanying  and  subsequent  to  their  eventful 
catastrophe ! 


AN  INDUCTIVE  SCIENCE? 


113 


Or  can  any  one  suppose  that  during  the  latter  centuries  of  this  chief 
patriarch,  when  his  progeny  had  grown  up  into  nations,  multitudes  of 
the  most  virtuous  of  them,  even  from  the  remotest  settlements,  would 
not  continually  visit  him  as  an  oracle,  and  learn  from  his  own  lips  the 
whole  history  of  time,  the  origin  of  the  race,  and  the  antiquities  of 
nature  herself? 

"Who  of  us  moderns  would  not  make  a  pilgrimage  half  round  the 
globe  to  see  the  first  man ;  to  look  in  the  face  and  to  hear  the  voice  of 
the  great  prototype  of  humanity;  and  to  listen  to  his  narration,  not 
only  of  what  he  had  seen  and  heard  of  the  Creator  himself,  or  learned 
in  latter  days  of  his  works  and  will;  but  to  hear  him  relate  his  con- 
ceptions and  ecstasies  when  first  the  breath  of  life  swelled  the  purple 
current  in  his  veins — when  wonder,  love  and  praise  struggled  within 
him  for  utterance,  while  he  gazed  upon  the  Father  of  his  spirit,  and 
the  new-born  glories  of  a  universe  smiling  upon  him  with  brighter 
beams  of  joy  and  bliss  than  ever  the  rapt  vision  of  the  most  inspired 
of  human  bards  has  yet  conceived ! 

I  say,  who  of  us  would  not  have  curiosity  enough  to  encounter  toils 
and  dangers  of  the  first  magnitude,  to  have  it  to  tell  to  our  children 
that  we  had  seen  and  heard  the  unborn  man — the  father  of  a  world — 
the  origin  of  mankind — and  his  divinely  formed  wife,  an  after-creation 
from  himself — the  mother  of  all  the  loveliness  and  beauty,  of  all  the 
grace  and  excellency,  of  all  the  intelligence  and  taste,  of  all  the  deli- 
cacy and  sensibility  which  have  adorned  the  untold  millions  of  her  de- 
ceased and  living  daughters ! 

We  have  only  to  bring  the  matter  home  to  ourselves  to  be  assured 
that  the  whole  history  of  the  first  nine  centuries,  which  had  in  it  the 
elements  not  only  of  society,  but  of  religion,  morality  and  all  natural 
science,  so  far  as  Adam  was  concerned,  (and  no  man's  experience  ever 
equalled  his,)  would  have  been  told  by  him  ten  thousand  times,  and  as 
often  repeated  by  his  faithful  sons  and  daughters.  This  would  also  be 
true  of  Shem  and  of  his  wife,  who  stood  in  a  similar  relation  to  the 
postdiluvian  world.  They  had  to  tell  not  only  what  they  had  heard 
from  Methuselah,  Lamech,  and  a  thousand  others  of  the  eld  world,  but 
had  the  marvellous  record  of  the  deluge,  by  which  a  world  was  lost, 
and  a  new  order  of  things  begun. 

Now,  can  there  be  any  thing  more  obvious  than  that  narrations  so 
often  delivered  by  the  same  persons,  should  be  engraved  upon  their 
memories  with  the  clearness  and  fidelity  of  words  deep  cut  in  marble, 
or  engraved  on  plates  of  brass  ?  No  translations  or  spurious  readings 
could  vitiate  o'  corrupt  that  text,  written  on  the  tablets  of  hale  and 

8 


114 


IS  MOBAL  PHILOSOPHY 


undegenerate  memories,  and  kept  as  within  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  in 
the  sanctum  sanctorum  of  their  hearts. 

We  need  no  oracle  to  declare  or  to  decide,  that  men  walked  by  faith 
before  philosophy,  or  that  there  was  no  place  for  speculation  or  hypo- 
thesis during  the  first  two  thousand  years  of  time  ;  for  who  could  have 
been  so  crazy  as  to  state  a  hypothesis  about  the  origin  or  nature,  the 
relations  or  obligations  of  man,  or  about  the  origin  of  the  universe, 
while  Adam  lived !  or  about  the  deluge  or  antediluvian  state  of  our 
planet,  while  Noah,  Shem  or  Japheth  yet  lived !  Such  a  speculator 
would  have  been  laughed  out  of  society,  and  excommunicated  from  the 
habitations  of  the  sane  and  rational  of  mankind. 

Some  of  the  events  of  the  first  age  of  the  world  were,  moreover,  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  attract  extraordinary  attention ;  to  occasion  more 
reflection  and  elicit  more  light  than  we  can  now  fully  appreciate.  The 
martyrdom  of  Abel,  the  death  of  Adam  and  the  translation  of  Enoch 
were  of  this  class.  Hence  many  conversations  on  the  questions. 
Whither  went  Enoch?  What  came  of  Abel?  Why  was  he  slain? 
Where  now  is  Adam  ?  Of  what  use  is  an  altar,  a  priest,  a  victim  ? 
Why  count  time  by  weeks  ?  What  means  the  promised  seed  ?  What 
means  the  threatened  bruising  of  the  serpent's  head  ?  &c.  &c.  Among 
the  faithful  line  of  the  ancestry  of  our  Lord  these  were  topics  familiar 
and  often  discussed. 

Hitherto  we  have  spoken  of  but  one  line  of  tradition — that  which 
has  given  all  true  light,  civilization  and  refinement  to  human  nature. 
But  there  was,  and  still  is,  another  line,  whence  came  hypothetical 
philosophy,  ignorance  and  barbarity.  Cain  was  the  head  of  this  line. 
Of  him  it  is  said,  that  after  he  had  slain  his  brother  Abel  he  went  out 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  or  from  the  dwellings  of  the  righteous, 
and  east  of  Eden  settled  in  the  land  of  Nod.  His  line  is  heard  through 
his  descendants,  Enoch,  Jared,  Mehujael,  Methusael,  Lamech,  and 
his  sons  Jabal,  and  Jubal,  and  Tubal-Cain,  seven  generations.  Cain 
founded  the  first  city  on  earth,  called  after  his  son,  the  city  of  Enoch. 
Having  gone  away  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  busied  himself 
in  worldly  employments  to  drown  reflection,  and  his  descendants  all 
following  his  example,  it  is  not  likely  that  he  would  often  visit  the 
paternal  dwelling.  The  blood  of  Abel  still  haunted  him,  and  rendered 
him  in  fact  a  fugitive  and  vagabond  on  the  earth.  His  descendants 
also  gave  themselves  up  to  animal  and  temporal  pursuits,  and  became 
distinguished  for  their  inventions  in  tent-building,  musical  instruments, 
m  brazen  and  iron  implements  and  weapons,  and  for  introducing 
polygamy  and  war. 


AN  INDUCTIVE  SCIENCE? 


115 


The  destiny  of  man  is  never  a  pleasant  theme  to  such  spirits ;  and 
as  guilt  is  the  natural  parent  of  fear  and  the  immediate  progenitor  of 
a  refuge  of  lies  and  hatred  of  the  light,  such  persons  would  be  at  more 
pains  to  vitiate  the  ancient  traditions  than  to  preserve  them  pure  and 
incorrupt.  Intermarrying  with  these  on  the  part  of  the  other  line, 
superinduced  the  deluge.  ' 

After  that  catastrophe,  either  through  the  wives  of  Ham  and  Japheth, 
or  from  the  inherited  depravity  and  corruption  of  the  old  world,  they 
again  apostatized  from  G-od.  Ham  immediately  dishonored  himself, 
and  brought  upon  his  family  a  paternal  and  prophetic  malediction. 
Japheth,  too,  removed  from  the  residence  of  his  father;  and  in  their 
wanderings,  and  subsequently  in  the  confusion  and  wide  dispersion 
of  their  offspring,  they  lost  their  veneration  for  the  paternal  customs 
and  traditions  concerning  their  relations,  moral  obligations  and  destiny. 
Among  them  the  truth  began  to  be  mixed  up  with  fable,  and  so  meta- 
morphosed that  it  lost  all  its  redeeming  influence  upon  these  two 
branches  of  the  family  of  Noah. 

The  posterity  of  Japheth,  called  by  the  Greeks  Japetus,  comprehended 
the  ancient  Cimbrians,  Phrygians,  Scythians,  Medes,  Persians,  Mace- 
donians, Iberians,  Greeks,  Romans — indeed,  all  the  ancient  European 
and  northern  tribes  of  Asia,  and  probably  some  of  the  American  tribes ; 
while  the  posterity  of  Ham  peopled  some- portions  of  Arabia,  all  Egypt 
and  Canaan,  Seba,  Shebah,  Shinar,  much  of  Africa,  and  some  parts  of 
Asia. 

Among  these,  fable,  mythology  and  hypothesis  began.  Oral  tradition, 
much  corrupted  indeed,  continued  amongst  them  till  the  time  of 
Hesiod,  Homer,  and,  I  might  say,  to  the  time  of  Pherecydes  of  Scyros, 
the  preceptor  of  Pythagoras — himself  the  pupil  of  Pittacus  and  the 
oldest  of  the  G-reek  prose  writers.    But  as  the  history  of  the  Greeks 
.    consisted  of  oral  and  incoherent  traditions,  kept  for  thirteen  centuries 
I    before  they  had  a  written  history  of  themselves,  little  or  nothing 
I    certain  can  be  known  of  them,  except  their  original  extraction  and 
I    their  plagiarisms  on  Egypt  and  the  posterity  of  Shem;  for,  of  all 
;    people  that  ever  lived,  the  Greeks  were  the  greatest  literary  thieves, 
and  had  the  best  art  of  concealing  the  theft. 

The  word  philosophy,  and  the  profession  of  philosopher,  began  with 
Pythagoras,  when  tradition  was  involved  in  doubt  owing  to  the  causes 
already  mentioned — the  contraction  of  human  life  to  seventy  or  eighty 
years,  the  confusion  of  human  speech,  the  multiplications  and  wide 
dispersion  of  nations,  and  especially  the  gigantic  iniquity,  violence 
I    and  crime  which  almost  universally  prevailed.  Polytheism,  mythology, 


I 


116 


IS  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY 


liypothesis,  skepticism  and  licentious  manners,  were  the  legitimate 
fruits  of  departing  from  the  sacred  traditions  truly  and  faithfully  kept 
in  the  line  of  Seth,  Enoch,  Noah  and  Shem,  down  to  Moses,  the  divine 
historian  and  lawgiver  of  the  Jews. 

Thus  far  the  history  of  the  most  ancient  traditions  is  placed  in  con- 
trast with  the  pretensions  of  hypothetical  philosophy.  It  remains  for 
us  to  cast  a  glance  upon  two  or  three  points  in  the  human  constitution, 
to  ascertain  whether  man  was  made  to  be  led  by  philosophy  or  tradition 
in  matters  pertaining  to  the  science  of  happiness :  for  certain  it  is,  if 
man  was  not  made  to  be  led  by  philosophy,  in  vain  she  pretends  to  be 
his  guide. 

The  question  now  before  us  is,  How  is  man  constituted  as  respects 
the  faculty  of  acquiring  knowledge?  or  with  what  powers  of  knowing 
the  universe  is  he  endowed  ?  for,  as  before  observed,  the  universe  must 
be  known  before  it  can  be  enjoyed.  I  ask  not  what  are  his  powers 
of  retaining  knowledge,  nor  what  are  his  powers  of  applying  or  of 
enjoying  knowledge;  but  what  are  his  powers  of  acquiring  it?  With 
the  most  liberal  philosophers  they  are  four — Instinct,  Sense,  Reason, 
Faith.  Some  philosophers,  indeed,  are  not  so  generous;  none,  how- 
ever, give  him  more ;  and  we  are  willing  that  he  should  appear  with 
all  his  armor  on — with  all  his  intellectual  apparatus  in  full  requisition, 
that  we  may  demonstrate  that  he  was  made  to  be  led,  pre-eminently 
and  supremely,  by  a  power  that  despoils  speculative  philosophy  of  all 
its  proud  assumptions,  and  gives  to  tradition,  in  its  broadest  and  fullest 
sense,  a  very  elevated  standing  amongst  the  sources  of  intelligence 
accessible  to  man. 

Let  us  then  briefly  survey  these  powers.  Instinct  has  never  been 
definitely  and  satisfactorily  explained  by  any  man.  The  theories  on 
the  subject  are  innumerable,  but  speculation  and  inquiry  are  as  rife  as 
ever.  Nothing  is  decided  except  that  it  is  a  law  or  rule  of  life  con- 
ferred by  the  Creator  on  every  animated  existence,  animal  or  vegetable, 
by  which  such  acts  are  performed  as  are  essential  to  its  existence  and 
well-being.  But  it  is  of  a  much  higher  order  in  the  animal  than  in 
the  vegetable  kingdom,  and  in  some  animals  it  appears  to  be  so  nearly 
assimilated  a^nd  related  to  intelligence  as  to  be  with  difficulty  dis- 
tinguished from  it.  It  is,  however,  very  different  from  sensation  and 
reason ;  for  it  is  found  to  exist  where  there  is  neither  of  them. 

In  reference  to  my  object,  it  is  enough  to  say,  that  by  instinct  we 
mean  that  innate  or  natural  rule  of  life,  which  God  has  written  upon 
and  incorporated  with  the  nature  of  every  animal;  by  which  it  is 
enabled  to  govern  itself,  in  order  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  its  powers 


AN  INDUCTIVE  SCIENCE? 


117 


and  susceptibilities,  and  so  much  of  the  universe  as  is  suited  to  its 
nature.  So  far  it  is  a  perfect  and  infallible  rule  of  life  to  it,  in  all  that 
respects  its  nature  and  the  end  of  its  existence.  It  may  be  impaired 
by  physical  disease ;  it  may  also  be  deteriorated,  but  it  cannot  be  im- 
proved by  education.  It  is  as  perfect  the  first  as  the  last  hour  of 
animal  or  vegetable  existence.  It  gains  nothing  by  experience  or  obser- 
vation :  hence  the  swallow  builds  her  nest,  the  beaver  his  dam,  the  bee 
its  cell,  and  the  ant  her  cities  and  storehouses,  as  they  were  wont  to 
do  six  thousand  years  ago. 

Now,  man  has  little  or  no  instinct;  and,  in  this  point,  is  more 
neglected  by  his  Creator  than  any  other  creature ;  and  would,  indeed, 
perish  from  the  earth  the  first  day  of  his  existence,  if  left  to  the 
guidance  of  all  his  instinctive  powers — an  evident  proof  that  he  was 
not  made  to  be  led  by  it,  as  the  law  of  his  animal,  intellectual  or 
moral  existence. 

By  sense  we  mean  those  external  organs,  usually  denominated  the 
five  senses,  through  which  we  become  acquainted  with  the  sensible  pro- 
perties of  all  the  objects  around  us.  In  this  endowment  man  is  not 
singular.  All  terrestrial  beings  of  much  importance  to  man  have  as 
many  senses  as  he  has.  And  if,  in  some  of  his  senses,  he  is  superior  to 
some  of  them,  in  others,  some  of  them  are  greatly  superior  to  him. 

But  he  has  intellect — he  has  reason ;  and  this  greatly  compensates 
for  those  inferiorities ;  and  yet  there  are  many  creatures  that  seem  to 
possess  it  in  some  good  degree :  still  it  is  man's  great  perfection,  by 
which  he  rises  far  above  the  beasts  that  perish.  Some  philosophers 
have  almost  deified  reason,  and  given  to  it  a  creative  and  originating 
power.  They  have  so  eulogized  the  light  of  reason  and  the  light  of 
nature,  that  one  would  imagine  reason  to  be  a  sun,  rather  than  an  eye ; 
a  revelation,  rather  than  the  power  of  apprehending  and  enjoying  it. 
But  when  accurately  defined,  it  is  only  a  power  bestowed  on  man,  of 
comparing  things,  and  propositions  concerning  things,  and  of  deducing 
propositions  from  them.  It  is  the  faculty  of  discriminating  one  name, 
or  thing,  or  attribute  from  another,  and  of  forming  just  conceptions  of 
it.  It  is  not,  then,  a  creative  power.  It  cannot  make  something  out 
of  nothing.  It  is  to  the  soul  what  the  eye  is  to  the  body.  It  is  not 
light,  but  the  power  of  perceiving  and  using  it.  And  as  the  eye  with- 
out light,  so  reason  without  tradition  or  revelation  would  be  useless 
to  man  in  all  the  great  points  which  the  inductive  and  true  philosophy 
of  nature  and  of  fact  humbly  acknowledges  she  cannot  teach.  She 
modestly  avows  her  inability  to  unfold,  or  even  to  ascertain  the  origin, 
nature  or  end  of  any  thing.    Her  verdict  in  the  case  before  us  is,  that 


118 


IS  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY 


he  who  presumes  to  walk  by  the  light  of  reason  in  these  great  matters 
is  not  more  eminently  insane,  than  he  who  assumes  to  walk  by  his  eyes 
in  the  midst  of  utter  darkness. 

But  the  ennobling  faculty  of  man  is  faith.  This  puts  him  in  posses- 
sion of  the  experience  of  all  other  men  by  believing  their  testimony. 
Instinct,  sense  and  reason,  however  enlarged  in  their  operations,  are 
confined  to  a  single  individual  of  the  race,  and  that  within  a  very 
narrow  circle,  a  mere  atom  of  creation,  and  but  for  a  moment  of  time ; 
while  faith  encompasses  the  area  of  universal  experience,  and  appro- 
priates to  its  possession  the  acquisitions  of  all  men  in  all  ages  of  time. 

Human  knowledge,  properly  so  called,  consists  of  but  two  chapters. 
Our  own  individual  experience  furnishes  the  one,  and  faith  the  other. 

Faith,  therefore,  is  to  instinct,  sense  and  reason,  as  the  experience 
of  all  mankind  is  to  that  of  a  single  individual — the  experience  of  a 
thousand  millions  to  one.  And  were  we  to  add  to  the  experience  of 
all  living  men  that  of  all  who  have  lived  and  died,  or  that  of  all  who 
shall  hereafter  live,  and  superadd  to  this  the  experience  of  all  angtls, 
and  all  other  orders  of  intelligences  hereafter  to  be  made,  accessible 
to  faith,  how  inconceivably  immense  the  disproportion  between  reason 
and  faith,  as  the  means  of  enlarging  the  capacity  and  of  storing  the 
mind  of  man  with  true  knowledge !  In  one  word,  then,  from  an 
invincible  necessity  of  nature,  we  are  indebted  to  faith  for  millions  of 
ideas,  for  one  obtained  by  oui'  own  personal  sensations,  observations 
or  reflections. 

How  preposterous,  then,  was  it  for  the  learned  and  ingenious  author 
of  the  ''Treatise  on  Human  Nature,"  to  elaborate  an  essay  to  prove 
that  no  man  could  rationally  believe  the  testimony  of  any  number  of 
persons  affirming  a  supernatural  fact;  because,  as  he  imagined,  their 
testimony  was  contrary  to  universal  experience !  The  eloquent  author 
of  the  History  of  England  seems  not  to  have  perceived  the  delusion 
he  was  imposing  on  himself,  in  making  his  own  individual  experience, 
or  that  of  a  few  others,  equal  to  that  of  aU  mankind  in  all  ages  of  the 
world,  a  ten-thousand-millionth  part  of  which  he,  nor  no  other  person, 
ever  heard  or  knew !  No  man  ever  had  universal  experience,  con- 
sequently no  man  could  believe  it.  On  such  a  splendid  sophism,  on 
buch  a  magnificent  assumption,  however,  is  founded  the  capacious 
temple  of  French,  English,  German  and  American  infidelity. 

"While  we  have  our  definitions  of  instinct,  sense,  reason  and  faith 
Defore  us,  and  this  ingenious  class  of  doubting  philosophers  in  our  eye, 
we  must  enter  another  demur  to  the  sanity  of  their  intellects,  or  of 
their  logic.    We  have  seen  that  instinct  is  a  divine  and  infallible  rule 


AN  INDUCTIVE  SCIENCE? 


119 


of  life  given  to  the  mere  animal  creation — and,  indeed,  to  the  vegetable 
also,  (as  might  be  demonstrated  were  this  the  proper  place,)  for  the 
purpose  of  guiding  the  actions  of  those  creatures  in  benevolent  sub- 
ordination to  the  end  of  their  being.  Now,  of  this  endowment  man 
is  of  all  creatures  the  most  destitute :  therefore,  if  he  have  not  an 
infallible  rule  somewhere  else,  he  is  more  slighted  than  any  other 
creature ;  nay,  he  is  the  only  creature  wholly  neglected  by  his  Creator, 
in  the  most  important,  too,  of  all  communicated  endowments.  But  he 
has  not  this  infallible  rule  in  his  five  senses — he  has  it  not  in  his 
powers  of  reasoning;  and  unless  he  have  it  in  his  faith  in  divine 
testimony,  in  a  revelation  internal  and  external,  he  is  an  anomaly 
in  creation — the  solitary  exception  to  a  law  which,  but  for  him, 
would  be  universal.  But  what  makes  this  hypothesis  still  more 
extravagantly  absurd  is  the  fact,  that,  of  all  sublunary  creatures,  man 
is  the  favorite  of  his  Maker — the  head  and  "lord  of  the  fowl  and  the 
brute."  Now,  to  have  granted  the  meanest  insect  a  perfect  rule  of 
life ;  to  have  remembered  every  other  creature  and  forgotten  only 
man,  in  a  point  the  most  vital  to  his  enjoyment  of  himself  and  of  the 
universe,  is  an  assumption,  a  result  more  incredible  and  marvellous 
than  any  other  assumption  on  the  pages  of  universal  history.  This 
is,  indeed,  to  swallow  a  camel  while  straining  out  a  gnat. 

Another  assumption  of  this  speculative  philosophy,  another  point 
deeply  affecting  the  pretensions  of  revelation,  and  the  most  ancient  and 
veritable  traditions  of  the  infancy  of  time  and  of  nations,  is  equally  at 
fault  with  the  instances  now  given,  and  demands  a  special  notice.  It 
objects  to  a  system  of  religion  and  morals  founded  upon  faith  rather 
than  upon  philosophy,  as  not  in  harmony  with  human  nature,  on 
account  of  its  liabilities  to  deception  in  all  matters  depending  upon 
human  testimony.  It  dogmatically  affirms  that  man  is  more  liable  to 
be  deceived  hj  faith  than  by  reason. 

This  is  a  direct  assault  upon  nature,  and  consequently  upon  the 
Author  of  it.  For  what  can  be  more  evident  than  that  every  human 
being  is  by  an  insuperable  necessity  compelled  to  make  the  very 
first  step  in  life,  intellectual  and  moral,  if  not  physical,  by  faith? 
Must  an  infant  wait  the  impulses  of  instinct  or  the  decisions  of  reason 
for  instruction  in  what  to  choose,  or  what  to  refuse,  in  the  nursery  or 
infant  school  ?  Or  must  it  depend  on  its  own  observation,  experience 
and  reason,  or  upon  oral  tradition,  for  light  upon  food,  and  medicine, 
and  poison  ?  Must  it  experiment  with  the  asp,  the  adder,  the  basilisk, 
the  fire,  the  flood,  the  innumerable  physical  dangers  around  it,  or 
implicitly  believe  its  nurse,  and  walk  by  faith  in  her  traditions  ?  When 


120 


IS  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY 


it  enters  the  infant  school,  must  it  prove  by  reason,  or  receive  upon 
testimony,  the  names  and  figures  of  all  the  vowels  and  consonants  of 
the  alphabet?  Can  it  by  reason  or  instinct  learn  any  grammar,  speak 
any  language,  or  make  one  step  in  human  science  or  literature  ?  It  is 
just  as  true  in  nature  as  in  religion,  that  he  that  belie veth  not  shall 
be  destroyed.  There  is  no  salvation  to  the  infant  man  from  natural 
evils — from  ignorance,  vice  and  misery — any  more  than  to  the  adult 
sinner,  from  guilt  and  ruin,  but  by  faith  in  tradition,  oral  or  written. 
The  voice  of  nature  and  that  of  the  gospel  speak  the  same  language — 
he  that  believeth  not  shall  perish.  Man,  then,  is  so  constituted  that  he 
must  walk  by  faith  if  he  walk  at  all.  He  must  do  this  long  before 
reason  has  commenced  its  career  of  examination.  Now,  to  affirm  that 
reason  is  a  better  guide  than  faith,  is  to  charge  our  Creator  with  folly 
in  subjecting  man  to  an  inferior  guide,  even  in  the  incipient  and 
moulding  period  of  his  being,  while  his  mind  is  assuming  a  character, 
and  being  fashioned  for  future  life.  To  do  this  on  a  model,  too,  that 
forever  gives  to  his  ears  an  ascendency  over  sense  and  reason,  as  the 
channel  of  light  and  knowledge,  unless  he  intended  that  faith  should 
always  have  the  superiority  in  guiding  the  actions  of  man,  is,  in  fact, 
to  interpose  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  his  own  designs,  and  to  defeat 
himself  in  any  after-measure  to  restore  him  to  reason,  from  aberrations 
supposed  to  be  attendant  on  the  exercise  of  faith  as  an  incompetent 
rule  of  moral  action.  Man,  however,  reason  as  we  may,  is  by  an 
insuperable  necessity  compelled  to  make  the  first  step  in  physical, 
intellectual  and  moral  life  by  faith  in  tradition ;  and  well  would  it 
have  been  for  immense  multitudes  had  they  continued  to  walk  by 
faith  in  the  oral  traditions  of  those  moral  instructors  to  whom  God  in 
the  first  ages  of  the  world,  confided  the  temporal  and  eternal  destiny 
of  mankind. 

Lest,  however,  it  should  seem  as  if  faith  and  reason  were  rival 
claimants  for  the  absolute  government  of  man,  and,  like  other  aspi- 
rants, were  seeking  to  rise,  each  upon  the  ruin  of  his  competitor,  to 
this  high  office,  the  province  of  reason  should  be  distinctly  noted  and 
understood.  Permit  me,  then,  to  say  in  behalf  of  reason,  that  she 
assumes  to  be  only  a  minister  to  faith,  as  she  is  to  religion  and 
morality.  She  examines  the  testimony,  and  decides  upon  its  pre- 
tensions. In  this  sense,  intellect  and  reason  are  as  necessary  to  faith 
as  they  are  to  moral  excellence ;  for  a  creature  destitute  of  reason  is 
alike  incapable  of  faith,  morality  and  religion.  Reason,  then,  in 
one  word,  examines  the  tradition  and  the  testimony,  whether  it  be 
that  of  our  five  senses  our  memory,  our  consciousness,  or  that  of 


AN  INDUCTIVE  SCIENCE? 


121 


other  persons;  faith  receives  that  testimony,  and  common  sense  walks 
by  it. 

From  the  definitions,  facts  and  inferences  now  before  us,  may  we 
not,  gentlemen,  conclude  that  if  the  physical  sciences — natural  philo- 
sophy in  all  its  branches — be  true  sciences,  because  all  founded  on 
their  own  facts,  observations  and  inductions,  that  science  usually 
called  moral  philosophy  is  not  a  true  science,  because  not  founded  on 
its  own  facts,  observations  and  inductions,  but  on  assumptions  and 
plagiarisms  from  tradition  and  divine  revelation;  borrowing,  instead 
of  originating  and  demonstrating,  all  its  fundamental  principles  ? 

If  our  mode  of  examining  its  pretensions  be  fair  and  logical,  as  we 
humbly  conceive  it  is,  does  it  not  appear,  by  a  liberal  induction  of 
witnesses  from  the  best  Pagan  schools,  that  it  has  never  taught,  with 
the  clearness  and  fulness  of  persuasion,  nor  with  the  authority  of  law 
or  demonstration,  the  true  doctrine  of  man's  origin,  nature,  relations, 
obligations  and  destiny  ?  And  from  a  careful  consideration  of  all  our 
powers  of  acquiring  knowledge,  is  it  not  equally  evident  that  he 
is  not  furnished  with  the  power  of  ascertaining  any  one  of  these 
essential  points,  without  the  aid  of  a  light  above  that  of  reason  and 
nature  ? 

And  may  I  not  further  appeal  to  your  good  sense,  whether  we  could 
have  instituted  and  pursued  a  fairer  or  more  honorable  course  than  to 
state  the  pretensions  and  claims  of  moral  philosophy  in  her  own  terms, 
as  used  by  her  greatest  and  most  approved  masters — Grecian,  Roman 
and  English ;  and  then  inquire  singly  of  all  her  schools  and  renowned 
teachers,  whether  in  their  own  experience,  and  in  their  candid  con- 
cessions and  acknowledgments,  philosophy,  in  life  and  in  death,  has 
redeemed  her  pledges,  fulfilled  her  promises  and  sustained  the  ex- 
pectations of  her  friends  and  admirers  ? 

When  hard  pressed  on  these  points,  observing  that  she  herself 
relied  more  on  tradition  than  on  her  own  resources,  fastening  her 
hopes  more  on  the  basis  of  what  was  handed  down  to  her  by  the 
ancients,  than  upon  all  her  own  discoveries  and  reasonings,  became  it 
not  expedient  that  we  also  should  turn  our  thoughts  to  tradition, 
examine  its  history  and  canvass  its  pretensions,  so  far  at  least  as 
to  institute  a  comparison  between  it  and  philosophy  on  the  points  in 
discussion  ? 

Having  thus  placed  these  two  great  sources  of  intelligence  in  con- 
trast and  comparison,  and  finding  on  the  side  of  tradition,  as  defined 
by  us,  incontestable  and  decided  advantages,  incomparably  superior 
claims  and  pretensions,  what  more  natural  and  conclusive  than  to 


122 


IS  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY 


examine  the  human  constitution,  with  special  reference  to  these  two, 
and,  if  possible,  to  ascertain  whether  the  Creator  intended  man  to  walk 
by  hypothetical  philosophy  or  authentic  tradition  ?  Such,  then,  has 
been  our  method ;  and  what  now,  on  summing  up  the  whole,  are  the 
legitimate  results  and  conclusions  ? 

Does  it  not  appear  that  moral  philosophy  never  removed  any  doubts 
except  those  which  she  had  created  ?  Like  the  spear  of  Achilles,  she 
healed  only  the  wounds  which  herself  had  inflicted.  That  it  cast  not 
a  single  ray  of  light  upon  a  single  cardinal  point  in  the  whole  science 
of  happiness  !  That  it  failed  in  all  the  three  great  lines  of  the  Ionic, 
Italic  and  Eleatic  orders ;  and  most  essentially  failed,  even  in  the  best 
branches  of  the  Ionic  school,  even  in  the  hands  of  the  great  masters — 
Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle,  Zeno  and  Epicurus. 

Nay,  does  it  not  appear  that  the  age  of  doubting  was  the  era  of 
philosophy  ? — that  men  never  began  to  start  hypotheses  till  they  had 
lost  their  way  ? — that  mankind  walked  safely  by  the  light  of  tradition 
from  a  divine  origin  for  many  years  before  philosophy  was  born  ? — 
that  those  ancient  traditions  were  kept  pure  for  thousands  of  yeai.-j 
in  one  great  line  of  the  human  race,  but  were  finally  corrupted  by 
priests,  and  disguised  by  poets,  and  thus  became  the  basis  of  the 
Chaldean,  Indian,  Phenician,  Egyptian,  Persian,  Grecian  and  Roman 
philosophy  ? 

And  is  it  not  most  of  all  evident,  that  man  is  not  constituted  by  his 
Creator  to  be  led  by  instinct,  sense  or  reason ;  but  by  faith  in  infallible 
tradition,  in  all  these  points  of  vital  importance  in  the  philosophy  of 
bliss;  and  that  such  arrangement  is  in  good  keeping  with  the  pre- 
eminent superiority  of  the  most  ennobling  of  all  the  endowments  of 
man,  whether  we  consider  the  immense  compass,  the  infinite  variety 
of  its  acquisitions,  or  that  high  certainty  and  assurance  to  which  it 
ofteji  rises,  and  to  which  we  may  attain,  on  all  essential  points,  when 
accompanied  with  that  candor  and  inquisitiveness  indispensable  to  the 
detection  of  truth,  in  all  matters  of  vital  interest  to  man  ? 

My  object  now  is  gained,  even  although  I  may  not  have  carried 
conviction  to  every  heart.  The  science  of  human  happiness  is  now 
before  us ;  and  if  I  have  not  shown  where  it  may  be  learned,  I  have 
certainly  shown  where  it  never  has  been  and  where  it  never  can  be 
learned. 

And  may  I  now  be  permitted  to  add,  that  the  study  of  these  five 
points  opens  to  the  human  mind  the  purest,  sweetest  and  most  copious 
fountains  of  delight  ?  They  connect  themselves  with  the  whole  universe 
of  God,  end  place  it  all  under  tribute  to  our  happiness. 


AN  INDUCTIVE  SCIENCE? 


123 


With  the  telescope  of  faith  to  our  eye,  looking  back  to  our  origin, 
beyond  the  solar  system,  beyond  all  the  systems  of  the  heavens,  we 
descry  the  archetype  of  our  being  in  the  remote  and  unfathomable 
depths  of  the  bosom  and  mysterious  nature  of  that  divine  and  tran- 
scendent Being  whose  temple  is  the  Universe,  and  whose  days  are  all 
the  ages  of  Eternity. 

While  man  stands  upon  this  earth  and  breathes  this  material  breath 
of  life,  and  sees  and  feels  in  his  outward  frame  much  in  common  with 
the  beasts  that  perish,  he  feels  within  himself  an  unearthly  principle — 
an  inward  man — a  heaven-descended  mind — a  nature  more  than  ethe- 
real— a  spirit  ever  panting,  thirsting,  longing  after  the  affinity  of  his 
Father's  spirit,  whence,  as  a  spark  of  intelligence,  it  was  stricken  off^ 
and  made  to  illumine  its  little  mansion  in  the  vast  temple  of  creation. 

The  intellectual  nature  vouchsafed  to  man  communes  with  the 
Supreme  Intelligence  in  all  his  various  and  boundless  works ;  and 
such  is  its  love  of  new  ideas,  of  new  conceptions  of  the  almighty 
source  of  its  being  and  bliss,  that  if  it  could  only  imagine  any  fixed 
summit  of  its  attainments,  even  in  the  heavens,  beyond  which  it  could 
add  no  new  discoveries,  that  summit  would  be  the  boundary  of  its 
career  of  glory  and  of  bliss;  and,  repining,  as  did  the  Grecian  chief, 
that  no  new  worlds  were  yet  to  be  conquered,  heaven  itself  would 
cease  to  be  the  place  of  infinite  delight,  the  ultimate  and  eternal  home 
of  man. 

The  relations  of  man  are,  as  a  necessary  consequence,  equally  sub- 
lime and  comprehensive  with  his  origin  and  nature.  He  touches  every 
point  in  the  universe,  whether  material  or  immaterial,  animal,  intel- 
lectual or  moral — temporal,  spiritual  or  eternal.  He  not  only  derives 
pleasure  from  all  these  sources,  but  feels  that  he  is  related  to  God, 
angels  and  all  natures,  by  ties,  and  sympathies,  and  nice  dependencies, 
from  which  arise  innumerable  pleasures,  duties  and  obligations ;  each 
of  which  becomes  a  new  source  of  delight  to  him  who,  reconciled  to 
the  government  of  the  rightful  Sovereign,  seeks  the  enjoyment  of  all 
things  in  subordination  to  His  will. 

The  destiny  of  man  is  in  harmony  with  his  nature,  relations  and 
origin.  True,  indeed,  there  is  a  dark,  cheerless  and  gloomy  mansion, 
to  which  his  mortality  is  for  a  season  confined.  But  should  he  learn 
in  this  life  the  science  of  happiness,  and  regulate  his  actions  according 
to  the  philosophy  of  bliss ;  beyond  that  land  of  darkness  and  of  night, 
that  dreary  bourn  of  his  follies,  misfortunes  and  sins,  ''there  is  a 
land  of  pure  delight,"  a  more  blivssful  paradise  than  that  of  ancient 
Eden,  in  wh^ch  man  will  freely  eat  of  the  fruit  of  a  more  delicious  tre<^ 


124 


IS  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY  AN  INDUCTIVE  SCIENCE? 


of  life,  breathe  a  purer  air,  see  a  brighter  sun,  and  enjoy,  without  the 
intervention  of  a  cloud,  the  light  of  that  divine  and  glorious  counte- 
nance which  illumines  all  the  suns  of  all  the  systems  of  universal 
nature.  There,  in  the  midst  of  kindred  spirits  of  a  celestial  mould,  of 
-a  divine  temper — the  mighty  intellects,  the  refined  and  cultivated 
genii  of  the  skies — the  true  nobility  of  creation — he  will  converse,  and 
in  the  seraphic  pleasures  of  a  taste  and  an  imagination  of  which  all 
terrestrial  objects  are  inadequate  types,  he  will  view  the  bright  and 
more  perfect  displays  of  creative  power,  wisdom  and  goodness  in  the 
palace  of  the  universe ;  in  that  holiest  of  all,  where  beauty  and  loveli- 
ness in  their  most  divine  forms,  unseen  by  mortal  eye,  shall  be  dis- 
played in  the  superlative  of  glory,  amidst  the  enraptured  gratula- 
tions  of  innumerable  multitudes  of  holy  spirits,  assembled  not  only 
from  all  earthly  nations  and  all  mundane  ages,  but  from  all  the  celes- 
tial dominions,  states  and  communities  of  the  empire  of  God. 

To  contemplate  an  eternity  past — to  anticipate  an  eternity  yet  to 
come — with  full-developed  minds  of  celestial  stature,  dwelling  in 
spiritual  and  incorruptible  bodies  of  unfading  beauty  and  immortal 
youth,  to  survey  the  past  creations  of  Grod — to  witness  the  new — to 
commune  with  one  another,  and  with  all  intelligences,  on  all  the  mani- 
festations of  the  divinity — and  above  all,  to  trace  all  the  acts  of  the 
great  drama  of  man's  redemption  as  developed  by  the  Divine  Author 
and  Perfecter  of  a  remedial  economy — to-  read  the  library  of  heaven, 
the  volumes  of  creation,  of  providence  and  redemption — to  intercom- 
municate the  sentiments  and  emotions  arising  from  such  themes,  in- 
terrupted only  by  heavenly  anthems,  and  fresh  glories  breaking  on  our 
-enraptured  vision — will  constitute  a  proper  employment  for  a  being  of 
such  endowments,  capacities  and  aspirations  as  man. 

Need  I  add,  to  disclose  such  secrets — to  reveal  such  mysteries — and 
to  guide  man  in  a  path  that  leads  to  such  a  destiny,  is  not  the  province 
of  philosophy — of  the  mere  light  of  nature  or  of  reason;  but  the 
peculiar  and  worthy  object  of  a  communication  supernatural  and 
divine  ?  and  such  a  volume  we  have  in  that  much  neglected,  but  in- 
<5omparablyj  sublime  and  awful  volume — the  Bible. 


ADDRESS. 
LITERATURE,  SCIENCE  AND  ART 


DELIVERED  AT  NEW  ATHENS  COLLEGE,  TO  THE  STUDENTS  OF  THAT 

INSTITUTION,  1838. 


Young  Gentlemen  : — 

Were  I  asked  what  element  or  attribute  of  mind  confers  the  great- 
est lustre  on  human  character,  I  would  not  select  it  from  those  most 
conspicuous  in  the  poet,  the  orator,  the  philosopher,  or  the  elegant 
artist ;  I  would  not  name  any  of  those  endowments  which  are  usually 
regarded  as  superlative  in  adorning  the  reputation  of  the  man  of 
genius  or  of  distinguished  talent ;  I  would  not  call  it  memory,  reason, 
taste,  imagination ;  but  I  would  call  it  energy.  I  am  sorry  that  it  has 
not  a  more  expressive  and  a  more  captivating  name  ;  but,  gentlemen, 
that  something  which  we  call  energy,  is  the  true  primum  mobile — the 
real  mainspring  of  all  greatness  and  eminence  among  men.  Without 
it,  all  the  rarer  and  higher  powers  of  our  nature  are  useless,  or  worse 
than  useless.  The  genius  of  a  Milton,  a  Newton,  a  Locke  or  a 
Franklin,  would  have  languished  and  expired,  without  achieving  any 
thing  for  them,  their  country,  or  the  human  race,  but  for  this  peculiar 
vis  a  tergo — this  active,  operative  and  impulsive  ingredient  in  the 
human  constitution.  Sustained  and  impelled  by  this  impetus  or  power, 
endowments  very  moderate  may  accomplish — nay,  have  accomplished — 
more  for  human  kind,  than  the  brightest  parts  have  ever  done  without 
it.  That  power,  or  element  of  our  constitution,  which  makes  humble 
talents  respectable;  respectable  talents,  commanding;  commanding 
talents,  transcendent;  and  without  which  the  most  splendid  powers 
can  effect  nothing — may,  we  presume,  be  regarded  as  chief  of  the  ele- 
ments of  human  nature. 

Were  I  again  asked  what  power,  or  art,  or  habit,  most  of  all  accele- 
rates and  facilitates  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  which  most  of 
widens,  deepens  and  enlarges  the  capacity  of  the  human  mind ;  feeling 
myself  sustained  by  the  oracles  of  reason  and  the  decisions  of  ex- 
perience, with  equal  promptitude  I  would  allege  that  it  is  that  un- 

125 


126 


LITERATURE,  SCIENCE  AND  ART. 


defined  and  undefinable  something,  which  no  one  comprehends,  but 
which  every  one  understands,  usiaally  called  the  faculty  or  art  of 
attention — a  power,  indeed,  not  often  appreciated,  not  easily  cultivated, 
and  never  enough  commended,  even  by  the  most  devoted  sons  of  lite- 
rature and  science.  But  a  small  remnant,  an  elect  few  of  our  race, 
have  ever  known  how  to  use  their  eyes,  their  ears  or  their  hands  in 
the  pursuit  and  acquisition  of  useful  knowledge,  much  less  how  to  direct 
and  govern  the  operations  of  their  own  minds  in  the  application  of  it. 

Of  a  great  majority  it  may  truly  be  said,  though  not  in  the 
identical  sense  of  the  Great  Teacher,  Eyes  they  have,  but  they  see 
not ;  ears  they  have,  but  they  hear  not ;  and  powers  of  understanding, 
but  they  perceive  not."  They  know  not,  indeed,  how  to  use  their 
senses,  or  their  reason,  on  material  nature ;  and  therefore  perform  the 
whole  journey  of  life  with  a  few  vague,  indistinct,  incomplete  and  mis- 
shapen conceptions ;  and  finally  embark  for  eternity  without  a  clear, 
definite  or  correct  idea  of  their  relations  to  the  universe,  or  of  their 
responsibilities  to  Creator  or  creature. 

Some  might  consider  this  use  of  our  perceptive  powers  as  what  is 
usually  called  observation.  But  what  is  observation  ?  Another  name 
for  the  attentive  application  of  our  minds,  through  the  senses,  to  what- 
ever passes  before  us  in  the  operations  of  nature  and  society  And 
this  again  depends  upon  what  the  new  school  of  mental ists  have  agreed 
to  denominate  concentrativeness.  They  have  discovered,  or  think  they 
have  discovered,  that  there  is  a  native,  original  and  distinct  power  of 
the  mind  by  which  the  other  powers  are  concentrated,  commanded  or 
continued  on  the  objects  around  us.  This  they  have  very  aptly  de- 
nominated our  concentrativeness.  Be  this  true  or  false  in  theory,  one 
thing  is  evident — that  without  attention  nothing  is  perceived,  and  con- 
sequently nothing  learned ;  while  by  it,  all  nature  and  society,  as  they 
pass  before  us,  find  a  way  into  the  chambers  of  the  human  mind  and 
are  safely  lodged  in  the  spacious  apartments  of  our  intellectual  nature, 
whence  they  diffuse  themselves  through  all  the  avenues  of  human  life 
and  human  action. 

And  were  I  still  further  interrogated  what  other  habit,  art  or  power 
completes  the  measure  of  the  comparative  superiority  of  individual 
greatness,  I  would  as  decidedly  and,  I  think,  as  rationally  answer  that 
it  is  the  faculty  or  habit  of  classifying  our  acquisitions  and  conceptions 
under  proper  heads.  It  is  the  power  of  properly  labelling  every  new 
thought,  and  of  marshalling  all  our  ideas  under  their  proper  captains 
on  every  emergency.  It  is  the  power  of  generalizing  and  of  abstract- 
ing whatever  is  foreign  to  some  grand  idea,  or  some  particular  system 


LITERATURE,  SCIENCE  AND  ART. 


127 


or  law  or  principle  of  nature.  Every  man  will  be  eminent  amongst 
his  compeers  in  the  ratio  of  his  readiness  and  power  to  classify  the 
objects  of  nature,  society,  art  and  religion ;  or,  what  is  the  same  thing, 
his  views  of  them  according  to  any  given  attribute  or  property  which 
they  may  possess,  or  according  to  any  end  or  object  he  may  have  in 
view. 

To  a  person  well  disciplined  and  practised  in  classification,  all  nature, 
society,  literature,  science,  art,  ever  stand  in  rank  and  file  before  him, 
according  to  his  intimacies  with  them.  In  the  philosophy  and  skill  of 
the  greatest  military  chieftain  that  ever  lived,  he  can  assemble  the 
greatest  force  to  a  given  point  in  the  shortest  time.  He,  too,  super- 
latively enjoys  his  own  knowledge,  just  as  the  prudent  mistress  of  a 
household,  who  has  a  place  for  every  thing  and  every  thing  in  its 
place,  enjoys  all  her  resources.  He  also  sees  order,  harmony,  variety, 
fitness,  beauty,  from  a  thousand  points  inaccessible  to  one  destitute  of 
this  sovereign  art. 

He  that  looks  at  the  universe  with  a  generalizing  eye,  looks  at  it 
with  a  discriminating  perspicacity  more  individuating  than  his  who 
rarely  ascends  from  an  individual  to  a  species,  or  from  a  species  to  a 
genus;  for,  however  paradoxical  it  may  appear,  the  habit  of  gene- 
ralizing is  the  habit  of  individuating;  and  he  who  classifies  most  ex- 
pertly individuates  most  readily ;  and,  therefore,  he  who  best  under- 
stands the  species  most  clearly  discerns  the  individual ;  and  he  most 
clearly  perceives  the  species  who  best  comprehends  the  genus  under 
which  it  stands ;  just  as  he  whose  vision  commands  the  largest  horizon 
most  distinctly  discriminates  the  objects  which  it  contains. 

To  illustrate  and  enforce  this  important  point  is,  gentlemen,  a 
primary  object  of  this  address ;  and,  to  make  it  as  useful  as  possible,  I 
shall  select  three  generic  words  as  a  proper  theme  for  such  a  develop- 
ment. These  are.  Literature,  Science,  Art.  A  definition  of  these 
terms — their  comprehension,  mutual  dependence,  and  the  connection 
of  all  true  science  with  religion — shall  constitute  the  outlines  of  my 
practical  remarks  at  present. 

And  how  shall  we  define  the  generic  term  literature  ?  You  antici- 
pate me,  and,  with  one  accord,  reply,  "  The  knowledge  of  letter s''  It 
is,  gentlemen,  neither  more  nor  less  than  the  knowledge  of  letters;  but 
it  is  generic,  and  comprehends  all  sorts  of  letters — words,  signs,  lan- 
guages. Contradistinguished  from  science  and  art,  it  simply  means 
language  and  its  laws.  These  principles  or  laws  may,  however,  be 
classified  and  arranged  into  the  form  of  a  science — such  as  grammar, 
•  logic,  rhetoric ;  and,  according  to  our  mode  of  considering  or  using 


128 


LITEEATURE,  SCIEXCE  AND  ART. 


them,  they  become  to  us  either  sciences  or  arts.  As  subjects  of  study 
or  contemplation,  they  are  sciences;  but,  as  precepts  and  rules  of 
thought  or  of  speech,  they  are  arts.  Hence  they  are  called  sciences  or 
arts  just  as  we  approach  them  and  use  them.  We  must,  however, 
keep  to  our  definitions;  and,  having  agreed  that  literature  is  the 
knowledge  of  letters  and  that  a  literary  man  is  only  a  man  of  letters, 
we  must  hasten  to  our  second  definition. 

What  is  science f  You  answer,  "The  knowledge  of  things.''  You 
mean  the  constitution,  attributes,  operations  and  states  of  all  the  indi- 
vidual subjects  on  which  we  think,  reason  or  discourse.  True,  very 
true,  gentlemen ;  hence  we  may  have  sciences  based  on  things  them- 
selves, or  on  their  attributes — their  operations  and  relations.  Of  these 
we  presume  not  to  fix  the  limits.  You  can  convert  any  part  of  speech 
into  a  noun  by  making  it  the  subject  of  a  verb  :  so  you  can  convert 
literature,  art,  or  any  thing  on  which  you  think,  contemplate,  reason, 
discourse,  into  a  science.  Still,  however,  science,  properly  so  called 
denotes  that  knowledge  of  things — their  properties,  operations,  laws, 
relations — founded  upon  demonstration  or  certain  and  indubitable 
evidence. 

Informer  and  less  enlightened  ages,  we  had  but  "seven  sciences/' 
"four  elements"  and  "ten  categories."  Those  ages  have,  however, 
been  added  to  the  years  beyond  the  flood ;  and  elements  and  categories 
and  sciences  have  multiplied  exceedingly,  and  replenished  the  earth 
with  many  valuable  and  splendid  improvements. 

In  this  age  of  simplification  and  true  science,  a  science  means  the 
accurate  and  certain  knowledge  of  some  particular  subject.  Thus, 
astronomy  is  the  knowledge  of  the  heavenly  bodies  and  their  laws. 
But,  as  we  cannot  be  said  to  have  the  knowledge  of  any  thing  without 
knowing  its  laws  or  the  changes  to  which  it  is  subject,  we  may  simplify 
still  further,  and  say  that  astronomy  is  the  knowledge  of  stars ;  geo- 
logy, the  knowledge  of  the  earth ;  mineralogy,  the  knowledge  of  mine- 
rals ;  botany,  the  knowledge  of  -  trees  and  plants ;  zoology,  the  know- 
ledge of  animated  beings,  &c. 

And  what  is  art  f  Art  is  the  application  of  science,  or  it  is  the 
rules  of  some  particular  practice  or  calling,  or  it  is  the  practice  itself. 
Every  science  has  its  own  peculiar  and  corresponding  art ;  and,  indeed, 
the  use  and  end  of  all  the  sciences  are  the  useful  and  liberal  arts  to 
which  they  give  rise  and  for  the  sake  of  which  they  are  acquired  and 
cultivated.  Thus,  we  naturally  associate  science  and  art,  theory  and 
practice,  faith  and  obedience,  as  correlate  terms — as  mutually  imply- 
ing each  other — especially  the  latter  as  presupposing  the  former ;  for 


LITERATURE,  SCIENCE  AND  ART. 


129 


art  without  s-cience,  practice  without  theory,  and  obedience  without 
faith,  would  be  as  anomalous  and  unnatural  as  an  effect  without  a 
cause,  fruit  without  blossoms,  or  a  child  without  a  parent. 

Our  terms  are  now  defined.  Literature  is  the  knowledge  of  the 
signs  of  thought ;  science,  the  knowledge  of  the  things  of  thought ;  and 
art,  the  application  of  these  signs  and  things  to  the  numerous  and 
varied  ends  of  individual  and  social  life.  Each  of  these  terms,  as 
already  observed,  is  generic,  and  represents  a  class — one  grand  ab- 
stract idea — from  which  all  that  is  common  to  other  ideas,  and  not 
individual,  is  separated.  Literature,  therefore,  includes  all  that  per- 
tains to  language  or  signs  of  ideas,  ancient  or  modern,  natural  or  arti- 
ficial, from  the  alphabet  of  Cadmus  down  to  the  belles-lettres  productions 
of  the  present  day.  The  arts  of  reading,  writing,  speaking,  grammar, 
logic,  rhetoric,  are  but  the  practice  of  the  theory  of  literature ;  for, 
like  every  thing  else,  literature  has  both  its  theory  and  practice. 
A  mere  literary  person,  however,  is  conversant  only  with  letters  or 
signs  of  thought,  without  regard  to  science  or  the  useful  and  liberal 
arts.  Could  you  accurately  and  elegantly  speak  and  write  all  the  lan- 
guages of  the  world,  living  and  dead,  ancient  and  modern,  from  the 
hieroglyphics  of  Egypt  to  the  apocalyptic  symbols  of  unaccomplished 
prophecy,  you  would  be  only  literary  men — skilled  in  the  names  of 
things,  the  symbols  of  thought,  the  signs  of  ideas.  It  is  freely  ad- 
mitted that  in  so  much  intercourse  with  books,  so  much  attention  to 
the  signs  of  thought,  much  useful  knowledge  of  men  and  things  may 
be  acquired,  and  that  a  literary  man  of  high  attainments  will  neces- 
sarily possess  much  valuable  information  in  the  study  of  ancient  and 
modern  dialects  of  thought ;  still,  we  must  plead  that  such  a  person  iS' 
greatly  inferior  to  the  man  of  science  in  point  of  really  useful  and 
practical  knowledge,  as  he  who  can  only  name  a  horse  in  ten  languages 
is  greatly  inferior  in  the  knowledge  of  that  useful  and  noble  animal  to 
the  keeper  of  a  livery-stable,  who  can  only  name  the  animal  in  his  ver- 
nacular. Believe  me,  young  gentlemen,  a  man  with  one  language  and 
many  sciences,  or  even  useful  arts,  is  much  more  likely  (for  he  is  better 
prepared)  to  be  a  valuable  and  useful  member  of  society,  than  he  who 
has  many  languages  and  only  one  or  two  sciences.  Except  it  may  be 
in  the  departments  of  a  translator  or  an  interpreter,  or  in  preparing 
others  for  those  services,'  such  persons  are  greatly  overrated  in 
society. 

But,  as  science,  rather  than  literature  or  art,  is  the  burden  of  our 
address,  and  as  we  have  more  in  view  than  simple  definition — com- 
bining, as  far  as  we  can,  the  definitions  of  important  terms  with  the 

9 


130 


LITERATURE,  SCIENCE  AND  ART. 


laws  of  classification,  and  thus  illustrating  and  commending  its  value— 
we  shall  hasten  to  the  classification  of  science,  properly  so  called. 

The  great  end  to  be  gained  in  classification  is  the  proper  distribution 
of  all  knowledge  under  proper  heads,  with  a  single  reference  to  the 
easy  acquisition  and  communication  of  it.  A  good  and  rational  classi- 
fication, then,  is  that  which  collects  all  that  appertains  to  any  one  sub- 
ject under  a  suitable  designation,  and  clearly  separates  it  from  all  that 
belongs  to  another  category  or  subject.  There  are  two  great  diffi- 
■culties  in  perfecting  such  a  classification  of  science :  one,  radical  and 
as  yet  insuperable,  is  that  no  one  science  is  so  insular  in  its  position, 
so  separate  and  distinct  from  all  others,  as  to  be  perfectly  independent 
of  them — so  as  never  to  borrow  or  lend  a  single  idea.  Such  a  science 
would  be  as  singular  as  Robinson  Crusoe,  or  Alexander  Selkirk,  in  the 
island  of  Juan  Fernandez  :  yet  even  he  had  his  man  Friday.  A  science 
perfectly  isolated  is  not  yet  known  ;  therefore  our  classifications  are  not 
bounded  by  insuperable  barriers  or  mountain  landmarks  :  they  rather 
resemble  the  charters  given  by  the  kings  and  queens  of  England  to 
the  principal  America.n  colonists,  setting  forth  the  eastern,  the  northern 
and  southern  boundaries,  but  ending  in  the  vague  terms,  "  thence  west 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean,"  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,"  or  some  unknown 
terminus  in  the  midst  of  Indian  tribes.  Hence,  as  our  western  limits 
are  yet  undetermined,  so  one  side  of  all  our  sciences  is  yet  unsurveyed. 
The  best  classifications  hitherto  made  are  therefore  imperfect. 

The  other  difficulty  is  found  in  the  unfortunate  fact  that  we  have 
not  yet  acquired  a  perfect  scientific  language.  All  our  vocabularies 
and  nomenclatures  are  defective,  and  unfit  for  close  and  accurate 
definition  or  reasoning.  Still,  the  best  classification  of  science,  in  the 
absence  of  a  perfect  one,  is  that  which  collects  all  our  knowledge 
of  one  subject  under  the  best  title  and  distinguishes  it  from  every 
other. 

Mr.  Locke,  the  great  mental  philosopher,  was  duly  sensible  of  this, 
and  sought  to  divide  the  whole  world  of  ideas  into  provinces  separate 
and  distinct  from  each  other.  He  so  generalized  ideas  as  to  place 
them  all  under  three  distinct  heads.  These  three  genera  generalissima, 
or  grand  generic  ideas,  are, — things,  actions,  signs;  that  is,  things,  as 
they  are  in  themselves  knowable ;  actions,  as  depending  on  us,  in  refer- 
ence to  our  happiness ;  and  signs,  as  they  may  be  used  in  reference  to 
our  knowledge  as  regards  both  clearness  and  accuracy.  According  to 
this  eminent  Christian  philosopher,  all  science  pertains  to  these  three, 
or  these  three  engross  all  the  science  in  the  world : — For,"  says  he, 
^'a  man  can  employ  his  thoughts  about  nothing  but  either  the  contern 


LITERATURE,  SCIENCE  AND  ART. 


131 


plation  of  things  themselves  for  the  discovery  of  truth ;  or  about  the 
things  in  his  own  power,  which  are  his  own  actions,  for  the  attainment 
of  his  own  ends ;  or  the  signs  he  would  make  use  of  both  in  the  one 
and  the  other,  and  the  right  ordering  of  them  for  his  clearer  inform- 
ation." 

The  modern  schools  of  Britain  have  sought  to  improve  upon  this 
view  of  the  matter  by  reducing  all  science  to  two  chapters.  The 
head  of  the  one  is,  "  What  is  the  head  of  the  other  is,  What 
OUGHT  TO  BE."  The  what  is  and  the  what  ought  to  he,  say  they,  are 
the  sum  total  of  all  our  knowledge.  This  is  within  one  step  of  the 
ontological  abstraction,  which  makes  the  word  being  the  genus  general- 
issimum,  the  highest  and  most  comprehensive  term  in  universal  language. 
This  is,  however,  too  sublimated  for  practical  purposes.  The  ontology 
and  the  deontology,  or  the  what  is  and  the  what  ought  to  be,  of  the 
most  approved  schools,  would,  I  think,  make  five  chief  heads  of  science, 
or  five  chapters  of  sciences  of  sciences ;  for  we  are  now  seeking  not  for 
a  particular  science,  but  for  a  science  of  sciences.  Following  both  Locke 
and  the  moderns,  so  far  as  they  both  can  be  followed  by  one  person,  or 
rather  putting  them  together  and  forming  a  tertium  quid,  a  new  com- 
pound, we  would  have  five  sciences  of  sciences,  or  five  general  sciences, 
which  would  include  the  whole  area  of  human  knowledge ;  and  if  we 
must  continue  the  old  nomenclature,  we  should  call  them  physics, 
metaphysics,  mechanics,  ethics  and  symbolics.  By  physics  I  mean 
natural  truth,  or  truth  in  the  concrete,  as  it  is  found  in  material 
nature ;  by  metaphysics  I  mean  artificial  or  abstract  truth,  or  truths 
not  found  in  nature,  but  inferred  or  generalized  from  nature;  by 
mechanics  we  would  denote  truths  that  are  simply  useful ;  by  ethics  we 
intend  truths  moral  and  good  in  their  operation ;  and  by  symbolics  we 
I  mean  the  signs  which  are  employed  in  acquiring  and  communicating 
i  these  truths.  We  would  thus  represent  truth  as  the  matter  of  all 
I  science,  and  name  the  science  from  the  nature  or  character  of  the  truth 
I  of  which  it  treats.  Thus  we  would  have  truth  in  the  concrete,  truth 
in  the  abstract,  truth  as  connected  with  simple  utility,  truth  as  con- 
nected with  human  happiness,  and  lastly,  the  signs  of  truth ;  or  par- 
ticular truths,  general  truths,  useful  truths,  happifying  truths,  and  the 
signs  of  truth. 

But,  gentlemen,  I  will  be  told  that  this  is  too  multiform  an  abstract 
I    of  science  reduced  to  five  chapters,  and  that  the  inductive  sciences  are 
already  well  divided  into  natural,  mental,  moral;  or,  to  speak  more 
learnedly,  into  physical,  psychological  and  ethical.  With  all  due  defer- 
I    ence  to  the  men  of  enlarged  and  liberal  science,  I  object  to  this  division 


132 


LITERATURE,  SCIENCE  AND  ART. 


as  quite  indistinct,  confused  and  defective.  We  have  had  jical 
and  metaphysical  sciences,  natural  and  moral,  speculative  and  practical, 
material  and  mental,  and  I  know  not  how  many  other  classifications, 
all,  in  my  judgment,  either  too  indefinite,  too  defective  or  too  confused. 
The  best  of  these,  perhaps,  is  the  natural,  mental  and  moral ;  but  do 
not  these  most  wantonly  run  into  each  others'  territories  ?  The  specific 
idea  which  is  as  essential  to  a  science  of  sciences  as  to  a  particular 
science,  is  lost, — as,  for  instance,  do  we  not  find  the  specific  idea  of  the 
mental  in  the  natural,  and  the  specific  idea  of  the  natural  both  in  the 
mental  and  the  moral  ?  and  does  not  this  division  leave  out  the  science 
of  signs  altogether  ?  If  not,  wherein  does  it  excel  the  ontological  and 
the  deontological  division  already  defined? 

In  the  classification  of  science,  as  in  the  arts  and  business  of  life,  we 
seek  some  generic  idea;  and  having  found  it,  we  arrange  all  things 
that  have  that  idea  in  them,  under  the  term  or  name  which  represents 
that  idea.  For  example,  if  we  contemplate  sciences  with  regard  to  the 
subjects  on  which  they  treat,  we  prefix  to  them  the  name  of  that  idea. 
That  science  which  treats  of  simple  being  for  the  sake  of  discovering 
general  or  abstract  truth,  is  properly  called  ontology,  because  that 
Greek  compound  represents  the  law,  or  reason,  or  nature  of  being  in 
general.  We  call  this  science  sometimes  a  speculative  science,  because 
it  is  a  mere  exercise  of  our  intellectual  powers — itself,  too,  the  result 
of  speculative  reasoning  and  discussion  upon  simple  existence,  rather 
as  a  matter  of  intellectual  or  moral  gratification,  than  of  practical 
utility.  It  is,  therefore,  purely  metaphysical.  But  those  sciences 
which  treat  of  the  masses  of  matter  that  compose  the  universe,  the 
structures  and  relations  of  all  those  parts  that  compose  the  immense 
whole,  we  properly  call  the  physical  sciences,  contrasted  with  the 
former,  which  is  properly  metaphysical.  Again,  those  sciences  which 
treat  of  actions  with  a  reference  to  utility — as  the  construction  of  all 
the  necessaries  and  conveniences  of  life — are  properly  called  mecha- 
nical by  the  mechanicians  of  the  world.  Those,  however,  that  contem- 
plate actions  in  reference  to  right,  or  to  human  happiness,  are  called 
moral,  or  ethical,  from  the  earliest  ages  of  philosophy.  Thus,  accord- 
ing to  the  division  now  contemplated,  we  would  have  two  chapters  of 
science  on  things,  two  chapters  on  actions,  and  one  on  signs;  and  this, 
after  all,  is  but  the  perfection  of  Locke's  views. 

These  five  chapters  of  science,  namely,  physics,  metaphysics,  me-* 
chanics,  ethics  and  symbolics,  cover  the  whole  ground  of  English  and 
American  sciences,  and  are  the  completion  of  all  the  improvements 
from  Locke  to  the  present  day.  The  two  first  concern  being  and  truth. 


LITERATURE,  SCIENCE  AND  ART. 


133 


07  things  particular  and  general ;  the  next  two  contemplate  actions  as 
u  efnl  and  good ;  and  the  last  one  treats  of  the  signs  of  all  our  ideas 
u :  every  department  of  our  knowledge.  They  are,  indeed,  dependent 
c  n  one  another  as  much  as  the  intellectual  powers  of  man  are  depend- 
'  nt  on  his  active  or  effective  powers,  and  his  active  powers  upon  his 
ntellectual. 

We  shall  now  briefly  notice  the  principal  sciences  that  are  found 
ander  these  general  heads  or  classes : — 

] .  In  the  science  of  sciences  called  Physics,  or  physical  sciences,  we 
make  seven  primary  sciences,  viz.  astronomy,  geology,  geometry, 
mineralogy,  botany,  zoology,  chemistry.  Gentlemen,  neither  approve 
nor  disapprove  this  division  till  we  have  examined  it.  Our  process  of 
thinkmg  and  reasoning  in  making  out  this  distribution  is,  we  think, 
very  natural.  It  is  as  follows  : — In  physics  the  generic  idea  is  material 
nature.  We  then  proceed  to  the  specific  sciences,  which  are  the 
integral  parts  of  it.  This  we  do  in  the  following  manner : — 1st.  We 
look  at  the  whole  universe  as  composed  of  innumerable  masses  of 
matter  spread  out  over  infinite  space,  moved  and  moving  by  certain 
powers  or  laws,  and  tending  to  some  grand  result.  The  science  that 
treats  of  all  these  masses  and  their  laws  we  call  astronomy.  Of  these 
systematic  masses  we  select  one,  called  the  solar  system ;  and  of  that 
system  we  again  select  one  planet,  our  earth.  Then  comes,  in  the 
second  place,  the  science  of  the  composition  and  organization  of  our 
earth,  called  geology.  But  we  cannot  proceed  any  further  in  the  study 
of  the  universe  without  some  scaffolding;  for  the  ideas  of  quantity, 
extension,  magnitude,  number,  rush  upon  us,  and  so  completely  over- 
whelm us,  that  we  set  about  measuring  our  earth  that  we  may  measure 
the  universe;  and  hence  arises,  just  at  this  point,  the  science  of 
geometry,  a  word  indicating  the  measurement  of  the  earth;  for  we 
soon  discover,  with  the  ancients,  that  God  has  made  the  universe  geo- 
metrically, by  line,  scales,  weight  and  measure.  Geometry,  then, 
although  an  abstract  science,  is  indispensable  to  the  study  of  astronomy, 
geology,  or  even  the  geography  of  the  earth.  After  the  geology  of  the 
earth  come  its  minerals,  vegetables,  animals.  Each  of  these  become 
separate  and  distinct  subjects  of  science.  Its  minerals  occupy  the  pre- 
cincts of  mineralogy;  its  trees,  shrubs,  plants,  flowers,  fruits,  con- 
stitute the  science  of  botany ;  and  all  animated  beings  become  the  sub- 
ject of  its  zoology.  Finally,  the  elements  and  simple  substances,  which 
form  all  its  creations,  and  of  which  the  terraqueous  sphere  is  com- 
posed, and  all  its  inhabitants,  form  the  substratum  of  the  immense  and 
sublrfne  science  of  chemistry.     Chemistry,  indeed,  is  a  system  of 


LITEEATUEE,  SCIENCE  AN'D  ART. 


science  in  itself,  and  extends  its  jui'isdiction,  as  a  sort  of  supreme  court, 
over  all  the  physical  sciences,  geometry  alone  excepted.  Whatever  is 
not  explained  or  understood  in  geology,  mineralogy,  botany,  zoology, 
whatever  caput  mortuum,  whatever  residuum  these  sciences  leave, 
is  within  the  jurisdiction  of  chemistry,  which  har  for  its  rich  and 
extensive  domains  the  elements,  the  simple  substances,  the  com- 
binations and  uses  of  all  the  bodies  in  or  upon  this  terraqueous 
ball.  Like  the  Germanic  Empire,  a  cluster  of  principalities,  of  little 
kingdoms,  it  is  a  subgeneric  which  might  coimt  almost  seven  times 
seven  individual  sciences,  such  as  the  science  of  light,  caloric,  oxygen, 
azote,  hydrogen,  carbon,  &c.  &c. ;  nay,  it  disputes  the  ground  with  what 
was  formerly  called  natural  philosophy,"'and  claims  the  old  sciences 
of  optics,  dioptrics,  catoptrics,  pneumatics,  hydrostatics;  it  takes  the 
fossils,  the  minerals,  the  metals,  the  earths,  the  salts,  the  atmosphere 
itself,  the  solids,  the  liquids,  the  gases  of  our  earth,  under  its  care  and 
keeping.  Plants  and  animals  are  not  wholly  beyond  its  assumptions. 
Such  is  the  seventh  of  the  first  series,  or  the  last  verse  of  the  first 
chapter  of  the  science  of  sciences. 

Such,  my  young  friends,  is  the  process  of  reasoning  fi^om  which 
sprang  the  division  of  physics  into  astronomy,  geology,  geometry, 
mineralogy,  botany,  zoology,  and  chemistry.  I  wish  you  to  bear  in 
mind  that  man,  in  his  physical  constitution,  belongs  to  the  science  of 
zoology ;  and,  under  this  head,  we  may,  perhaps,  contemplate  him  at 
some  other  time. 

2.  Metaphysics  are  not  confined  to  any  kingdom  of  nature,  not  even 
to  the  material  universe ;  but  in  their  daring  and  presumptuous  flight 
speculate  on  time,  space  and  eternity;  on  being,  truth  and  goodness;  on 
God,  angels,  and  demons;  on  moral  good  and  evil;  on  free  agency  and 
necessity ;  on  mind  and  matter ;  on  thought  and  language.  We  have 
the  metaphysics  of  every  science,  such  as  speculative  theology,  specu- 
lative morality,  speculative  language,  speculative  philosophy,  &c.  &c. 

3.  Mechanics. — Trigonometry,  mensui^ation,  surveying,  navigation, 
gauging,  dialling,  architecture,  sculpture,  painting,  &c.  are  chief 
among  the  sciences  called  mechanical.  These  sciences  are  often  re- 
garded as  arts ;  but  they  are  sciences  first  and  arts  afterwards. 

4.  Ethics  call  for  the  whole  science  of  man,  and  send  us  back  to 
zoology  for  his  animal  existence.  He  is  chief  of  the  science  of  zoology. 
Of  animated  nature  he  is  the  consummation,  as  well  as  the  head.  But 
he  is  not  all  found  in  any  one  department  of  nature.  There  is  a  spiritual 
system  as  well  as  a  material  system.  The  science  cf  Pneumatology, 
or  of  spiritual  existence,  is  as  comprehensive  as  the  science  of  a^tro- 


LITERATURE,  SCIENCE  AND  ART. 


135 


nomy.  But  as  in  physics,  so  in  pneumatology.  After  speaking  of 
astronomy,  we  take  our  earth,  on  which,  and  from  which,  to  reason 
astronomically ;  so,  after  speaking  of  pneumatology,  we  take  man,  on 
whom,  and  from  whom,  to  reason  pneumatologically.  For  in  man 
alone,  of  all  physical  beings,  is  there  a  distinct  and  an  unequivocal 
portion  of  a  spiritual  system.  But  this  view  exhibits  man  as  the  sub- 
ject of  many  sciences.  Of  all  the  physical  sciences  he  is  a  part  and 
portion,  and  he  is  himself  the  engrossing  theme  of  a  respectable 
number.  His  animal  and  human  nature,  in  the  hands  of  the  physician, 
make  him  the  subject  of  several  sciences — such  as  anatomy,  physiology, 
osteology,  neurology,  nosology,  pathology  and  pharmacology. 

Besides  these,  in  the  hands  of  the  jurisconsult  he  becomes  the  sub- 
ject of  the  sciences  of  politics,  of  jurisprudence,  of  municipal,  civil  and 
criminal  law.  In  the  hands  of  the  theologian  he  is  also  the  subject  of 
the  canon  law,  the  ecclesiastical  law,  the  moral  law  and  the  Christian  law. 

His  perceptive,  reflective,  affective,  communicative  and  mechanical 
powers  make  him  the  subject  of  the  sciences  of  phrenology,  grammar, 
logic,  rhetoric,  mechanics,  ethics  and  religion. 

From  these  premises  we  may  easily  survey  the  sciences  that  properly 
range  under  the  general  head  of  Ethics.  According  to  our  best  schools, 
they  are — Natural  Theology,  as  it  is  called,  or  the  being  and  perfec- 
tions of  the  Deity,  as  manifested  in  all  the  designs  of  material  nature; 
Moral  Science,  properly  so  called ;  Political  Science,  properly  so  called ; 
the  Theory  of  a  Future  Life — Human  Eights,  Wrongs,  Obligations 
and  Responsibilities,  &c.  But,  as  Christians,  we  would  abandon  the 
doctrine  of  the  schools,  and  substitute  the  Bible,  the  Law,  the  Gospel, 
the  Adamic,  Abrahamic  and  Christian  institutions,  as  furnishing  not 
merely  a  perfect  code,  but  the  proper  motives  and  incentives  to  good 
morals. 

5.  Symbolics. — This  is  our  fifth  and  last  head,  and,  as  might  have 
been  inferred  from  our  previous  remarks  on  literature,  we  would 
enum orate  seven  distinct  sciences  as  comprehended  under  this  head 
These  are  orthography,  orthoepy,  grammar,  prosody,  logic,  rhetoric 
and  every  species  of  engraving  or  chirography.  This  is  usually  the 
first  branch  of  science  taught,  but  it  ought  also  to  be  the  last.  The 
acquisition  and  the  communication  of  knowledge  being  the  chief  end 
of  education,  that  part  which  most  subserves  this  high  end  ought  to 
be  first,  midst  and  last. 

G-entlemen,  after  having  made  the  tour  of  so  many  sciences,  and 
ranged  at  large  over  a  field  so  extensive,  we  have  no  time  to  descant 
upon  the  arts.    I  will  only  say  that  they  are  both  the  useful  and  thr> 


136 


LITERATURE,  SCIENCE  AND  ART. 


fine  or  liberal  arts.  On  the  useful  or  mechanical  arts  there  is  no  need 
that  I  detain  you ;  and  I  will  only  say  that  the  fine  arts  are  not  con- 
trasted with  the  useful,  as  in  opposition  to  them;  but  to  distinguish 
them  from  such  as  are  necessary  or  useful  only.  They  are  generally 
regarded  as  six ;  but  I  will  add  one  to  them.  They  are  poetry,  music, 
painting,  sculpture,  engraving,  architecture  of  the  different  orders — to 
which  I  will  add  good  manners. 

There  remains  but  one  point  to  consummate  our  plan — the  connection 
of  science,  all  true  science,  with  religion.  One  might  as  rationally 
seek  to  comprehend  an  effect  without  any  knowledge  of  its  cause,  as  to 
comprehend  any  part  of  the  science  of  the  universe  without  some 
knowledge  of  its  Author.  G-od  and  his  works  are  the  basis  of  all  the 
science  in  the  world.  But  as  the  universe  is  not  without  God,  nor  God 
now  without  his  universe,  so  no  science,  physical  or  ethical,  can  be 
thoroughly  learned  without  the  revealed  knowledge  of  God.  We 
study  man  in  his  works  and  in  his  word,  and  we  contemplate  our 
Creator  through  the  medium  of  what  he  has  done  and  said. 

The  works  of  God  are  his  first  and  most  ancient  revelation  of  himself; 
and  had  not  man,  by  his  apostasy,  lost  the  art  of  reading  and  studying 
the  works  of  God,  he  would  not  have  stood  in  need  of  any  other  medium 
of  knowing  him,  or  of  communicating  with  him,  than  this  wonderful 
and  greatly  diversified  volume  of  nature.  And,  even  as  it  is,  the  in- 
telligent Christian  makes  the  greatest  proficiency  in  studying  nature 
and  the  Bible  by  making  them  subservient  to  each  other — sometimes 
interpreting  the  Bible  by  nature,  and  at  other  times  expounding  nature 
by  the  Bible.  They  are  two  voices  speaking  for  God — two  witnesses 
of  his  being  and  perfections ;  but  neither  of  them  is  wholly  adequate 
to  meet  all  the  variety  of  human  circumstance  without  the  other. 

But  we  need  no  more  striking  evidence  of  the  intimate  connection 
between  science  and  the  Bible  than  the  well-established  fact,  that  all 
the  great  masters  of  science  were  believers  in  the  Bible  and  cherished 
the  hopes  which  it  inspires.  Bacon,  the  founder  of  the  inductive  phi- 
losophy;  Locke,  the  great  mental  and  moral  philosopher;  and  Newton, 
the  interpreter  and  revealer  of  nature's  secrets,  are  known  to  the 
religious  as  well  as  to  the  scientific  world  as  believers  in  the  Bible  and 
expounders  of  its  doctrine,  its  precepts,  types  and  promises.  They  are 
as  eminent  for  their  homage  to  the  Biblo  as  for  their  devotion  to  the 
studies  of  nature.  Philosophy,  with  them,  and  Christianity  were  not 
at  variance. 

They  saw  the  immutable  and  inimitable  traces  and  characters  of  one 
and  the  same  Supreme  Intelligence  clearly  and  boldly  written  on  every 


LITERATURE,  SCIENCE  AND  ART. 


137 


page  of  the  volumes  of  Creation,  Providence  and  Redemption.  They 
were  persuaded  that  the  still  small  voice  which  whispers  in  every  star 
and  in  every  flower  speaks  aloud  in  the  language  of  authority  and  of 
love  in  all  the  precepts  and  promises  of  the  law  and  of  the  gospel. 
Such  were  the  great  founders  of  the  reigning  philosophy  and  sciences 
of  the  present  day.  But  I  speak  not  of  the  first  class  only ;  for  it 
seems  as  if  the  Father  of  Lights  had  vouchsafed  all  useful  sciences, 
discoveries  and  arts  to  those  who  acknowledged  his  being  and  per- 
fections, and  to  none  else.  So  general,  if  not  universal,  is  this  feature 
of  his  providence,  that  I  know  not  the  name  of  the  founder  of  any 
science,  or  the  inventor  of  any  useful  art,  or  the  discoverer  of  any 
great  master-truth  in  any  department  of  human  thought,  who  did  not 
acknowledge  the  God  of  the  Bible  and  cherish  the  hope  of  a  future  life. 

I  have  permitted  my  mind  to  take  a  long  retrospect  into  the  annals 
of  the  great  inventors  and  discoverers,  the  authors  and  founders  of 
those  sciences  and  arts  that  have  since  the  dark  ages  new-modelled 
society  and  the  world,  to  see  if  there  was  any  one  of  them  who  had 
divorced  nature  and  religion,  or  who  had  rejected  the  being,  perfections 
and  providence  of  God,  or  denied  the  authenticity  and  inspiration  of 
his  word.  By  the  examination  I  have  been  greatly  confirmed  in  my 
theory,  that  "  the  secrets  of  the  Lord  are  with  them  that  fear  him," 
even  the  great  secrets  of  nature,  as  well  as  of  his  purposes  and  will  in 
reference  to  the  future.  Beginning  with  the  invention  of  the  mariner's 
compass,  in  the  early  part  of  the  fourteenth  century,  by  Flavio  Gioia, 
born  A.D.  1300,  and  descending  in  a  direct  line  down  to  Sir  Humphry 
Davy,  who  but  a  few  years  since  passed  the  Jordan  of  time,  I  observe 
that  all  the  sciences  and  arts  that  have  been  introduced  or  perfected 
during  the  last  five  hundred  years — which  have  made  this  century  so 
unlike  the  year  1300 — have  been  given  to  us  by  men  who  looked 
through  nature,  society  and  art  up  to  nature's  God. 

Of  this  sort  were  Dr.  Fust,  or  Faust,  a  goldsmith  of  Mentz,  who 
invented  the  art  of  printing  on  wooden  blocks,  and  gave  it  to  the  world 
in  1430 ;  Schaefi'er,  his  son-in-law,  who,  in  1442,  invented  the  casting  of 
metallic  types ;  Christopher  Columbus,  born-  at  Genoa,  1442,  who  dis- 
covered a  new  world  in  1492;  Copernicus,  born  at  Thorn,  in  Prussia, 
1472,  who  proved  the  errors  of  the  Ptolemaic  system  of  the  universe, 
and  suggested  the  elements  of  the  present  demonstrative  system ;  Tycho 
Brahe,  of  Sweden,  born  in  1546,  and  Kepler,  of  Weil,  of  WUrtemberg, 
born  1571,  who,  though  of  somewhat  conflicting  opinions  in  some 
branches  of  the  Copernican  system,  greatly  advanced  it  by  their  dis- 
coveries; Galileo,  born  at  Florence,  1564,  who  first  discovered  the  gravity 


138 


LITEEATURE,  SCIENCE  AND  ABT. 


of  tlie  air  and  sundry  new  astronomical  truths,  ip.Yor.'i/'/  o^  cLe  pen- 
dulum and  of  the  cycloid,  and  an  able  defender  of  the  Copernican 
system ;  Descartes,  too,  a  native  of  Touraine,  borr.  1596,  though  erro- 
neous in  his  docrine  of  the  vortices  and  in  some  fj.ctaphysical  specula- 
tions, nevertheless  in  mathematics,  algebra  and  in  bis  Analytics  greatly 
advanced  the  cause  of  science,  and  became  the  founder  of  the  Cartesian 
philosophy,  now  reviving  in  some  of  its  branches  in  Europe ;  Boyle, 
inventor  of  the  air-pump,*  born  in  1626 — one  of  the  most  retiring  and 
devout  of  philosophers ;  Isaac  Barrow,  the  light  of  the  age  in  mathe- 
matics, philosophy  and  theology— the  instructor  of  Newton — born  in 
England,  1630.  Passing  over  the  famous  epocha  of  Sir  Francis  Bacon, 
born  1561,  Locke,  born  1632,  and  Newton,  born  ten  years  after,  1642, 
we  will  only  name  Franklin,  the  American  sage  and  distinguished 
philosopher,  born  1706 ;  Euler,  born  1707 ;  Ferguson,  born  1710 ;  Sir 
William  Herschel,  born  1738;  James  Watt,  LL.D.,  born  1730,  im- 
prover of  the  steam-engine  first  invented  by  the  Marquis  of  Worcester, 
1660,  and  author  of  various  useful  inventions ;  Robert  Fulton,  the  in- 
ventor and  constructor  of  the  steamboat,  born  in  Pennsylvania,  1765; 
and  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  born  1778,  the  enlarger  and  perfecter  of  the 
science  of  chemistry — all  mighty  men  in  science,  or  in  the  useful  arts 
and  discoveries  w^hich  have  really  new-modelled  the  world.  These, 
however,  are  not  all  the  men  of  renown  that  should  be  mentioned  in 
a  catalogue  of  public  benefactors  in  science  and  art.  Some,  indeed, 
might  plausibly  think  that  we  ought  to  have  begun  with  Poger  Bacon, 
almost  a  century  before  the  age  of  Gioia,  and  have  given  him  and 
Schwartz  a  conspicuity  in  this  class  of  renowned  and  noble  spirits — 
Bacon,  for  his  many  new  discoveries ;  and  Schwartz,  for  his  invention 
of  gunpowder;  but  we  have  been  rather  too  particular,  our  object 
being  only  to  name  the  mighty  chiefs  in  each  department,  and  to  ad- 
duce them  in  proof  of  this  important  point — that  true  science  and 
religion  are  intimately  associated  both  in  theory  and  practice :  other- 
,wise  we  should  have  embellished  our  cloud  of  witnesses  with  the  names 
of  such  men  as  Harvey,  Gall,  Spurzheim,  &c.  &c. 

There  is  but  the  name  of  La  Place  concerning  whom  infidelity  itself 
could  have  the  hardihood  to  complain.  It  might  be  said  that  the 
atheist  La  Place  is  worthy  of  a  rank  amongst  the  greatest  of  philo- 
sophers; but  I  ask.  What  new  truth  or  science,  or  new  art,  did 
discover  or  teach  ?  Newton  opened  the  door  and  led  the  way  for 
him  into  the  study  of  nature. 


*  Generally  conceded  to  Otto  Guericke. 


LITERATUKE,  SCIENCE  AND  AET. 


''But  Franklin,"  says  the  skeptic,  "belonged  to  us."  Strange  arro- 
gance, indeed !  Eead  tlie  epitaph  on  his  tombstone,  sketched  by  his 
own  hand ;  and  see  his  hope  of  a  future  life  and  his  acknowledgment 
of  his  Creator  and  Benefactor  unequivocally  expressed  therein. 

It  was  observed  that  one  of  the  principal  difficulties  in  the  proper 
classification  of  science  and  of  human  knowledge  is  found  in  the  fact  that 
all  the  sciences  run  into  each  other,  and  are  separated  rather  by  gra- 
dations than  by  clear  and  prominent  lines  of  demarcation.  Now,  if  this 
be  true  in  physics  or  ethics,  it  is  most  certainly  and  evidently  true  of 
their  connection  and  intimacy  with  religion.  In  the  natural  sciences 
we  cannot  advance  a  single  step  without  the  perception  of  adaptation 
and  design.  The  cosmical  adaptations  are  so  numerous,  obvious  and 
striking,  that  we  are  compelled  to  notice  them,  and  to  see  that,  like 
the  leaves  that  envelop  the  rose-bud,  from  the  inmost  petal  that 
enfolds  the  germ  to  the  outermost  covering,  they  are  all  shaped  and 
fitted,  not  only  to  one  another,  but  to  the  central  stamina,  for  whose 
protection  they  seem  to  have  been  made.  Thus  the  whole  solar  system 
seems  to  exist  for  our  earth ;  our  earth  for  its  vegetable  and  animal 
productions ;  and  these,  again,  for  man.  Our  earth,  however,  appears 
to  be  adapted  to  the  universe  as  the  universe  is  to  it ;  and  after  it  has 
subserved  human  existence  as  its  ultimate  end,  it  again  repays  to  the 
system  of  nature  the  aids  and  advantages  furnished  it  by  its  neighbor- 
ing planets.  Thus  the  whole  universe,  both  in  its  general  laws  and 
in  its  particular  arrangements,  is  one  immense  system  of  means  and 
ends,  suggesting  to  the  true  philosopher  one  great  First  Cause  and  one 
grand  Last  End,  between  which  all  things  exist. 

It  is  as  impossible,  then,  to  understand  any  portion  of  such  a  system 
with  a  clear  comprehension,  viewed  apart  from  this  great  First  Cause 
and  Last  End  of  all  things,  as  it  would  be  to  understand  a  human 
finger  without  a  human  hand,  a  hand  without  an  arm,  an  arm  without 
a  body,  a  human  body  without  a  mind,  a  mind  without  the  Supreme 
Intelligence. 

If  it  be  folly,  plain,  palpable  folly,  to  pronounce  an  opinion  upon  a 
part,  when  ignorant  of  the  whole  to  which  that  part  belongs,  what  shall 
we  say  of  his  philosophy  who  dogmatically  pronounces  upon  science  in 
general,  who  has  not  studied  any  one  fully ;  or  of  him  who  has  studied 
but  a  single  chapter  in  the  volume  of  nature,  and  yet  presumes  to  judge 
the  whole  library  of  the  universe !  And  is  not  this,  gentlemen,  his 
character  who  would  presume  to  divorce  the  study  of  nature  from  the 
knowledge  of  its  First  Cause,  or  from  the  science  of  the  Bible,  on  the 


140 


LITERATURE,  SCIEXCE  AND  ART. 


pretence  that  it  is  unnecessary,  or,  which  is  the  same  thing,  that  any 
one  science  may  be  as  fully  comprehended  without,  as  with,  the  know- 
ledge of  Him  who  is  himself,  his  being,  perfections  and  will,  the  sum 
and  substance,  the  Alpha  and  Omega  of  them  all  ? 

But  who,  of  unperverted  reason  and  of  uncorrupted  affections,  could 
wish  to  study  science  without  tracing  its  connection  and  its  intimacies 
with  the  most  magnificent,  sublime  and  interesting  of  all  sciences — 
the  knowledge  of  God,  of  our  own  origin,  destiny  and  duty  ?  If  there 
be  beauty,  grandeur,  sublimity,  immensity,  infinity  in  this  stupendous 
temple  of  the  universe,  how  infinitely  beautiful,  lovely,  grand  and 
glorious  must  be  that  august  and  adorable  One  who  had  from  all 
eternity  the  archetypes  of  every  system,  and  of  every  creature,  existing 
in  his  own  mind,  unexpressed;  awaiting  the  moment  which  infinite 
wisdom,  power  and  benevolence  had  fixed  upon  as  the  most  fitting 
to  speak  them  forth  into  being!  To  make  the  universe  and  all  its 
science  the  way,  the  means  to  know  him,  appears  to  us  the  true 
wisdom  and  the  true  happiness  of  man.  He  clothes  himself  with  light 
as  with  a  garment ;  nay,  he  has  clothed  himself  with  his  own  creations, 
insomuch  that  the  clear  intelligence  of  them  is  the  clear  intelligence 
of  himself. 

To  me  it  has  ever  been  a  paradox,  a  mystery,  how  any  one  can  feast 
on  nature,  or  luxuriate  in  the  high  enjoyment  of  the  arcana  which 
science  reveals — how  any  one  can  in  ecstasy  and  rapture  contemplate 
the  celestial  and  the  terrestrial  wonders  of  creation,  and  yet  be  indif- 
ferent either  to  the  character  or  will  of  Him  who  is  himself  infinitely 
more  wonderful  and  glorious  than  they — how  any  one  can  admire  the 
developments  of  the  Creator,  and  forbear  himself  to  adore.  Assuredly 
there  is  something  wrong,  some  superlative  inconsistency  or  mistake 
in  this  matter ;  else  it  would  be  impossible  to  delight  in  the  works  and 
neglect  or  despise  the  workman. 

When  education  shall  be  adapted  to  the  human  constitution  and 
conducted  in  full  reference  to  the  rank  and  dignity  of  man,  then  will 
the  connection  of  science  and  religion,  of  nature  and  God,  be  made  not 
merely  the  subject  of  an  occasional  lecture,  but  a  constant  study ;  the 
universe  will  then  be  but  a  comment  on  the  Supreme  Intelligence ;  the 
being,  perfections,  providence  and  will  of  the  Almighty  Father  will 
always  be  the  text;  and  every  science  but  a  practical  view  of  Him 
in  whom  we  live  and  are  moved  and  have  our  being,  and  of  our  respon- 
sibilities and  obligations  to  Him  who  has  endowed  us  with  these  noble 
faculties  and  powers,  on  account  of  which  we  rejoice  and  triumph  in 
existence. 


LITERATUEE,  SCIENCE  AND  ART. 


141 


Meanwhile,  young  gentlemen,  I  would  remind  you  that  there  is  one 
science,  and  one  art  springing  from  it,  which  is  the  chief  of  all  the 
sciences  and  of  all  the  arts  taught  in  all  the  schools  under  these  broad 
heavens.  That  science,  as  defined  by  the  Great  Teacher,  is  the  know- 
ledge of  God  and  of  Jesus  Christ  whom  he  has  commissioned.  This, 
he  says,  is  eternal  life.  And  that  art  which  springs  from  it  is  the 
noblest  and  the  finest  in  the  universe :  it  is  the  art  of  doing  j  ustly,  of 
loving  mercy,  and  of  walking  humbly  with  our  God. 


SUPERNATURAL  FACTS. 


AN  ADDRESS  TO  THE  MAYSVILLE  LYCEUM,  1839. 


Oentlemen  : — 

In  testimony  not  merely  of  my  sense  of  the  honor  you  have  done  me 
in  unanimously  electing  me  an  honorary  member  of  your  institution, 
nor  of  the  high  regard  which  I  entertain  for  such  of  your  association 
as  I  have  the  pleasure  personally  to  know,  but  rather  in  proof  of  the 
high  estimate  I  have  formed  of  the  great  and  useful  objects  of  your 
lyceum,  do  I  at  this  time  appear  before  you.  On  every  other  account, 
I  should  certainly  at  this  time  have  declined  a  task  for  which  I  am  so 
ill  qualified.  Fatigued  as  I  am  with  the  labors  of  a  six  months'  tour, 
only  closed  this  forenoon  in  this  city,  and  not  having  had  an  hour  to 
arrange  my  thoughts  on  any  subject  since  I  received  from  your  com- 
mittee an  invitation  to  address  you,  I  should,  in  justice  to  myself,  as 
well  as  to  the  expectations  expressed  by  the  large  assemblage  before 
me,  have  deferred  this  address  to  a  more  convenient  and  propitious 
season.  But,  as  in  the  routine  of  the  reigning  manners  and  customs 
of  society  we  sometimes  make  visits  of  friendship  as  well  as  fashion- 
able visits,  I  prefer  to  appear  before  you  in  the  guise  of  the  former 
rather  than  in  the  disguise  of  the  latter.  In  the  one  case,  dress  and 
display  are  supreme ;  in  the  other,  the  frank  and  unadorned  congratu- 
lations and  communications  of  friendshi;:  and  of  the  social  feelings 
have  the  ascendency.  Without  the  corsets  and  trappings  of  a  set 
speech  and  a  fashionable  address,  I  propose,  then,  gentlemen,  to  offer 
you  a  few  practical  remarks  connected  with  the  great  object  of  your 
association — viz.  ^'Mental  and  Moral  Improvementy 

Among  the  useful  institutions  of  this  age  of  improvement,  I  think 
the  village  and  city  lyceums  occupy  a  very  prominent  and  a  very 
large  space.  When  well  conducted  and  in  reference  to  the  object 
you  propose,  they  offer,  in  my  judgment,  at  least  half  the  advantages 
of  a  collegiate  course  of  instruction.    Aided  by  a  good  library  and 

142 


SUPERNATURAL  FACTS. 


143 


governed  by  the  decorum  of  a  polite  and  rational  administration,  young 
men  especially  may  derive  from  them  many  and  great  advantages,  not 
only  in  compensation  of  the  want  of  a  liberal  education,  but  even  in 
superaddition  to  all  the  benefits  usually  derived  from  it. 

Well,  then,  gentlemen,  as  you  have  very  wisely  organized  with  a 
true  regard  to  your  mental  and  moral  advancement,  permit  me  to 
invite  your  attention  to  a  subject  of  transcendent  importance,  involving 
in  it  the  genuine  radices  of  all  intellectual  and  moral  superiority.  That 
subject  is  the  nature  and  use  of  supernatural  facts.  This,  as  you  have 
no  doubt  frequently  observed,  is  an  age  of  facts  against  hypotheses, 
and  of  the  inductive  process  of  inferring  the  laws  of  things  from  facts 
observed  and  classified ;  and,  therefore,  all  that  is  now  dignified  with 
the  name  of  science  is  the  knowledge  of  facts  and  of  the  inferences 
logically  drawn  from  them.  As  there  is  but  one  great  truth  in  the 
universe,  and  all  truths  are  but  fractional  parts  of  that  sublime  and 
incomprehensible  truth ;  so  there  is,  indeed,  but  one  science,  of  which 
all  the  varieties  of  human  knowledge  are  but  so  many  component  parts. 
There  is  neither  an  isolated  fact  nor  science  in  this  great  universe. 
They  run  into  each  other,  and  mutually  lend  or  borrow  light,  illustra- 
tion or  proof  from  one  another. 

The  classification  of  science  most  convenient  and  philosophical  is  that 
which  arranges  human  knowledge  according  to  the  facts  of  which  it 
treats.  Thus,  as  we  have  physical,  intellectual  and  moral  facts,  gene- 
rically  speaking,  we  can  only  have  physical,  mental  and  moral  sciences. 
The  knowledge  of  things  physical,  mental  and  moral  is,  therefore,  the 
measure  and  boundary  of  all  our  scientific  attainments. 

But,  besides  these  facts,  which  are  the  basis  of  all  human  science, 
there  is  another  class  of  facts,  mysterious  and  sublime  beyond  com- 
parison, which,  for  the  want  of  a  more  distinctive  name,  we  have  called 
supernatural  facts.  These,  as  have  been  stated,  constitute  the  theme 
of  our  present  address. 

How,  then,  shall  we  define  this  word  supernatural?  You  say, 
gentlemen,  ''It  literally  means  above  nature.''  But  still  the  wonder 
grows,  and  we  are  asked,  "What  is  nature  f  The  answer  commonly 
given  is,  The  usual  course,''  or,  The  established  order  of  things." 
Supernatural,  then,  would  indicate  something  above  the  reach  or 
power  of  the  established  connection  of  things.  The  establivshed  order 
of  things  is  not  to  be  trenched  upon,  nor  violated,  nor  even  sus- 
pended, by  any  one  who  is  himself  a  subject  of  those  laws.  Hence, 
none  but  the  Author  of  nature,  or  a  being  not  a  subject  of  the  laws  ol 
nature,  can  either  suspend  or  control  any  of  her  laws  or  arrangements. 


144 


SUPERNATUflAL  FACTS. 


Supernatural  facts  are,  then,  facts  superior  to  the  powers  of  nature — 
facts  above  the  established  order  of  things,  and  which  can  only  be 
performed  by  a  hand  that  can  control,  suspend  or  annihilate  the  laws 
of  nature.  All  facts,  therefore,  that  are  clearly  not  the  effect  of  any 
law  of  nature,  but  contrary  or  superior  to  those  laws,  we  call  super- 
natural ;  such  as  a  person's  walking  in  the  midst  of  a  burning  fiery 
furnace  without  the  slightest  injury,  or  upon  the  tops  of  the  waves  of  a 
tempestuous  sea  as  upon  a  rock,  or  curing  natural  diseases  or  raising 
to  life  a  dead  person  by  speaking  a  word. 

I  need  not  tell  yau,  gentlemen,  that  the  reality  of  such  facts  is  denied, 
and  that,  too,  by  some  of  our  shrewd  and  speculative  philosophers ;  nay, 
further,  there  are  some  who  teach  that  if  such  facts  did  happen,  no  sort 
of  evidence  could  sustain  them,  because  it  is  more  probable  and  more 
credible  that  the  witnesses  are  mistaken  than  that  the  event  or  fact 
reported  should  have  occurred.  With  a  few  there  is  no  power  above 
nature — nature  is  omnipotent,  self-existent  and  eternal.  These  are 
not  to  be  reasoned  with ;  and,  therefore,  they  are  not  at  present  within 
our  jurisdiction.  We  now  reason  with  those  who  contemplate  nature 
not  as  a  first  cause — "  a  cause  uncaused" — but  as  an  effect  of  one  intel- 
ligent and  almighty  agent. 

Next  to  Newton,  La  Place  ranks  in  the  philosophy  of  nature.  He 
is  decidedly  skeptical.  He  denies  supernatural  facts  altogether.  So 
dons  David  Hume.  These  are  the  two  greatest  names  on  the  list  of 
skeptics.  Their  philosophy  is  standard  and  canonical  in  all  the  high 
schools  of  infidelity.  If,  then,  we  can  show  their  philosophy  to  be  at 
fault,  false  and  chimerical,  foolish  and  absurd,  on  this  subject,  we  shall, 
I  trust,  be  excused  from  wrestling  with  inferior  spirits — mere  fresh- 
men in  their  school.  On  this  occasion,  then,  we  shall  contend  with 
none  but  these  two  great  masters  of  the  hosts  of  skepticism.  I  have 
to  prove  the  existence  of  supernatural  facts ;  and  my  first  task  shall 
be  to  show  that  the  skeptical  philosophy  is  based  on  a  false  hypothesis, 
and,  consequently,  a  gross  and  even  a  palpable  delusion. 

We  shall  first  hear  La  Place  state  his  own  argument  against  revela- 
tion : — "  The  probability  of  the  continuance  of  the  laws  of  nature  is,  in 
our  estimation,  superior  to  every  other  evidence,  and  to  that  of  his- 
torical facts  the  best  established.  One  may  judge,  therefore,  the 
weight  of  testimony  necessary  to  prove  a  suspension  of  those  laws, 
and  how  fallacious  it  is  in  such  cases  to  apply  the  common  rules  of 
evidence.' 

Now,  the  strength  and  point  of  this  philosophy  is,  that  the  proba- 
bility that  the  laws  of  nature  have  always  continued  and  shall  continue 


SUPEENATUEAL  FACTS. 


145 


as  they  are,  is  superior  to  the  evidence  of  sense,  the  evidence  of  testi- 
mony, and  every  other  evidence  by  which  we  prove  any  fact  whatever. 
If,  then,  we  had  walked  through  the  jhannel  of  the  Eed  Sea  after 
Moses,  or  had  seen  the  rock  Horeb  turned  into  a  fountain  of  water  at  the 
bidding  of  the  prophet ;  if  we  had  seen  the  three  sons  of  the  captivity 
walking  in  the  midst  of  the  fiery  furnace,  breathing  in  flame ;  or  Laza- 
rus rising  out  of  his  grave,  on  the  fottrth  day,  at  the  command  of  the 
Christian  Lawgiver ;  we  should  rather  believe  that  our  eyes  and  ears 
and  senses  had  deceived  us,  than  doubt  the  probability  that  the  laws 
of  nature  continued  in  these  cases  to  operate  as  they  had  always  done. 
Is  there  not,  then,  but  one  short  step  between  the  assumption  of  La 
Place  and  absolute  and  universal  skepticism  of  even  the  laws  of  nature 
themselves  ?  For,  let  me  ask  even  the  sons  of  skepticism.  On  what 
sort  of  evidence  does  our  assent  to  this  "probability"  rest?  or,  rather, 
By  what  sort  of  evidence  do  we  learn  the  laws  of  nature  ?  Is  it  not  by 
the  testimony  of  our  senses  ?  If,  then,  I  believe  my  senses  while  they 
at  one  time  attest  the  regularity  of  the  laws  of  nature,  why  should  I 
disbelieve  them  when,  in  a  particular  case  or  in  a  number  of  cases,  they 
depose  that  the  laws  of  nature  are  suspended,  violated  or  changed  ? 
Why  should  the  senses  in  this  arbitrary  way  be  metamorphosed  into 
true  or  false  witnesses  to  suit  the  emergency  of  a  philosopher?  Now, 
we — who  believe  in  supernatural  facts,  or  facts  above  the  regular  con- 
tinuance of  the  laws  of  nature,  and  which  those  laws  can  by  no  possi- 
bility achieve — admit  the  testimony  of  our  senses  as  true  and  faithful 
in  both  cases.  Judge,  then,  gentlemen,  which  of  the  two  schemes  is 
most  rational  and  consistent — that  which  uniformly  credits  the  senses 
as  faithful  witnesses,  or  that  which,  according  to  the  emergency  of  the 
ease,  whimsically  and  arbitrarily  makes  them  true  or  false  witnesses 
at  the  demand  of  a  favorite  theory.  And  is  it  not  evident  that  he 
who  discredits  the  testimony  of  the  senses  in  any  case,  in  which  they 
unequivocally  and  concurrently  depose  a  fact,  natural  or  supernatural, 
aims  a  fatal  blow  at  the  foundation  of  all  certainty,  natural  and  mora' 
— at  the  foundation  of  all  science,  material  and  mental  ? 

But,  to  come  to  still  closer  quarters  with  this  great  sage  of  nature's 
laws,  let  me  ask,  Whence  the  evidence  of  the  probability  of  the  con- 
tinuance of  these  laws  of  nature  ?  Is  not  the  skepticism  of  the  philo- 
sopher in  supernatural  facts  clearly  based  upon  a  most  fallacious 
hypothesis?  Who  has  proved  the  uninterrupted  continuance  or  the 
much  boasted  uniformity  of  the  laws  of  the  universe  ?  It  is  a  base- 
less assumption,  and  obviously  contrary  to  the  evidence  of  both 
sense  and  reason,  especially  when   they  are  permitted  to  extend 

10 


146 


SUPERNATURAL  FACTS. 


their  researches  through  all  the  fields  of  human  science,  limited 
though  they  be. 

If  nature's  laws  are  uniform  and  permanent  without  the  intervention 
of  a  supernatural  agency;  if  all  things  continue  as  they  were  from 
eternity — all  science  is  hypothetical — astronomy  and  geology,  with  all 
the  physical  sciences,  are  without  facts  and  without  reason.  But  they 
are  not ;  therefore  we  have  all  the  physical  facts  against  the  hypothesis 
of  the  skeptic,  and  in  proof  of  facts  supernatural.  Let  us,^  then,  hear 
what  the  sciences  already  named  depose  against  the  skeptical  hypo- 
thesis. What  saith  Geology?  Does  she  prove  that  all  things  continue 
a^.  they  were  ?  Does  she  testify  to  the  uninterrupted  continuance  of 
the  laws  of  nature  ? 

We  shall  first  hear  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Lyell,  the  President  of  the 
British  Geological  Society,  in  his  anniversary  address  to  the  society 
for  1837  :— * 

''All  geologists  will  agree  with  Dr.  Buckland,  that  the  most  perfect 
unity  of  plan  can  be  traced  in  the  fossil  world,  the  modifications  which 
it  has  undergone,  and  that  we  can  carry  back  our  researches  distinctly 
to  times  antecedent  to  the  existence  of  man.  We  can  prove  that  man 
had  a  beginning,  and  that  all  the  species  now  contemporary  with  man, 
and  many  others  which  preceded,  had  also  a  beginning ;  consequently, 
the  present  state  of  the  organic  world  has  not  gone  on  from  all  eternity, 
as  some  philosophers  have  maintained." 

To  this  I  may  add  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Buckland  himself,  author  of 
the  Bridgewater  Treatise  on  this  most  interesting  science.  His  words 
are,  ''AH  observers"  of  the  mechanism  of  the  earth  "admit  that  the 
strata"  of  which  it  is  composed  "were  formed  beneath  the  waters,  and 
have  been  subsequently  converted  into  dry  land."  (p.  44.) 

To  these  two  dislinguished  witnesses  we  shall  add  the  testimony  of 
a  still  more  deservedly  renowned  name — one  of  the  three  greatest 
men  of  the  present  century  that  have  flourished  in  the  French  me- 
tropolis, and  near  the  court  of  that  great  nation.  I  allude  to  Cuvier, 
and  his  distinguished  friends  MM.  Cousin  and  Guizot.  These  three 
deserve  the  admiration  and  the  gratitude  of  that  nation  and  all  lovers 
of  religion  and  science.  Gentlemen,  let  me  recommend  to  you  the  late 
work  of  M.  Guizot  on  the  Progress  of  European  Civilization.  I  have 
read  it  with  pleasure  and  profit.  It  traces,  with  the  hand  of  a  master, 
the  agencies  and  elements  that  have  conspired  in  the  present  civil- 


*  Not  having  the  works  herein  quoted  with  me,  the  substance  was  onlj  given  troni 
-my  recollections  in  the  extemporaneous  address. 


SUPERNATURAL  FACTS. 


147 


ization  of  the  world.  While  I  would  not  endorse  every  sentiment  in 
the  works  of  these  great  masters  in  philosophy  and  science,  I  cannot  but 
regard  them  and  their  works  as  a  blessing  to  that  volatile,  vivacious  but 
great  and  distinguished  nation.  They  have  greatly  contributed  to 
redeem  France  from  the  theoretic  atheism  of  the  Voltaire  and  Volney 
school,  and  to  convert  its  seminaries  to  a  theism  not  only  tending  to 
good  morals  and  good  government,  but  to  emancipate  the  people  from 
the  superstition  and  follies  of  the  Papacy,  and  to  propitiate  their  ears  to 
the  religion  of  the  Bible.  And,  ladies,  permit  me  to  say  for  your  con- 
solation and  encouragement  that  all  the  piety  of  these  great  authors, 
and  the  good  tendency  of  their  numerous  and  elegant  productions,  are 
to  be  traced  to  the  religious  affections  and  pious  trainings  of  the 
mother  of  one  of  them,  Madame  Cuvier,  at  whose  house  the  other 
two,  when  lads,  were  accustomed  to  visit  in  the  days  of  their  juvenile 
amusements.  She  was  accustomed  to  take  every  occasion  to  imbue 
their  minds  with  a  deep  and  abiding  sense  of  the  being  and  perfections 
of  God  as  displayed  in  all  his  works  and  in  his  word — and  to  lead  them 
to  look  through  nature  up  to  nature's  God." 

From  this  digression  let  us  turn  to  the  testimony  of  Cuvier  in  his 
most  splendid  System  of  Geology: — 

''The  lowest  and  most  level  parts  of  the  earth  exhibit  nothing,  even 
when  penetrated  to  a  very  great  depth,  but  horizontal  strata  or  layers 
composed  of  substances  more  or  less  varied,  and  containing  almost  all 
of  them  innumerable  marine  productions.  Similar  strata,  with  the 
same  kind  of  productions,  compose  the  lesser  hills  to  a  considerable 
height.  Sometimes  the  shells  are  so  numerous  as  to  constitute  of 
themselves  the  entire  mass  of  the  rock ;  they  rise  to  elevations  superior 
to  every  part  of  the  ocean,  and  are  found  in  places  where  no  sea  could 
nave  carried  them  at  the  present  day,  under  any  circumstances ;  they 
are  not  only  enveloped  in  loose  sand,  but  are  often  enclosed  in  the 
hardest  rocks.  Every  part  of  the  earth,  every  hemisphere,  every  con- 
tinent, every  island  of  any  extent,  exhibits  the  same  phenomenon.  It 
is  the  sea  which  has  left  them  in  the  places  where  they  are  now  found. 
But  this  sea  has  remained  for  a  certain  period  in  those  places ;  it  has 
covered  them  long  enough  and  with  sufficient  tranquillity  to  form  those 
deposits,  so  regular,  so  thick,  so  extensive,  and  partly  so  solid,  which 
contain  those  remains  of  aquatic  animals.  The  basin  of  the  sea  has 
therefore  undergone  one  change  at  least,  either  in  extent  or  in  situa- 
tion :  such  is  the  result  of  the  very  first  search  and  of  the  most  super- 
Rcial  examination y 

''The  traces  of  revolutions  become  still  more  apparent  and  decisive 


148 


SUPERNATURAL  FACTS. 


when  we  ascend  a  little  higher,  and  approach  nearer  to  the  foot  of  tho 
great  chains.  There  are  still  found  many  beds  of  shells;  some  of 
these  are  even  thicker  and  more  solid ;  the  shells  are  quite  as  numerous 
and  as  well  preserved,  but  they  are  no  longer  of  the  same  species.  The 
strata  which  contain  them  are  not  so  generally  horizontal ;  they  assume 
an  oblique  position,  and  are  sometimes  almost  vertical.  While  in  the 
plains  and  low  hills  it  was  necessary  to  dig  deep  in  order  to  discover 
the  succession  of  the  beds,  we  here  discovered  it  at  once  by  their 
exposed  edges,  as  we  followed  the  valleys  that  have  been  produced  by 
their  disjunction." 

''These  inclined  strata,  which  form  the  ridges  of  the  secondary 
mountains,  do  not  rest  upon  the  horizontal  strata  of  the  hills  which 
are  situate  at  their  base,  and  which  form  the  first  steps  in  approaching 
them ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  dip  under  them,  while  the  hills  in  question 
rest  upon  their  declivities.  When  we  dig  through  the  horizontal  strata 
in  the  vicinity  of  mountains  whose  strata  are  inclined,  we  find  these 
inclined  strata  reappearing  below ;  and  even,  sometimes,  when  the 
inclined  strata  are  not  too  elevated,  their  summit  is  crowned  by  hori- 
zontal ones.  The  inclined  strata  are  therefore  older  than  the  horizontal 
strata ;  and  as  they  must  necessarily,  at  least  the  greatest  number  of 
them,  have  been  formed  in  a  horizontal  position,  it  is  evident  that  they 
have  been  raised,  and  that  this  change  in  their  direction  has  been 
efiected  before  the  others  were  superimposed  upon  them." 

''Thus  the  sea,  previous  to  the  disposition  of  the  horizontal  strata, 
had  formed  others,  which,  by  the  operation  of  problematical  causes, 
were  broken,  raised  and  overturned  in  a  thousand  ways;  and  as  several 
of  these  inclined  strata  which  it  had  formed  at  more  remote  periods 
rise  higher  than  the  horizontal  strata  which  have  succeeded  them  and 
which  surround  them,  the  causes  by  which  the  inclination  of  these  beds 
was  effected  had  also  made  them  project  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
and  formed  islands  of  them,  or  at  least  shoals  and  inequalities;  and 
this  must  have  happened  whether  they  had  been  raised  by  one  ex- 
tremity or  whether  the  depression  of  the  opposite  extremity  had  made 
the  waters  subside.  Thus  is  the  second  result  not  less  clear  nor  less 
satisfactorily  demonstrated  than  the  first,  to  every  one  who  will  take 
the  trouble  of  examining  the  monuments  on  which  it  is  established." — 
Cuviers  Theory  of  the  Earth,  vol.  v.  pp.  8-10. 

May  we  not  now  ask,  How  can  these  plain,  sensible  and  incon- 
trovertible facts  of  geology,  stereotyped  in  rocks  and  mountains,  clearly 
legible  to  the  eye  of  science,  be  reconciled  with  the  hypothesis  of  the 
skeptic — that  "the  probability  of  the  continuance  of  the  laws  of  nature 


SUPERNATUEAL  FACTS. 


119 


is  superior  to  every  other  evidence" — when,  in  fact,  we  find  no  evidence 
of  the  continuance  of  the  said  laws  of  nature  for  any  great  length  of 
time ;  but  rather  the  tokens  of  a  series  of  supernatural  facts,  answer- 
ing to  the  series  of  creative  acts  recorded  by  Moses?  He  says,  "The 
earth  was  without  form  and  void,  and  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of 
the  deep ;  and  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters. 
And  God  separated  the  waters,  and  the  dry  land  appeared."  Peter 
says,  when  speaking  of  our  present  scoffers,  that  this  wilfully  escapes 
those  who  say  that  "all  things  continue  as  they  were  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  creation:" — "This  wilfully  escapes  them,  that  by  the  word 
of  God  the  heavens  were  of  old,  and  the  earth  standing  out  of  the 
water  and  in  the  water;  by  which  water  the  old  earth  perished,"  &c. 
Geology  is  proving  this  by  tables  of  rock,  by  stratas  of  earths,  by  the 
indurated  remains  of  progressive  creations,  showing  that  at  least  six 
grand  generic  fiats  originated  and  ordered  the  dominions  of  nature  so 
far  as  pertains  to  our  terraqueous  inheritance.  There  is  no  bribing  of 
these  fossil  witnesses — no  counterfeiting  of  these  imprinted  rocks — 
these  tables  engraven  by  the  finger  of  God ;  a  portion  of  which,  exclu- 
sively a  petrifaction  of  sea-shells,  I  picked  up  the  other  day  in  this 
county  of.  Mason ;  and  if  I  were  permitted  to  conclude  from  the  pave- 
ments of  your  streets  and  the  excavations  from  the  bottoms  of  your 
wells,  I  would  say  that  you,  gentlemen  and  ladies,  live  and  move  and 
have  your  being  on  an  immense  bed  of  sea-shells  deposited  ages  since 
by  the  movements  of  a  shoreless  ocean,  now  converted  into  limestone  ;* 
whose  upper  surface,  by  the  action  of  atmospheric  agents,  has  mould- 
ered down  to  dust ;  and  from  which,  mingled  with  vegetable  deposits, 
the  beautiful  frames  around  me  have,  by  another  marvellous  process, 
been  reared  and  animated  by  the  omnipotent  hand  of  the  Creator. 
Yes,  gentlemen,  I  read  on  the  deeply  imprinted  volumes  of  God's  earth, 
in  your  own  city  and  county,  the  refutation  of  the  theory  of  La  Place, 
and  all  of  that  school,  who  affirm  that  all  things  have  continued  in  one 
uniform  system  of  nature  from  some  dateless  eternity,  alike  unknown 
to  reason  and  record. 

From  the  geological  premises  now  before  us,  and  I  believe  they  are 
the  most  scientifically  orthodox,  though  as  nothing  compared  with 
the  masses  of  documents  and  stratas  of  evidence  within  our  reach ;  still, 
from  these  premises  the  following  conclusions  are  inevitable : — 

1.  The  present  earth  was  formed  under  water.  Geology,  and  the 
Bible,  Moses  and  Peter  agree  in  this  testimony.    This  truth  is  most 


*  The  primitive  name  of  Maysville. 


150 


SUPERNATURAL  FACTS. 


prolific  of  facts  subversive  of  the  skeptical  philosophy.  For,  in  the 
second  place,  the  vegetable  and  animal  structures  and  creations, 
requiring  atmosphere,  did  not,  could  not  possibly,  exist  from  the 
beginning.  Therefore  a  new  class  of  supernatural  facts,  or  a  new 
series  of  supernatural  operations,  must  have  succeeded  the  first  system 
of  nature,  before  the  fiat  which  separated  the  waters  above  and  under 
the  firmament,  and  which  caused  the  dry  land  and  the  pure  air  to 
appear. 

2d.  The  creation,  then,  of  all  the  vegetable  genera  and  species,  each 
of  which  is  a  special  operation,  a  new  suspension,  violation  or  devia- 
tion of  the  then  laws  of  nature,  next  ensued,  and  became  a  distinct 
category  of  supernatural  facts — a  new  system  of  nature. 

3d.  Then,  when  the  vegetable  dominions  were  finished,  the  earth 
clothed  and  filled  with  provisions  for  animal  creations,  a  new  series  of 
supernatural  interpositions  was  required  to  fill  the  air,  the  sea  and  the 
earth  with  inhabitants,  requiring  vegetable  productions  mediately  or  im- 
mediately for  their  subsistence.  This  occasioned  more  supernatural  facts. 

4th.  And  even  yet  the  work  was  not  complete;  for  there  was  no 
oeing  of  earthly  creation  that  could  read,  or  understand,  or  enjoy 
either  the  Creator  or  his  creation ;  and  this  called  forth  those  divine 
energies  that  brought  man  into  existence. 

Without  further  details,  you  will  perceive,  gentlemen,  how  baseless 
the  hypothesis  that  nature's  laws,  operations  and  powers  have  continued 
always  as  they  now  are.  Nothing  can  be  more  absurd.  Consequently, 
nothing  can  be  plainer  to  the  candid,  unsophisticated  mind,  than  that 
there  is  a  class  of  facts  as  properly  styled  supernatural,  or  miraculous, 
as  that  there  are  physical  facts  for  the  foundation  of  physical  science. 
What  more  evident  than  that  there  was  one  man  who  was  never  born — 
a  person  that  spoke  who  had  never  been  spoken  to  by  man — an  oak  that 
never  sprang  from  an  acorn — and  trees  innumerable  that  never  sprang 
from  seeds  ?  Or,  will  the  skeptic  prefer  to  say  that  there  was  a  child 
without  a  father — speech  before  persons — eggs  before  birds — and  seeds 
before  trees  ?  On  either  hypothesis,  miracles  or  supernatural  facts  are 
conceded  as  true  and  undeniable ;  and  therefore  La  Place's  hypothesis 
of  the  uniformity  and  continuance  of  the  laws  of  nature  falls  prostrate 
to  the  dust.  Dare  any  philosopher  affirm  that  nature  continues  to 
operate  as  she  began  ?  Why,  then,  does  she  not  annually  cast  up  new 
genera  and  species,  and  begin  new  races  of  plants,  animals  and  men  ? 
May  we  not  then  conclude  that  the  probability  of  the  long  continuance 
of  the  present  system  of  nature  is  fairly  shown  to  be  a  fond  hypothesis 
rather  than  an  ascertained  fact  ? 


SUPERNATURAL  FACTS. 


151 


But  the  facts  of  geology  are  sustained  and  illustrated  by  astronomical 
observations ;  so  far,  indeed,  as  the  conglomeration  of  our  planet,  and, 
I  might  add,  so  far  as  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  creative  processes  are 
implicated. 

The  two  Herschels,  Sir  William  and  Sir  John,  have  greatly  enriched 
astronomical  science  by  their  many  splendid  discoveries  and  specula- 
tions on  the  construction  and  architecture  of  the  heavens.  By  the  aid 
of  their  immense  telescopes,  of  from  ten  to  forty  feet  in  length,  they 
have  ascertained  that  stars  are  still  forming,  and  the  remote  fields  of 
space  are  filling  up  with  new  systems  of  suns  and  their  satellites.  ''A 
shining  fluid,"  rare  and  cloud-like,  or  nebulous,  in  immense  masses, 
sometimes  of  a  pale  milky  appearance,  diffused  over  millions  of  miles, 
and  of  immense  depth,  like  a  curdling  liquid,  thickens,  and,  from  being 
"  without  form  and  void,"  gradually  assumes  a  globular  appearance, 
thickens  down  into  less  dimensions,  and  finally  shines  as  a  star  occu- 
pying but  a  speck,  a  shining  point  in  a  region  which  it  once  filled  with 
its  cloud-like  appearance.  Stars  are  counted  up  to  thousands,  in  dif- 
ferent states  of  perfection,  from  shapeless  masses  of  nebulae  to  spark- 
ling orbs  of  various  magnitudes.  They  are  said  to  resemble  one  another 
in  their  approaches  to  perfection,  as  an  infant  in  its  annual  progress  to 
manhood  resembles  a  perfect  man.  In  the  first  and  rudest  state," 
Nichol  in  his  Architecture  of  the  Heavens  has  said,  "  the  nebulous 
matter  is  characterized  by  great  diffusion ;  the  milky  light  is  spread 
over  a  large  space  so  equally  that  scarcely  any  peculiarity  of  construc- 
tion or  arrangement  can  be  perceived."  The  perfectly  chaotic  modifi- 
cation of  this  matter  on  its  first  appearance,  or  original  form,  resembles 
vapor  thinly  spread,  some  spots  thicker  and  more  luminous  than  others. 
So  Moses  describes  our  planet : — "And  the  earth  was  without  form  and 
void,  and  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the  mass ;  and  the  Spirit  of 
God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters."* 

We  cannot  now  detail  what  astronomers  have  said  on  the  gradual 
condensation  of  these  amorphous  nebulosities  into  globular  masses, 
or  of  the  increased  brilliancy  which  follows  a  change  of  structure. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  their  matter  seems  gradually  to  fall  under  the  same 
laws  of  gravitation  and  motion  which  govern  our  system ;  but  in  the 
first  instance  one  of  their  diurnal  revolutions  may  occupy  thousands 


*  Keith,  after  quoting  from  Nichol  as  above,  says,  "Nebulae  or  nebulous  matter, 
cloud  or  cloudy,  may  be  said  to  be  identified  with  waters,  designated  as  without 
form  and  void.    Water  in  a  void  or  diffused  state  is  vapor  or  cloud ;  hereby  denoting 
a  harmony  of  expression  between  Moses  and  the  astronomers  for  a  state  of  matter  for 
which  human  language,  as  they  confess,  has  no  name." 


152 


SUPERNATUEAL  FACTS. 


of  years,  while  as  they  condense  into  more  solid  masses,  their  motion 
increases,  until  their  days,  like  those  of  our  planet,  from  thousands  of 
years  are  reduced  to  a  few  hours.  Hundreds  of  instances  given  by 
our  greatest  astronomers  confirm  the  truth  of  this  statement,  and  show 
that  the  matter  of  these  stars,  by  this  rotatory  motion,  is  separated 
and  gradually  solidified  into  a  globe. 

If  any  one  should  doubt  the  power  of  glasses  to  bring  such  objects 
under  our  vision,  to  him  we  should  say  that  the  largest  telescopes  do 
penetrate  into  distances  perfectly  beyond  the  limits  of  even  our  ima- 
ginations. The  diameter  of  the  orbit  of  our  earth  is  about  one  hundred 
and  ninety  millions  of  miles ;  and,  making  it  a  sort  of  measuring-rod, 
it  is  calculated  that  our  most  powerful  glasses  can  descry  luminous 
objects  almost  four  hundred  times  more  remote  than  Sirius,  which  is 
distant  from  our  earth  about  thirty-six  billions  of  miles. 

It  would  be  foreign  to  our  object  to  institute  a  comparison  between 
the  discoveries  of  modern  astronomers  and  the  record  of  Moses  con- 
cerning the  first  state  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  the  gathering 
together  of  our  globe.  I  will  only  say  that,  as  in  geology,  so  in  as- 
tronomy, the  nearer  we  approach  the  truth,  the  more  complete  is  the 
evidence  that  no  person  in  the  times  of  Moses  could  have  given  such 
a  description  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  unless  guided  by  the  un- 
erring hand  of  omniscient  wisdom. 

"We  have  made  this  reference  to  the  diff'used  nebulosities,  those 
chaotic  vaporous  masses  which  contain  within  them  the  seeds  and 
elements  of  new  suns  and  systems,  and  which  in  process  of  time  are 
rolled  up,  condensed  and  solidified  into  globes  like  ours,  and  fitted  up 
for  the  production  and  residence  of  numerous  and  greatly- diversified  in- 
habitants, to  show  that  when  Moses  says  the  old  earth  was  without  form 
and  void,  and  enveloped  in  darkness,  and  that  God  separated  the  waters 
above  and  below  the  firmament,  and  darkness  and  light,  and  finally 
made  the  dry  land  appear,  he  only  speaks  in  accordance  with  the 
modern  discoveries  of  the  great  masters  of  astronomical  science;  and 
for  another  purpose  of  greater  interest  with  many — with  a  reference 
to  the  length  of  the  six  days,  or  the  much  higher  antiquity  that  some 
geologists  assign  to  our  earth,  comprred  with  what  is  understood  to  be 
the  Mosaic  account  of  this  matter.  It  is  alleged  that  the  fossil  remains, 
deposits  and  formations  discovered  in  this  earth  argue  an  antiquity 
many  thousand  years  beyond  the  period  which  Moses  assigns  to  its 
origin,  not  yet  full  six  thousand  years.  But  to  say  that  the  time  from 
darkness  to  darkness,  or  from  light  to  light,  called  "  evening  and  morn- 
ing," is  necessarily  of  one  length,  is  as  unwarranted  from  the  Bible  as 


SUPERNATURAL  FACTS. 


253 


It  is  from  analogy,  or  from  the  changes  which  must  have  happened  to 
the  vaporous  mass,  formless  and  void,  of  which  this  globe  was  formed. 
Is  there  any  ball  in  motion — any  wheel  in  the  universe,  that  performs 
its  first  rotatory  motion  in  the  same  time  in  which  it  performs  even  its 
second,  to  say  nothing  of  its  motion  when  under  the  full  influence  of 
all  the  agencies  and  impulses  which  are  then  in  co-operation  upon  it  ? 
This  would  be  a  supernatural  fact  indeed !  The  earth  now  revolves 
upon  its  axis  in  twenty-four  hours ;  but  that  it  must  have  occupied  no 
more  time  when  it  was  an  immense  volume  of  vapor  spread  over  a 
thousand  millions  of  times  its  present  occupancy  of  space,  and  unin- 
fluenced by  the  same  laws  that  now  govern  it,  would  be  a  preposterous 
conclusion,  a  supernatural  fact  of  marvellous  import.  While,  then, 
the  last  days  of  the  creation-week  may  have  been  no  more  than  twenty- 
four  hours,  the  first  two  or  three  may  have  been  twenty-four  thousand 
years,  for  any  thing  which  science  or  the  Bible  avers  on  the  subject. 

But  all  this  is  a  free-will  ofi'ering,  uncalled  for  by  the  oracles  of  faith 
or  of  reason — by  the  word  of  God  or  the  scientific  researches  in  either 
of  the  departments  of  geology  or  astronomy.  When  any  one  argues 
from  the  length  of  time  necessary  to  the  formation  of  all  the  strata  of 
earths  and  rocks  with  which  the  earth  abounds,  against  its  being 
created  in  six  common  days,  he  resembles  a  brother  skeptic  who  argues 
against  the  fact  of  the  first  man's  being  an  adult  the  first  moment  he 
saw  the  sun,  because  the  formation  of  the  bones  and  sinews,  the 
muscles,  arteries  and  nerves  of  an  adult  requires  some  twenty-five  or 
thirty  years  to  develop  and  confirm.  To  such  drivelling  philosophers 
we  say,  if  God  by  one  word  could  raise  up  in  perfection  one  man,  could 
he  not  by  one  word  raise  up  this  earth  in  all  its  developments — though 
now,  as  in  the  case  of  man,  many  years  might  be  necessary,  by  the 
operations  of  the  common  laws  of  nature,  to  such  a  wonderful  consum- 
mation ?  We  conclude,  then,  that  there  is  nothing  in  true  philosophy 
or  in  true  science  against  supernatural  facts,  on  the  ground  assumed  by 
La  Place,  in  his  false  hypothesis  concerning  the  continuance  of  the  laws 
of  nature ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  that  both  geology  and  astronomy,  when 
fairly  and  impartially  considered,  compel  the  conclusion  that  various 
systems  of  nature  must  have  preceded  the  present;  and  that  to  the 
commencement  of  each  a  divine  or  supernatural  interposition  was  ab- 
solutely necessary. 

As  an  astronomer.  La  Place  deposes  against  himself;  for,  according 
to  him,  "the  primitive  fluidity  of  the  planets  is  clearly  indicated  by 
the  compression  of  their  figure  conformably  to  the  laws  of  the  mutual 
ittraction  of  their  molecules;  it  is  moreover  demonstrated  by  the 


154 


SUFEENATUKAL  FACTS, 


regular  diminution  of  gravity  as  we  proceed  -from  the  equator  to  the 
poles.  The  state  of  primitive  fluidity  to  which  we  are  conducted  by 
astronomical  phenomena  is  also  apparent  fi'om  those  which  naturax 
history  points  out."* 

As  La  Place  endorsed  for  David  Hume,  alleging  that  he  was  the  first 
writer  who  had  fairly  and  correctly  propounded  the  connection  between 
the  evidence  drawn  from  universal  experience  and  the  evidence  of 
testimony — who  had,  in  one  word,  declared  that  miracles  are  incredible 
because  the  laws  of  nature  are  inviolable — we  need  not  assign  much 
place  to  the  consideration  of  his  objections  to  supernatural  facts,  they 
being  identical  with  those  of  the  great  materialist  already  examined. 
Still,  as  Hume  is  the  real  author  of  that  philosophy  which  makes  it 
equally  impossible  for  God  to  work  a  miracle  as  for  man  to  believe  it, 
he  deserves  a  more  formal  notice  at  our  hand  than  we  have  yet  given 
him.  La  Place's  immutable  and  eternal  contintiance  of  the  laws  of 
nature,  and  Hume's  inviolability  of  those  laws,  are  identical  proposi- 
tions. If,  then,  the  Creator  of  man  desired  to  communicate  with  him, 
either  by  word  or  sign,  on  the  assumption  of  these  two  mighty  infidel 
chiefs,  whose  dogmas  are  the  boast  of  all  the  French  and  English 
skeptics  of  the  present  day,  he  could  not  do  it :  for  that  would  be  to 
violate  the  inviolable  laws— that  would  be  to  break  up  their  eternal 
continuance.  Eevelation  is,  therefore,  impossible  to  Grod  himself ;  and 
the  glorious  constimmation  of  the  philosophy  of  this  school  is,  that 
man  has  more  power  to  reveal  himself  to  man,  or  even  to  the  animals 
around  him,  than  God  himself.  Man,  then,  is  condemned  to  eternal 
ignorance  of  his  origin  and  destiny,  and  of  the  will  of  his  Creator,  if 
nature's  laws  are  inviolable,  and  God  cannot  suspend  them.  This, 
we  think,  would  be  absurd  enough  for  even  the  skeptical  philosophers 
themselves. 

But  Mr.  Hume  could  not  believe  any  testimony  that  is  contrary  to 
universal  experience,"  because  it  is  infinitely  more  probable  that  the 
witnesses  are  mistaken,  than  that  the  laws  of  natv.re  have  been  violated. 
This  is  the  marrow  and  strength  of  his  essay  against  miracles,  or  super- 
natural facts.  This  sophistry  has  been  so  ably  exploded  by  the  justly 
celebrated  Dr.  George  Campbell,  that  it  would  seem  a  work  of  superero- 
gation again  to  notice  it.  But  as  many  still  rest  in  the  delusion,  who 
do  not  love  truth  so  well  as  to  listen  to  the  other  side  of  any  question, 
for  their  sakes  I  would  briefly  ask  Mr.  Hume,  if  he  were  present,  or 
any  of  his  friends,  How  do  you  come  into  the  possession  of  that  which 


*  La  Place's  System  of  the  World,  vol.  ii.  p.  365. 


SUPERNATURAL  FACTS. 


155 


you  call  universal  experience  ?  By  wliat  evidence  do  you  acquire  the 
assurance  that  the  laws  of  nature  are  inviolable?  Your  own  observa- 
tion ?  Your  own  senses  ?  A  narrow  horizon,  truly,  from  whicli  to 
infer  the  uniformity  and  the  inviolability  of  the  laws  of  nature !  And 
is  this  your  boasted  philosophy,  to  infer  fi'om  the  e\^dence  of  your  own 
senses,  for  some  half-century  exercised  on  an  atom  of  the  universe — 
not  a  hand's-breadth  of  creation — the  inviolable  character  of  its  laws 
through  infinite  space  and  eternal  duration  ?  A  mole,  a  gnat,  an  insect, 
may,  then,  from  the  image  of  this  great  world  painted  on  the  retina  of 
its  eye,  philosophically  depose  that  the  universe  is  self-existent  and 
eternal ! 

But,  stranger  still,  do  you  call  your  own  observations  universal 
experience  ?  Is  not  universal  experience  the  experience  of  all  men  in 
all  places  and  at  all  times?  And  have  your  five  senses  given  you 
the  assurance  of  the  experience  of  all  persons  in  all  places  and  at  all 
times  ?  It  is  absurd.  You  can  know  only  the  experience  of  one  man 
in  one  place  and  at  one  time.  The  rest  is  all  memory,  or  all  faith. 
You  believe  the  experience  of  all  men,  and  know  only  your  own.  Your 
own  experience  is  knowledge,  other  men's  experience  is  with  you  faith. 
Yes,  gentlemen,  your  own  personal  experience  is  all  that  you  know  of 
this  great  universe;  all  the  rest  is  mere  belief  of  the  testimony  of 
others.  And  so  it  comes  to  pass  that  Mr.  Hume  could  not  believe  the 
testimony  of  some  men,  because  their  testimony  was  contrary  to  the 
testimony  of  all  men !  I  But  had  he  heard  and  examined  the  testimony 
of  all  men  before  he  concluded  himself  in  actual  possession  of  uni- 
versal experience?  No,  not  a  millionth  part  of  the  testimony  of  all 
men :  yet  on  this  veriest  fraction  of  universal  experience  he  presumes 
to  erect  a  house  of  refuge  for  all  the  outlaws  of  the  universe,  and  calls 
it  the  Castle  of  Universal  Experience!  Mr.  Hume's  "splendid,  un- 
answerable and  most  philosophic  argument,"  as  his  disciples  call  it, 
against  supernatural  facts,  when  analyzed,  is  simply  this: — "I  cannot 
believe  the  testimony  of  some  men,  because  it  is  contrary  to  my  own 
experience  and  to  that  of  a  millionth  part  of  all  men,  whose  expe- 
rience is,  in  my  judgment,  universal  experience!"  And  so  deposes  the 
Emperor  of  Siam : — I  cannot  believe  one  word  that  an  Englishman 
utters,  because  he  says  that  in  England  men  and  cattle  walk  upon 
water  congealed  into  ice,  which  certainly  is  a  glaring  falsehood,  because 
contiaiy  to  my  experience  and  to  that  of  all  the  good  people  of  the 
torrid  zone,  which  is  the  universal  experience  of  all  mankind  in  all 
^ges  and  in  all  places !" 

But  if  it  were  allowable  farther  to  expose  this  shameless  sophistry^ 


156 


SUPERNATURAL  FACTS. 


I  would  yet  ask,  Why  does  Mr.  Hume  believe  the  testimony  of  any 
man  on  any  subject?  Because  his  own  experience  and  that  man's 
exactly  tally  with  one  another  ?  Then  his  own  individual  experience 
is  the  standard  of  all  truth  !  Who  can  believe  that  ?  Mr.  Hume,  in 
his  elegant  but  insidious  History  of  England,  shows  that  he  believed 
ten  thousand  facts  without,  or  contrary  to,  his  own  experience.  This, 
then,  was  mere  credulity,  his  own  philosophy  being  in  the  chair.  But 
his  vouchers  were  honest  men,  veracious  and  competent  witnesses. 
And  have  we  not  as  honest  men — as  veracious  and  competent  witnesses 
of  supernatural  facts,  as  they  ?  And  if  we  rely  upon  the  eyes  and  ears 
of  one  class  of  witnesses,  why  not  upon  the  eyes  and  ears  of  another 
class,  who  are  even  more  disinterested  and  capable  than  they?  men 
who  sealed  their  testimony  of  supernatural  facts  by  laying  down  their 
lives  calmly  and  deliberately  in  proof  of  what  they  alleged  ? 

We  admit  that  it  requires  good,  strong  and  unimpeachable  testi- 
mony to  establish  a  suspension  or  violation  of  the  laws  of  nature.  And 
we  admit  that  the  uniformity  of  the  laws  of  nature  must  be  well  esta- 
blished in  order  to  the  credibility  of  a  supernatural  fact :  for  were  the 
laws  of  nature  frequently  suspended,  or  were  not  their  uniformity, 
except  by  the  interposition  of  the  Creator,  fully  sustained,  then  the 
proof  of  a  supernatural  fact  would  be  impossible.  The  Christian 
philosopher  contends  strongly  for  the  uniformity  and  inviolability 
of  the  laws  of  nature,  unless  the  Author  of  nature  interpose,  and  that 
on  an  occasion  worthy  of  such  an  interference;  for  with  Horace  he 
will  say — 

 Xec  Deus  intersit, 

Nisi  dignus  vindice  nodus. 
(Let  not  a  god  appear  in  the  piece,  unless  upon  an  occasion  that  calls  for  his  presence.) 

But  we  are  persuaded,  from  the  sciences  already  named,  that  occa- 
sions have  occurred  in  which  the  Divinity  has  interposed ;  for  the 
tables  of  nature,  as  well  as  the  oracles  of  prophets,  have  mado  it  most 
evident ;  and  if  it  were  expedient  for  the  Creator  to  interpose  on  any 
occasion  in  reference  to  the  creation  of  man,  reason  says,  with  her  ten 
thousand  tongues,  more  necessary  it  is  that  he  interpose  to  save  man 
from  ruin,  that  this  creation,  this  mundane  system,  might  not  issue  in 
a  perfect  abortion !  We  Christians  thank  all  the  philosophers,  and 
amongst  them  the  two  master-spirits  now  before  us,  for  their  efforts  to 
establish  the  uniformity  and  inviolability  of  the  laws  of  nature;  for 
we  need  their  arguments  to  establish  ours ;  but  with  one  of  their  own 
school,  the  eloquent  though  visionary  Eousseau,  we  will  say,  "Can  God 
work  miracles  ?  that  is  to  say.  Can  he  derogate  from  the  laws  which 


SUPERNATURAL  FACTS. 


157 


he  has  established  ?  The  question,  treated  seriously,  would  be  impious^ 
if  it  were  not  absurd." 

Having  seen  that  philosophy,  from  all  her  treasures  and  with  all  her 
talents,  not  only  inefficiently  assails,  but  even  corroborates  and  illustrates 
the  certainty  of  supernatural  facts ;  we  shall  define  a  miracle  with  a 
reference  to  its  utility  in  religion  and  morals ;  for  with  us  miracles  or 
supernatural  facts  are  as  necessary  to  true  morals  as  to  true  religion. 
Evidence  and  authority  are  demanded  alike  by  conscience  and  by  reason, 
before  we  make  a  perfect  surrender  of  ourselves  to  the  dictates  of  piety 
and  humanity 

A  MIRACLE,  in  the  Jewish  and  Christian  sense,  is  a  display  of 
supernatural  power  in  attestation  of  the  truth  of  a  message  from  God. 
To  seal  a  message,  or  to  attest  a  messenger,  is  essential  to  the  credit 
and  acceptance  of  them.  Now,  miracles  are  the  seal  of  a  message. 
'^Witness  my  hand  and  seal"  is  the  philosophy  of  the  whole  matter. 
"God  the  Father  sealed  Jesus;"  Moses  and  Jesus  were  sealed  messen- 
gers of  God.  The  former  was  the  minister  of  law;  the  latter  the 
minister  of  grace :  "for  the  law  was  given  by  Moses ;  but  the  grace 
and  the  substance  came  by  Jesus  Christ." 

Now,  as  there  are  two  sorts  of  supernatural  power,  there  are  two 
sorts  of  supernatural  facts — physical  and  mental.  Miracles,  then,  may 
be  displays  of  the  one  or  the  other,  or  of  both  conjointly,  as  the  nature 
of  the  case  may  demand.  The  person  who  controls,  violates  or  sus- 
pends any  of  the  laws  of  physical  nature, — curing  disease  by  a  word, 
healing  the  sick,  restoring  the  maimed,  raising  the  dead,  or  dispossess- 
ing demons,  gives  evidence  that  he  is  sustained  by  the  hand  of  Omnipo- 
tence. He  performs  physical  miracles;  he  overpowers  physical  nature. 
This  is  what  we  mean  by  a  display  of  supernatural  physical  power. 

He  who  foretells  a  future  event,  depending  on  no  known  or  ascertain- 
able cause,  such  as  the  fortune  of  a  man,  a  family,  a  nation,  at  any 
given  future  period,  displays  a  mental  power  equally  supernatural  and 
miraculous.  This  is  a  display  of  supernatural  mental  power.  Physical 
miracles  are,  then,  primarily  addressed  to  the  reason  and  senses  of 
living  witnesses ;  intellectual  miracles  to  the  reason  and  senses  of  those 
who  shall  hereafter  live.  One  class,  it  may  be  said,  are  primarily 
designed  for  contemporaries ;  the  other  for  posterity. 

Thus  we  who  now  live  are  made  equal  to  those  who  lived  in  the  times 
of  the  apostles  in  point  of  assurance  of  the  truth  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. They  saw  some  miracles,  and  believed  others;  we  see  some 
miracles,  and  believe  others.  The  miracles  which  they  saw,  we  believe ; 
the  miracles  that  we  see,  they  believed.    One  half  of  our  supernatural 


SUPERNATURAL  FACTS. 


evidences  grows  weaker,  the  other  half  grows  stronger,  by  time.  This, 
with  me,  is  a  point  of  great  moment ;  permit  me  therefore,  gentlemen, 
to  make  myself  fully  understood.  The  power  that  infallibly  foretells 
a  future  event,  depending  on  no  laws  known  to  mortals,  but  upon  a 
thousand  contingencies  beyond  human  calculation,  is  as  clearly  super- 
natural as  that  power  which  reanimates  at  a  bidding  the  dust  of  a  dead 
man.  Not,  however,  the  uttering  of  a  prediction,  but  the  accomplish- 
ment of  it,  constitutes  the  proof  of  omniscience. 

Now,  the  longer  the  interval  between  the  prediction  and  the  event 
foretold,  the  clearer  the  evidence  of  supernatural  knowledge :  whereas 
the  longer  the  interval  between  a  reported  miracle,  and  the  more 
numerous  the  hands  through  which  it  has  been  transmitted  to  us,  the 
fainter  or  more  obscure  the  evidence.  Thus,  while  for  the  sake  of 
argument  it  might  be  admitted  that  the  evidence  of  the  miracles  of 
Moses  and  of  Christ,  at  the  distance  of  two  or  four  thousand  years,  is 
weaker  than  it  was  a  single  century  after  they  occurred;  surely  it 
will  be  conceded  that  their  clear  predictions  of  events  two  or  four  thou- 
sand years  future,  is  a  stronger  proof  of  their  inspiration,  or  divine 
mission,  than  the  foretelling  of  events  only  fifty  or  a  hundred  years 
distant.  Thus,  while  the  evidence  of  physical  miracles  daily  grows 
lighter,  the  evidence  of  mental  miracles  or  prophecy  daily  grows 
heavier.  And  he  that  lives  to  see  a  prediction  fully  and  clearly  accom- 
plished as  certainly  sees  a  miracle  as  he  that  by  his  natural  eyes  saw 
Lazarus  revive  and  leave  the  sepulchre  at  the  command  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth. 

To  illustrate : — Suppose  any  one  should  arise  amongst  us  in  the  cha- 
racter of  a  divine  messenger,  having  some  communication  from  Heaven 
of  transcendent  importance  to  the  human  race :  it  would  not  be  suffi- 
cient that  he  solemnly  affirm  his  mission  :  he  must  prove  it ;  he  must 
show  the  hand  and  seal  of  Heaven  attached  to  it.  Nothing  like  omni- 
potence or  divine  power  so  naturally  addresses  itself  to  the  human 
understanding  through  the  senses  in  evidence  of  inspiration.  He  per- 
forms physical  miracles :  this  satisfies  contemporaries,  and  they  report 
it  to  posterity.  But  posterity  would  like  to  see  as  well  as  to  believe  a 
miracle.  Well,  he  is  willing  that  posterity  as  well  as  his  contempo- 
raries should  be  blessed.  He,  therefore,  in  the  presence  of  many  wit- 
nesses, at  diverse  times  and  places,  foretells  some  future  events  which 
shall  in  the  different  ages  of  the  world  sensibly  and  intelligibly  occur: 
for  example,  among  other  predictions,  he  foretells  that  the  inhabitants 
of  a  certain  Spanish  island  shall,  in  fifty  years  from  this  time,  possess 
this  whole  continent ;  that  their  language,  laws,  customs  and  religion 


SUPERNATURAL  FACTS. 


159 


shall  be  everywhere  predominant;  and  that  our  children,  excepting 
such  as  migrate  to  some  distant  region,  shall  be  extirpated  by  them. 
Now,  suppose  this  prediction  be  made  a  matter  of  state  record,  placed 
among  the  archives  of  the  nation  and  copied  and  translated  into  different 
languages ;  and,  finally,  should  this  event,  with  all  its  circumstances, 
so  strange,  so  unexpected,  so  contrary  to  all  human  probability, 
actually  occur :  I  ask,  would  not  those  who  then  lived  see  as  great  a 
miracle,  having  the  prediction  in  their  eye,  as  we  who  saw  the  same 
prophet  raise  the  dead  ?  While,  then,  we  his  contemporaries  see  some 
miracles  and  believe  others,  our  posterity  believe  the  miracles  that  we 
see,  and  see  the  miracles  that  we  believe ;  and  thus  the  more  impro- 
bable the  events  foretold,  and  the  longer  the  interval,  the  stronger  the 
assurance  of  the  mission  of  him  that  uttered  them. 

Such,  gentlemen,  are  the  supernatural  facts  recorded  in  the  Bible, 
and  such  their  use.  And,  when  the  subject  is  examined  with  the 
candor  and  the  care  which  its  infinite  importance  demands,  it  will  un- 
doubtedly appear  to  all  that  we  who  live  in  the  year  of  grace  1839 
have  prophecies  accomplishing,  miracles  occurring  before  our  eyes, 
which  were  registered  in  the  records  of  nations  and  translated  into 
difi*erent  languages  thousands  of  years  before  we  were  born ;  and  there- 
fore we  have  as  good  reason  to  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Saviour  of  the 
v/orld  as  they  who  witnessed  his  miracles  in  Judea. 

Indeed,  the  Bible  is  the  only  book  in  the  world  that  ever  did  pre- 
sume to  foretell  the  fortune  of  the  whole  human  race.  It  has,  so  to 
speak,  one  great  prophetic  meridian-line  which  surrounds  the  destinies 
of  our  globe ;  and,  when  we  intelligently  bring  up  any  particular  place 
or  epoch  to  that  line,  upon  it  we  read  its  fortunes  at  that  hour.  But 
this  requires  some  intelligence  in  that  book  and  in  the  history  of  the 
world:  it  requires  that  both  be  read  and  understood — just  as  it  re- 
quired the  Jews  to  walk  with  Jesus  to  'the  tomb  of  Lazarus,  and  to 
look  and  listen,  to  see  and  believe  that  miracle.  It  therefore  behooves 
us  to  go  with  the  prophets,  geographically  and  chronologically,  and  to 
listen  and  look  that  we  may  see  and  understand  the  miracles  submitted 
to  us.  The  same  candor  and  attention  that  could  have  seen  and  believed 
a  miracle  then,  can  see  and  believe  a  miracle  now. 

I  can  illustrate  by  only  an  instance  or  two  these  remarks  on  the 
Becond  class  of  miracles — those  displays  of  supernatural  intellectual 
power  in  attestation  of  the  great  proposition.  I  will  select  a  single 
specification  from  each  Testament.  That  from  the  Old  will  be  found 
in  the  writings  of  Moses — the  most  ancient  of  historians — delivered  at 
a  time  when  his  own  people  were  standing  around  him  on  their  way 


160 


SUPERNATURAL  FACTS. 


from  Egypt  to  Canaan.    In  anticipation  of  their  breaking  covenant 
with  God,  the  prophet  Moses  states  (Deut.  xxviii.  46-68)  certain 
curses  which  should  be  upon  them  for  a  miracle  and  perpetual  won- 
der."   These  are  among  the  specifications : — 

1.  A  far  foreign  nation,  swift  as  eagles  fly,  should  come  from  the 
ends  of  the  earth — a  nation  of  a  foreign  and  to  them  a  barbarous 
speech,  of  warlike  character,  fierce  and  unrelenting  to  old  or  young — 
and  should  devour  their  good  land  with  all  its  products,  and  then 
besiege  them  in  all  their  cities. 

2.  The  details  of  the  sieges  are  then  given  with  a  minuteness  that 
ends  with  the  account  of  a  delicate  lady  eating  her  own  infant  secretly 
in  the  distress  and  straitness  which  should  come  upon  them. 

3.  They  should  afterwards  be  reduced  in  number,  from  immense 
multitudes  to  comparatively  a  very  few,  and  driven  from  their  own 
land. 

4.  Then  they  were  to  be  scattered  among  all  people  from  one  end 
of  the  earth  to  the  other,  and  should  serve  them  and  their  gods  of 
wood  and  stone. 

5.  And,  while  among  these  nations,  they  should  have  no  ease,  no 
■-est  for  the  sole  of  their  feet,  but  should  be  seized  with  a  trembling 
heart,  failing  of  eyes  and  sorrow  of  mind. 

6.  Yet  they  should  not  be  absorbed  by  those  nations ;  for,  as  saith 
the  Lord  by  Jeremiah,  "  they  should  never,  while  sun,  moon  and  stars 
existed,  cease  from  being  a  nation  before  him."  Jer.  xxxi.  35,  36. 

These  are  but  a  few — not  a  hundredth  part — of  the  clear,  literal, 
unfigurative  predictions  of  that  miraculous  people :  a  standing  miracle, 
indeed,  they  have  ever  been,  from  the  supernatural  birth  of  Isaac  to 
the  present  hour ;  which  go  to  prove  that  Moses  and  their  prophets 
spoke  by  a  divine  and  supernatural  wisdom  and  intelligence.  Now,  as 
they  who  lived  in  the  times  of  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  saw  the  verifica- 
tion of  so  much  of  the  prediction  as  pertained  to  that  epoch,  so  we  who 
now  live  see  another  portion  of  it  literally  accomplishing :  we  see  the 
Jews  in  our  own  land  preserved  a  separate  and  distinct  people — not  yet 
amalgamated  and  absorbed  by  any  nation  on  earth,  though  disperse/; 
through  Asia,  Africa  and  Europe,  as  among  us,  without  a  home,  a 
resting-place,  or  national  institutions — yet  still  a  people;  while  the 
Assyrians,  Medo-Persians,  Greeks  and  Komans,  who,  ages  after  the 
prediction  was  delivered,  tyrannized  over  them,  and  rose  to  the  govern- 
ment of  the  world,  have  long  since  been  absorbed,  amalgamated  and 
ost  in  the  ocean  of  humanity.  Now,  that  Moses  wrote  in  Hebrew 
nore  than  three  thousand  three  hundred  years  ago,  and  was  publicly 


SUPERXATUEAL  FACTS. 


161 


and  by  national  authority  translated  into  Greek  more  than  two  thou- 
sand years  ago,  are  facts  as  veritable  and  certain  as  that  there  were 
once  Assyrians,  Medes,  Persians,  Greeks,  Komans ;  and  that  is  all  that 
is  necessary  to  perfect  this  miracle.  For,  let  me  ask,  was  it  within  the 
power  of  human  reason  or  intellect  to  foretell,  with  such  minuteness, 
with  a  singularity  of  incident  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
the  presept  fortunes  of  any  people  some  two,  three  or  four  thousand 
years  ago  ?  If  this  be  not  a  display  of  supernatural  intellectual  power 
— a  real  miracle — a  palpable  supernatural  fact — we  confess  ourselves 
incompetent  judges  of  the  attributes  of  any  fact,  ordinary  or  extra- 
ordinary. 

Take  another  example.  Paul  (in  the  second  chapter  of  Second 
Thessalonians)  foretells  a  man  of  sin,  with  such  a  variety  of  circum- 
stances as  wholly  transcends  all  human  prescience,  as  much  as  the 
removal  of  a  mountain  exceeds  all  human  volition.  Within  thirty 
years  of  the  crucifixion  of  the  Messiah,  he  describes  one  who  should 
sit  in  the  Christian  church,  assuming  a  power  over  all  political  magis- 
trates and  rulers ;  that  this  personage  could  not  appear  till  an  apostasy 
from  the  apostles'  doctrine  should  occur,  and  until  the  Roman  Pagan 
magistracy  was  taken  out  of  the  way,  as  a  hindrance  to  his  full  revela- 
tion. He  also  foretells  the  consumption  of  this  son  of  perdition,  his 
final  ruin,  &c.  And  have  we  not  this  fact  now  before  our  eye  ?  That 
apostasy  came  :  Christian  emperors  mounted  the  throne  of  the  Caesars ; 
Christian  priests  made  for  themselves  a  Pontifex  Maximus — a  great 
High-Priest — a  Pope,  who  now  sits  in  what  he  claims  to  be  the  temple 
of  God,  and  who  has  oft  assumed  all  the  powers  before  described  over 
all  princes  and  rulers.  And  lias  not  the  consumption  of  his  power 
commenced  ?  and  do  we  not  see,  ever  since  the  Protestant  Reforma- 
tion, the  waning  and  gradual  diminution  of  his  authority  ?  Surely,  we 
have  this  fact  before  our  eyes  at  this  moment.  Now,  that  the  pre- 
diction is  eighteen  hundred  years  old,  is  proved  from  the  ancient  Syriac 
and  Latin  versions,  and  all  authentic  records  concerning  the  commence- 
ment and  progress  of  Christianity,  Jewish,  Pagan  and  Christian.  And 
need  I  say  that  nothing  was  or  could  be  more  unlikely  to  happen  than 
that  the  alleged  vicar  of  one  then  so  recently  crucified  should  rise  to  a 
transcendency  of  power  eclipsing  the  glory  of  all  Roman,  of  all  Pagan 
magistracy — not  for  a  moment,  but  for  a  series  of  ages,  amounting  to 
almost  thirteen  centuries  ? 

In  the  extemporaneous  address  of  an  hour,  gentlemen,  it  is  not  pos- 
sible to  set  this  matter  forcibly  and  clearly  before  you.  We  rather 
dubmit  to  you  these  facts  and  observations  as  a  subject  of  your  own 

11 


162 


SUPERNATUKAL  FACTS. 


examination  and  development.  To  give  to  one  of  these  supernatural 
facts  the  demonstration  of  which  it  is  susceptible  would  require  more 
time  than  we  have  now  occupied  on  the  whole  premises  before  us. 
^ith  me,  I  assure  you,  this  is  an  important  subject.  True  religion 
and  true  morals  are,  like  all  true  science,  founded  on  homogeneous 
facts.  Christianity  is  a  supernatural  institution  for  man  in  a  preter- 
natural condition,  and  it  is  itself — both  its  proposition  and  its  proof— 
a  superhuman  system.  That  God  should  have  permitted  his  Son  to  die 
for  his  rebellious  creatures,  in  open  war  engaged,  is  itself  a  moral 
miracle,  and  demands  supernatural  attestations.  It  is  unique.  The 
proposition,  the  proof,  and  the  issue,  are  alike  supernatural  and  tran- 
scendent. 

In  bringing  this  subject  before  you,  gentlemen,  I  had  another  object : 
I  desired  to  contribute  my  mite  to  the  proof  of  another  proposition  not 
fully  stated  in  this  address — that  all  the  discoveries  in  science  are 
favorable  to  Christianity.  The  voice  of  nature  will  never  contradict 
the  voice  of  revelation.  Nature  and  the  Bible  are  both  witnesses  for 
God — they  are  consistent  witnesses,  and  mutually  corroborate  each 
other.    But  they  must  be  understood. 

Some  novices  in  religion  are  alarmed  at  every  new  discovery  in 
science,  lest  it  should  militate  against  the  Bible.  Astronomy,  geology, 
phrenology,  have  all  been  proscribed,  like  Galileo,  by  some  untaught 
and  unteachable  ecclesiastics.  We  fear  nothing  from  true  science. 
Phrenology  herself,  when  she  takes  her  seat  in  the  temple  of  true 
science,  will  lift  up  her  voice  for  the  necessity  of  the  Bible  and  of  reli- 
gion. She  does  it  already  by  showing  that  man  is  made  to  worship 
and  adore,  to  be  both  righteous  and  religious,  just  and  generous ;  that 
in  order  to  be  happy,  he  must  know  and  reverence  and  delight  in  the 
true  God.  She  proves  man,  as  he  now  is,  to  be  a  religious  animal, 
and  in  need  of  a  revelation  from  God ;  and  leaves  to  reason  and  con- 
science to  prefer  truth  to  error — Christianity  to  idolatry — reality  to 
fable. 

That  you,  gentlemen,  individually  and  collectively,  may  not  only 
attain  to  the  true  science  of  God,  but  to  the  true  enjoyment  of  a  reli- 
gion based  on  supernatural  facts ;  that  you  may  be  prepared  for  the 
enjoyment  of  an  immortal  life  in  a  new  creation;  is  the  unfeigned 
desire  of  your  friend  and  fellow-citizen,  long  devoted  with  you  to  the 
great  work  of  mental  and  moral  improvement. 


ADDRESS 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY: 

DELIVERED  BEPORE  THE 

PHILO-LITERARY  SOCIETY  OF  CANONSBURG  COLLEGE,  PENNSYLVANIA, 

AUGUST  3,  1852, 

BEING  IT3  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY. 


Gentlemen  : — 

No  one  can  really  understand  any  thing,  who  does  not  kno^w 
something  of  every  thing.  Circles,  cycles  and  centres  compose  the 
machinery  of  the  universe.  Suns,  moons  and  stars  have  their  re- 
spective centres,  their  orbits  and  their  cycles.  But  there  is  one  centre 
that  regulates  and  that  governs  all  other  centres ;  for  every  centre  is 
both  attractive  and  radiating.  It  communicates  and  it  receives.  It 
supports  and  is  supported.  There  must,  then,  be  one  self-sustaining 
centre,  and  that  centre  must  be  forever  at  rest.  It  is  both  the  centre 
of  gravity  and  the  centre  of  motion.  And  that  centre  is  not  God 
himself,  for  he  is  everywhere.  He  is  himself  a  circle,  whose  centre  is 
everywhere,  and  whose  circumference  is  nowhere. 

There  is  a  reason  for  every  thing,  if  there  be  any  reason  in  any 
thing.  Of  what  use  light,  if  there  be  not  an  eye  ?  And  of  what  use 
an  eye,  if  there  be  not  light?  Creator  and  creature  are  correlates. 
The  one  implies  the  other.  There  is,  therefore,  in  the  human  mind,  a 
necessity  for  the  being  and  perfections  of  God.  His  existence  is  essen- 
tial to  ours ;  but  our  existence  is  not  essential  to  his.  We  are,  because 
he  wds.  Had  he  not  been,  we  never  could  have  been.  We  are  not 
Belt-existent.  He  must,  then,  be  self-existent;  consequently,  infinite, 
eternal  and  immutable. 

But  there  is  in  God  something  passive,  as  well  as  something  active. 
A  human  muscle  is  passive  without  a  nerve  of  motion.  A  nerve  of 
motion  is  passive  without  a  will ;  and,  therefore,  wiU,  and  will  only,  is 

163 


164 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


the  primum  mobile — the  first  cause  and  the  last  end  of  this  universe. 
For  God's  pleasure,  or  will,  we  are  and  were  created. 

How  much  philosophy  find  we,  then,  in  that  beautiful  word  universe  ! 
It  is  a  versus  in  unum.  It  is  every  thing  in  motion  around  one  thing , 
which  is  immovably  fixed.  The  true  centre  of  gravity  is,  then,  the 
true  centre  of  motion.    But  there  is  not  much  gravity  in  a  volition. 

olitions  are  very  ethereal  entities.  Oh  for  Ithuriel's  spear,  to  dissect 
one  of  them!  Oh  that  we  could  place  ourselves  yonder,  ''where  fields 
of  light  and  liquid  ether  flow"  ! 

But  here  we  must  place  ourselves  upon  an  assumption.  "We  do  not 
like  that  word  assumption.  We  shall,  therefore,  call  it  a,  postulatum. 
But  its  very  assertion  is  its  proof.  It  is  this:  the  universe  is 
founded  upon  a  moral  idea.  God  did  not  create  the  universe 
because  he  had  wisdom  to  design  it.  He  did  not  create  the  universe 
because  he  had  power  to  create  it.  For  both  wisdom  and  power  are 
passive  instruments.  Goodness  alone  is  necessarily,  eternally,  im- 
mutably active.  It  is  essentially  and  perpetually  communicative.  It  is 
communicative  when  it  radiates  and  when  it  attracts.  It  is  the  cause 
of  all  motion.  But  for  it,  nothing  would  ever  have  been.  The  universe 
is,  therefore,  a  necessary  existence.  It  must  be,  because  God  was.  It 
must  be,  because  Jehovah  was  God — the  absolute  Good  One.  It  is  but 
a  temple,  in  which  goodness  lives,  moves  and  has  its  being — its  local 
habitation  and  its  home.  For  its  glory  all  things  are  and  were  created. 
This,  and  this  only,  is  physical,  intellectual,  moral  and  religious  ortho- 
doxy. It  is  orthodoxy  in  essence,  in  form,  in  substance.  It  is  the  phi- 
losophy of  philosophy,  and  the  religion  of  religion.  It  is  the  immo- 
vable centre  of  all  the  centres  of  the  universe.  And  here  we  place  our 
foot  upon  the  Eock  of  Ages.  Our  only  postulatum  is  the  "Hock  of  Ages." 

Man  having  been  created  in  the  image  of  God,  and  cradled  in  a 
universe  in  perpetual  motion,  his  mind  is  necessarily  active.  As  soon  as 
man  begins  to  think,  he  begins  to  construct  circles  of  thought  around 
some  perception  or  idea ;  and  these,  according  to  their  specific  nature, 
are  formed  into  what  are  properly  called  systems,  or  sciences.  He  has 
an  ideal  ontology  and  a  deontology,  before  he  knows  the  meaning  of  a 
single  word.  His  primordial  conceptions  are,  first,  being,  then  relation^ 
then  dependence,  then  duty,  then  pleasure,  then  pain.  These  are  all 
arranged  before  he  understands  a  word  or  a  thing.  "These  are  the 
centres  of  his  thoughts,  his  volitions  and  his  actions.  But  he  is  sur- 
rounded by  bad  teachers,  and  has  a  fallen  and,  consequently,  a 
shattered  constitution.  He  is  passive,  and  easily  led  astray.  His 
mind  is  perverted  by  bad  teachers  and  bad  associations.   He  soon  finds 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


165 


liimself  in  error,  and  sets  about  correcting  it.  He  again  finds  an  error 
in  his  mode  of  correcting  it;  and  so  the  conflict  between  truth  and 
error,  good  and  evil,  begins  long  before  he  knows  any  one  thing.  This 
is  an  inherent  calamity,  consequent  upon  an  ancestral  catastrophe. 

He  is  necessarily  obliged  to  classify  perceptions,  reflections,  volitions, 
actions  and  their  consequences.  He  is  born  with  a  pope  in  his  stomach, 
and  that  is  a  very  indigestible  substance.  Hence  the  dogmatism  of 
children,  simpletons  and  charlatans.  Of  these  big  children  we  have 
yet  a  sample  in  every  family  of  science.  I  say  family  of  science,  for 
these  families  have  grown  and  multiplied,  and  replenished  the  whole 
earth.  Our  great-great-grandfathers  had  but  seven  sciences — the  num- 
ber of  perfection.  But  we  have  seventy  sciences ;  and  yet  we  want 
another.  With  the  great  Hooker,  we  will  say,  that  ''no  science  doth 
make  known  the  first  principles  on  which  it  buildeth."  But  in  this 
age  of  progress,  any  art,  or  species  of  knowledge,  is  called  a  science. 
Any  one  specific  idea  may  become  the  centre  of  a  science.  Indeed,  we 
have,  without  knowing  it,  been  moving  forward  to  a  new  nomenclature 
on  the  grand  subject  of  sciences,  sects  and  schisms,  in  all  the  know- 
ledges of  earth,  of  time,  of  the  universe.  The  time  may  come,  if  it  be 
not  already  come,  when  every  generic  and  specific  idea  shall  become 
the  foundation  of  a  science,  a  sect,  a  party  and  a  school.  Take  the 
following  words — Papist,  Protestant,  Episcopalian,  Presbyterian,  Con- 
gregationalist,  Methodist,  Baptist,  Monarchist,  Aristocrat,  Democrat, 
<S^c.  Does  not  each  one  of  these  terms  indicate  one  specific  idea  ?  And  is 
not  that  one  idea,  to  all  within  its  circle,  a  centre  of  attraction,  and  to 
all  beyond  it,  a  centre  of  repulsion  ? 

General  assemblies,  synods,  diets,  councils,  conventions,  &c.  are 
constituted,  held  and  perpetuated  upon  the  sub-basis  of  one  idea,  which 
is  the  one  only  essential  and  differential  attribute  or  idea  of  the  school 
or  party.  These  ought  to  be  styled  the  centripetal  and  centrifugal 
ideas  of  all  bodies.  They  are  the  souls  of  all  ecclesiastical  and  political 
corporations.  Not  one  of  these  bodies  has  two  souls,  nor  any  of  these 
souls  two  bodies.  And  just  at  this  corner,  this  punctum  saliens,  I 
place  my  Jacob's  staff  on  every  survey  I  make  of  the  ecclesiastical  and 
political  plantations  in  our  beloved  country. 

The  body  of  a  democrat  differs  but  in  a  few  accidents  from  the  body 
of  an  aristocrat.  The  essential  difference  is  in  their  souls.  This  idea 
is  the  living,  moving,  acting,  essential  idea  which  gives  them  anima- 
tion, name,  action  and  reaction. 

There  is  but  a  paper  wall,  say  some  in  Scotland,  and  some  in 
England,  and  but  one  idea  inscribed  upon  it,  between  prelatic  and 


166 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


papal  episcopacy.  And  they  retort  with  equal  zeal  and  evidence,  that 
there  is  but  one  idea  between  episcopacy  and  the  moderator  of  a 
general  assembly.  And  the  Congregationalist  says  there  is  but  one 
idea  between  Old  England  and  New  England  Congregationalism  and 
Scotch  and  English  Presbyterianism.  And  all  the  umpires  on  the  walls 
of  Zion  say  Amen  !  But  that  one  idea — that  dear,  divine  and  glorious 
idea,  is  as  centripetal  and  centrifugal  as  the  law  that  guides  and  com- 
pacts the  spheres  of  the  natural  universe.  We  place  it  upon  our 
armorial — it  is  inscribed  upon  our  flag.  Its  associations  are  as  dear  as 
life  and  stronger  than  death.  But  further  on  this  subject  deponent 
saith  not.  My  charity  hopeth  all  things,  and  your  charity,  my  re- 
spected auditors,  endureth  all  things.  And  now  for  the  destiny  of  our 
divinely  favored  and  beloved  country. 

Every  word  I  have  yet  spoken  has  been  spoken  with  a  single  refer- 
ence to  our  country,  our  beloved  country,  and  its  destiny.  Individuals 
constitute  families,  families  make  tribes,  tribes  constitute  nations, 
nations  empires,  and  empires  a  world.  Nations  and  empires  stand  to 
each  other  as  members  of  an  individual  family  stand  to  one  another. 

A  well-developed  family  is  a  miniature  world.  The  duties  we  owe  our 
superiors,  inferiors  and  equals,  and  the  privileges  we  derive  from  them  in 
the  family  circle,  contain  in  them  all  the  elements  that  enter  into  all  the 
relations,  duties,  obligations,  rights,  priviLjcS  '^onors  and  rewards  of 
the  most  enlarged  communities  and  corporations,  civil  or  ecclesiastic. 
And  as  the  individual  members  of  a  family  have  each  an  individual 
destiny  involved  in  that  of  the  whole  family,  each  individual  has  also  a 
mission  into  that  family,  upon  the  perfect  or  imperfect  accomplishment 
of  which  his  own  destiny,  for  good  or  for  evil,  for  weal  or  for  woe, 
must  inevitably  depend.  This  is  a  law  of  reason,  a  law  of  experience ; 
and,  above  all,  it  is  a  law  of  God. 

When  the  God  of  Israel  sold  Israel,  or  sent  them  into  captivity 
under  an  Assyrian  yoke,  he  enjoined  them  by  his  prophet  "  to  seek  the 
good  of  the  country  into  which  he  had  caused  them  to  be  delivered 
into  captivity,"  and  added,  as  a  reason  or  motive,  "for  in  the  peace 
thereof  you  shall  enjoy  peace,"  Their  condition,  at  that  time,  was  a 
very  special  and  peculiar  providence ;  ours  is  equally  so  now.  That 
nation  had  one  great  idea  committed  to  it  for  the  benefit  of  the  world. 
It  was  the  unity,  spirituality  and  ubiquity  of  God.  It  was  his  inflex- 
ible justice,  his  immaculate  purity  and  his  inviolate  truthfulness,  as 
specially  the  God  of  the  Jews,  and  generally  the  God  of  the  whole 
family  of  man. 

All  Christendom  has  its  special  condition,  and  its  special  commission 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


167 


into  the  world.  In  this  designation  we  comprehend  the  Greek,  -the 
Roman  and  the  Protestant  States  of  Europe,  in  whatever  country  or  of 
whatever  language.  Their  mission  is  very  different  from  that  of  God's 
ancient  people,  the  Jews.  Polytheism  was  the  damning  sin  of  Pagan- 
dom. Gods  many,  created  by  the  human  imagination,  against  one 
only  living  and  true  God,  was  their  apostasy  and  their  ruin.  Poly- 
theism never  winked  at,  and  polygamy  merely  tolerated  in  certain 
cases,  became  the  fountains  of  iniquity,  injustice  and  inhumanity, 
during  the  patriarchal  and  Jewish  epocha  of  the  world.  Christianity, 
the  consummation  of  Divine  wisdom  and  benevolence,  at  a  proper 
period  of  human  experience,  at  the  manhood  of  the  world,  was  intro- 
duced, and  gradually  and  gloriously  developed  and  confirmed.  It  was 
not  a  mere  family  religion,  like  the  Patriarchal,  nor  was  it  a  mere 
national  religion,  as  the  Jewish.  It  was  xeumenical,  or  universal.  It 
recognized  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  neither  Barbarian  nor  Scythian, 
neither  bond  nor  free,  neither  male  nor  female ;  but  made  the  same 
gracious  tender  of  remission,  justification,  reconciliation,  adoption  and 
glorification,  on  the  principle  of  sovereign  favor,  through  the  absolute 
merit  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  great  Redeemer,  and  through  the  sanctifi- 
cation  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who,  on  the  formation  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  became  its  Holy  Guest.   

As  the  admission  of  many  gods  constituted  the  damning  sin  of  the 
Patriarchal  and  Jewish  ages  of  the  world,  so  the  introduction  of  many 
mediators,  many  altars,  priests  and  sacrifices,  constitutes  the  damning 
sin  under  the  benignant  reign  of  grace,  usually  styled  the  Remedial  \ 
Dispensation.  And  thus  we  approach  the  destiny  of  our  country. 
But  there  is  yet  another  step. 

The  Popedom,  in  its  long,  dark  despotism  over  Europe  and  Asia, 
took  away  the  key  of  knowledge  from  the  Christian  Church,  read 
prayers  in  an  unknown  tongue,  substituted  for  Christian  ordinances 
unmeaning  and  idle  ceremonies,  consecrated  relics,  erected  holy  crosses, 
hallowed  forbidden  altars,  mitred  their  priests,  girdled  a  representa- 
tive of  Peter  with  the  keys  of  paradise,  handed  to  the  priests  alone 
the  golden  chalice  of  their  spiritually  medicated  wine,  established  an 
empty  ceremonial,  paganized  Christian  doctrine  through  an  empty  and 
deceitful  philosophy,  and  with  unblushing  effrontery  prated  against 
the  dangers  of  thinking  for  one's  self,  of  liberty  of  speech  and  freedom 
of  action.  Thus  was  consummated  the  long,  dark  night  of  Papal 
supremacy,  during  which  the  immortal  Luther  was  born. 

Protestantism  was  the  legitimate  consummation  of  Lutheranism. 
Yet  had     not  been  for  the  threatening  attitude  of  the  Turks,  Charles 


168 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUE  COUNTRY. 


the  Fifth  would  not  have  called  a  diet  at  Speyer,  A.D.  1529,  to  ask  help 
from  the  G-erman  princes;  and  had  not  Ferdinand,  Archduke  of 
Austria,  and  other  Popish  prince  in  this  diet,  decreed  that  in  the 
countries  in  which  Luther's  views  had  been  received,  they  should  be 
merely  tolerated  tiU  a  general  council  could  meet,  and  that  during  the 
interval  no  Roman  Catholic  should  be  allowed  to  turn  Lutheran,  in 
other  words,  to  think  differently  from  Archduke  Ferdinand,  and  that 
during  the  interval  the  Reformers  should  not  attack  the  pure  and  un- 
adulterated doctrine  of  Popery,  Protestantism  might  never  have  been 
bom. 

Six  Lutheran  princes  and  thirteen  deputies  of  imperial  towns, 
solemnly  protested  against  this  gag  law, — this  Papal  ordinance  against 
thinking  or  speaking  contrary  to  the  dicta  of  one  man  and  his  eccle- 
siastic advisers.  Thus  Protestantism  was  bom,  and  although  Lutherans 
were  the  first  occasion  of  the  decree,  Calvinists  and  all  other  dissenters 
— ^that  is,  thinkers  and  talkers  against  his  infallible  excellency — ^became 
heirs  in  common  of  all  the  rights,  titles,  honors  and  emoluments  of  the 
name  and  style  of  Protestants. 

Having  given  an  historical  definition  of  the  word  Protestant,  we 
must  form  a  clear  conception  of  its  import.  It  is  neither  a  Lutheran 
nor  a  Calvinist,  as  such  ;  neither  an  Arminian  nor  a  Methodist ;  neither 
a  high  church  man  nor  a  low  church  man ;  neither  an  Episcopalian 
nor  a  Presbyterian,  a  whig  nor  a  tory,  a  monarchist  nor  a  republican. 
It  is  a  mere  generic  term.  These  are  all  specific  terms.  A  true  and 
weU-defined  Protestant  might  enter  his  protest  against  any  one  and 
all  of  these,  and  be  a  better  Protestant  than  any  one  or  all  of  them. 
A  reverend  gentleman  educated,  I  think,  within  these  walls,  once  said 
to  his  congregation,  "  Brethren,  there  is  a  blue,  and  a  better  blue;  but, 
brethren,  we  are  the  tme  blue."  So  there  are  three  degrees  of  com- 
parison amongst  Protestants. 

But  there  are  two  species  of  Protestantism.  There  is  ecclesiastic 
Protestantism,  and  there  is  political  Protestantism.  These,  indeed, 
have  more  than  a  chemical  affinity. 

There  are,  indeed,  three  species  of  Protestantism.  There  is  political, 
ecclesiastic  and  spiritual  Protestantism.  These  are  the  positive,  com- 
parative and  superlative  degrees  of  an  abstract,  anomalous  noun  sub- 
stantive. At  its  commencement  church  and  state  were  so  mixed  and 
confounded  that  there  was  not  a  metaphysician  in  Home  or  out  of  it, 
that  could  tell  where  the  state  ended  and  the  church  began.  They 
had  the  same  geographical  and  astronomical  metes  and  boundaries. 
Lfidfl  intersected  by  a  narrow  frith,  or  river,  hated  each  other  for 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUXTRY. 


169 


God's  sake  and  man's  sake ;  for  their  State  polity  and  their  church 
polity  were  lodged  in  the  same  crazy  vessels.  In  the  purest  casks  of 
ancient  Protestantism,  there  was  a  considerable  sediment  of  worldly 
prudence  and  temporal  policy.  But  the  fierce  ordeal  and  fiery  trial 
of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  separated  much  of  the 
worldly  of  the  times  of  Luther,  and  Puritanism  began  to  have  a  local 
habitation  and  a  name.  The  Mayflower  ferried  over  the  Atlantic  the 
seeds  gathered  from  the  early  harvests,  the  choicest  first-fruits  of 
European  Protestantism.  Brought  directly  from  Old  England,  they 
were  planted  in  New  England.  The  soil  and  climate,  however 
rugged  for  the  germs  of  earth,  were  most  fertile  and  happy  for  the 
aew  seeds,  and,  consequently,  rich  harvests  rewarded  the  labors  of  the 
puritanic  husbandmen.  God  sent  them  to  a  new  world,  that  they 
might  institute,  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  new  political 
and  ecclesiastic  institutions.  Such,  most  assuredly,  was  their  Divine 
mission.  Their  influence  was  direct  and  reflex.  It  gave  life,  and 
vigor,  and  enterprise  to  the  mother  land  and  those  they  left  behind 
them,  and  planted  deep  and  sowed  broadcast  the  seeds  of  a  great,  and 
populous,  and  mighty  empire.  England  lost  at  home,  but,  by  her  com- 
merce and  her  missionaries  abroad,  she  planted  in  the  East,  the  far 
East,  a  population  and  principles  homogeneous,  more  or  less,  with  her 
American  colonies.  She  became  still  more  Protestant  at  home  and  more 
Protestant  abroad.  Her  canvas  whitened  every  sea,  and  wherever 
British  power  was  felt,  it  might  be  said,  mankind  felt  her  mercies,  too. 
Prom  the  days  of  Luther  until  now,  her  throne,  her  navies  and  her 
armed  bands,  have  directly,  or  indirectly,  been  the  bulwarks  of  Protest- 
antism. With  all  her  faults,  and  they  are  not  few  nor  smaU,  we  love 
her  still ;  because  God  has  been  her  shield  and  buckler,  her  stay  and 
strength.  We  are  her  children,  and,  according  to  the  fifth  command- 
ment, we  must  honor  our  parents ;  though,  as  duteous  sons,  we  may 
wish  that  our  fathers  had  been  more  wise. 

But  Britain  and  America  are  of  one  paternity,  of  one  religion,  of 
one  language  and  of  one  destiny.  They  stood  by  Luther,  by  the  first 
Protestants,  in  the  times  that  tried  men's  souls;  and  however  occa- 
sionally perverted  in  judgment  upon  and  around  the  thi^one,  the  heart 
of  England  has  ever  sympathized  with  young  America,  and  with  aU 
the  Protestant  States  of  Europe.  From  untold  myriads  of  family 
altars,  morning  and  evening  prayers  and  praises  for  young  America 
and  her  infant  institutions,  and  for  infant  Protestantism,  have  ascended 
into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  Councils  of  States  against  England 
and  Protestantism,  alliances  abroad,  armies  on  the  continent,  armadas 


170 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


on  the  seas,  and  treasons  at  home,  have  been  thwarted,  confounded 
and  annihilated,  in  answer  to  her  prayers. 

To  the  Saxons  in  Europe,  to  the  Anglo-Saxons  in  Britain,  to  the  Ameri- 
can Anglo-Saxons  on  this  continent,  God  has  given  the  sceptre  of  Judah, 
the  harp  of  David,  the  strength  of  Judah's  Lion,  and  the  wealth  of  the 
world.  He  has  given  to  them  the  oceans  of  earth,  the  golden  regions 
of  the  far  West,  and  the  golden  regions  of  the  far,  far  East.  California 
and  Australia  pour  their  treasures  into  their  coffers,  and  Anglo-Ameri- 
can arts,  and  sciences,  and  language,  pervade  the  earth,  and  permeate  the 
populations  of  the  civilized  world.  To  Britain  and  America  God  has 
granted  the  possession  of  the  new  world ;  and  because  the  sun  never  sets 
upon  our  religion,  our  language  and  our  arts,  he  has  vouchsafed  to  us, 
through  these  sciences  and  arts,  the  power  that  annihilates  time  and 
annuls  the  inconveniences  of  space.  Doubtless  these  are  but  preparations 
for  a  work  which  God  has  in  store  for  us, — a  great,  a  mighty,  a  stupen- 
dous work,  that  wiU.  bring  into  requisition  the  arts,  the  sciences  and 
the  resources  with  which  he  has  so  richly,  so  simultaneously  and 
so  marvellously  endowed  England  and  America. 

There  are  moans  to  ends,  great  and  small,  wisely  and  irrevocably 
established  in  all  the  cosmical  and  terrestrial  operations,  which  are 
perpetually  in  progress.  He  gave  to  the  mammoth  and  the  mastodon 
bones,  muscles,  nerves,  tools,  and  a  covering  adapted  to  their  localities 
and  to  their  work,  in  their  day  and  generation.  He  does  so  still  to  all 
the  existing  species  that  people  earth,  or  sea,  or  air.  The  eagle  mounts 
above  the  clouds,  and  Leviathan  ploughs  the  mighty  deep,  with  as  much 
ease  as  the  gossamer  constructs  her  filmy  baUoon  or  as  the  spider 
weaves  his  slender  web.  The  beaver  builds  his  dam,  and  the  honey- 
oee  constructs  his  waxen  honey-cells,  with  as  much  science  and  art  as 
man  displays  in  his  stately  palaces  or  in  his  golden  temples. 

Divine  providence  and  moral  government  equally  attest  the  same 
power,  wisdom  and  goodness.  These,  associated  with  other  moral 
excellencies  in  the  government  of  the  world,  as  in  its  creation,  to 
the  cultivated  mind,  with  equal  assurance,  attest  his  condescending 
care  and  providence,  in  anticipation  of  all  the  changing  scenes  of 
man's  earthly  destiny.  Coming  events  cast  their  shadows  before  them, 
while  those  that  have  passed  away  fling  their  shadows  behind  them. 
Hence  the  value  of  prophecy  and  history. 

Men  of  reflection  are  wont  to  conceive  of  their  mission  into  the 
world  from  an  attentive  survey  of  their  own  capacities,  circumstances 
and  opportunities.  It  was  doubtless  intended  that  it  should  be  so. 
Hence,  individual  accountability  will  depend  much  on  the  use  every 


THE   DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


171 


one  makes  of  those  endowments,  circumstances  and  opportunities, 
which  the  Governor  of  the  world  has  vouchsafed  to  him  in  reference 
to  the  country,  population  and  age  in  which  God  has  located  him. 

The  kairon  gnoothi  of  Pittacus,  is  only  second  to  the  gnoothi  seauton 
of  Solon.  To  know  an  opportunity,''  is  only  second  in  importance 
to  "  know  thyself  J'  He  is  both  a  wise  and  a  prudent  man,  that  can 
combine  in  his  own  life  and  action  these  two.  But  should  he  add  to 
these  the  oracle  of  Periander,  meletee  to  pan — "  nothing  is  impossible 
to  industry" — he  must,  if  the  elements  of  greatness  be  in  him,  become 
a  great  man.  These,  to  my  taste,  the  wisest  of  the  wise  sayings  of 
the  Grecian  sages,  have,  in  modern  times  at  least,  been  more  eminently 
displayed  in  Britain  and  in  the  United  States  than  amongst  any 
other  people  on  earth.  And  this  I  ascribe,  not  so  much  to  soil  or 
climate,  or  national  superiority,  or  blood,  as  I  do  to  the  fact  that  these- 
are  the  lands  of  Bibles  and  of  Protestantism. 

There  is  a  nobility,  a  moral  grandeur  of  soul,  in  saying,  I  protest 
against  such  a  law  or  statute.  To  protest  innocence,  is  sometimes  just 
and  necessary.  To  protest  against  political  tyranny,  is  often  ex- 
pedient; but  to  protest  against  religious  usurpation  and  ecclesiastic 
despotism,  caps  the  climax  of  human  nobility  and  grandeur.  And 
none  but  Heaven's  own  noblemen  can,  ex  animo,  make  such  a  sublime 
protestation.  Hence  temporizers,  sycophants,  aspirants  after  worldly 
honor  and  influence,  could  not,  in  the  days  of  Luther,  have  protested 
against  a  Roman  pontiff,  when  all  Roman  power  and  grandeur  were 
leagued  in  favor  of  Papal  aggrandizement  and  monopoly. 

From  all  my  premises,  I  am  compelled  to  think  that  there  is  much 
of  moral  grandeur  in  the  very  name  Protestant.  There  is  a  moral 
heroism  in  non-conformity  to  unjust  laws  and  unholy  requirements 
for  the  sake  of  five  barley-loaves  and  two  small  fishes.  These  seven 
principles  and  the  men  who  adopt  them,  will  be  condemned,  now, 
henceforth  and  forever,  before  the  bar  of  enlightened  reason,  of  a 
generous  philanthropy  and  of  a  just  judgment.  It  was,  in  the  esteem 
of  Philosopher  Locke,  a  fatal  act  of  uniformity  to  the  English  hierarchy, 
which,  on  St.  Bartholomew's  day,  ejected  two  thousand  non-conformist 
ministers,  alias  uncompromising  Protestants,  from  the  national  pulpits. 
Hence,  it  may  be  logically  inferred  that  there  may  be  occasionally  a 
hypocrite  even  among  Protestants. 

But,  in  speaking  of  Protestantism  we  speak  not  of  a  pretended 
Protestantism,  but  of  a  true,  real  and  unsophisticated  Protestantism. 
^  And  what  is  Protestantism,  but  a  solemn  negation  of  all  human  dic- 
tation and  usurpation  over  man's  understanding,  conscience  and  affec- 


172 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


tions ;  over  his  personal  liberty  of  thought,  of  speech  and  of  action,  in 
reference  to  each  and  every  thing  pertaining  to  himself,  his  fellows,  his 
Ood  and  his  Eedeemer  ? 

Education,  religion,  morals  and  politics  are,  therefore,  the  fields  and 
realms  over  which  Protestantism,  de  jure  divino,  presides. 

Man's  whole  destiny  in  this  world  is  comprehended  in  these  four 
words,  education,  religion,  morals  and  politics.  I  own  the  ambiguous 
use  of  these  four  cardinal  points  of  human  destiny.  Volumes  without 
number  have  been  written,  and  our  shelves  are  burdened  with  pon- 
derous folios,  quartos,  octavos  and  duodecimos,  on  each  and  every  one 
of  these  great  centres  of  thought.  And  still  they  come.  Yes,  they 
come,  and  not  in  single  file,  but  in  platoons,  extended  wings  and  hollow 
squares,  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners.  But,  under  a  good  intel- 
lectual and  moral  power-press,  how  meagre  their  solid  contents !  If 
even  gold,  as  Newton  affirmed,  has  more  pores  than  particles,  and 
water  forty  times  more  pores  than  solid  parts,  how  beautifully  gaseous 
must  these  volumes  be  ! 

Education  is  the  development  of  a  man's  physical,  intellectual  and 
moral  constitution;  religion,  his  moral  and  spiritual  obligations  to  God; 
morals,  his  duties  and  obligations  to  man ;  and  politics,  his  duties  and 
obligations  to  the  state,  or  social  compact,  in  which  he  lives  and  moves 
,  and  has  his  being.  In  each  and  all  of  these  Protestantism  affirms  he 
must  think,  will  and  act  of  and  from  himself,  according  to  the  free  and 
unbiassed  dictates  of  his  own  best  thoughts  and  understanding. 

Popery  says  of  this  grand  principle  of  human  responsibility,  of  free 
and  voluntary  action,  of  self-government,  of  merit  and  demerit,  that 
it  is,  in  essence,  impiety,  insubordination — a  Pandora's  box  of  ills  and 
€vils,  intolerable  and  accursed.  To  Protestants,  and  in  Protestant 
communities,  they  exclaim,  How  gross  and  infamous  this  calumny ! 
See  how  resolutely,  boldly  and  cheerfully  Saint  Carrol,  of  Mary- 
land, and  other  distinguished  Romanists,  took  active  part  in  the  Re- 
volutionary War;  "how  they  bared  their  breasts,  and  shed  their 
generous  blood,"  in  support  of  the  cause  of  American  independence! 
Yes ;  but  was  this  the  real  motive  ?  Did  they  love  England  less,  or 
Rome  more,  than  American  independence?  Did  they  not,  in  other 
words,  hate  England  inefiably  more  than  they  loved  either  church  or 
state  independence  ? 

On  landing  in  Philadelphia,  a  day  after  the  commencement  of  the 
Revolutionary  War,  an  honest  son  of  the  Emerald  Isle,  on  hearing 
the  news,  taking  his  companion  by  the  hand,  exclaimed,  "  By  Saint 
Patrick,  Jack,  I'll  'list  and  fight  for  nothing,  for  nothing,  sir,  against 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


173 


old  Johnny  Bull."  He  was  an  unsophisticated  exponent  of  the  part 
taken  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution  by  Romanists  for  American  in- 
dependence. It  is  not  possible,  or,  in  other  words,  it  is  not  in  human 
nature,  to  love  liberty,  freedom  of  thought,  of  speech  and  of  action, 
in  the  state,  and  to  hate  it  in  the  church ;  or  to  love  it  in  the  church 
and  to  hate  it  in  the  state.  The  love  of  liberty  is  a  law  or  principle 
as  uniform  and  immutable  as  the  law  of  gravity.  I  mean  liberty — 
rational,  moral,  social  liberty ;  not  licentiousness,  recklessness,  lawless- 
ness. I  mean  not  lust  nor  passion,  the  love  of  plunder  and  robbery. 
It  is  a  moral  principle,  founded  upon  the  perception  and  approbation 
of  justice  and  humanity.  If  a  Protestant  becomes  a  tyrant,  he  is  a 
hypocrite  or  a  freebooter.  And  if  a  Romanist  becomes  a  true  repub- 
lican, the  man  has  triumphed  over  his  religion,  and  cares  not  for  it. 

Do  you  think  of  the  French  Revolution  ?  Do  you  say,  France  was 
then  Catholic,  and  did  she  not  array  her  power  against  tyranny  and 
oppression  ?  If  you  think  so,  you  are  not  enlightened,  and  have  never 
read  with  discrimination  the  history  of  the  French  Revolution. 

Roman  Catholicism  had  converted  France  into  a  nation  of  infidels, 
seared  the  national  conscience,  and  inspired  the  masses  with  the  spirit 
of  murder  and  rapine.  It  was  vengeance  and  freebooting,  not  bene- 
volence and  freedom,  that  erected  bastilles  and  guillotines  during  the 
Reign  of  Terror.  France,  as  a  nation,  was  then  infidel.  She  is  so 
now,  and  has  been  so  during  the  whole  reign  of  Napoleon.  Spain, 
Portugal,  Italy  and  Austria,  too,  in  the  main,  are  infidel,  much  more 
than  Roman  Catholic.  The  whole  heart  of  Popedom  is  gangrenous. 
Italy  and  Rome  are  but  the  centre  of  European  infidelity  and  atheism. 
Nothing  but  French  cannon  and  French  bayonets  has  kept  Pio  Nono 
in  St.  Peter's  worm-eaten  chair.  She  took  the  sword,  and  Messiah's 
word  is  pledged  that  she  shall  perish  by  the  sword.  Be  the  day  near 
or  remote,  Rome,  eternal  Rome,  the  Rome  of  the  Caesars,  the  Rome  of 
the  Pontiffs,  shall  be  baptized  in  blood  and  drenched  with  the  gore  of 
human  sacrifice.  There  are  still  some  names  in  Sardis  that  have  not 
received  the  mark  of  the  beast,  and  so  we  humbly  hope  a  remnant  may 
be  saved. 

But  if  any  one  desires  to  know  Roman  Catholicism,  we  advise  him 
to  go  to  Rome  or  to  Paris.  View  it  at  home.  Did  I  wish  an  inhabit- 
ant of  the  mountains  of  Wales  or  of  Scotland  to  see  our  Indian  corn  in 
ail  its  mid-summer  or  autumnal  grandeur,  should  I  invite  him  to  the 
Valley  of  the  Penobscot  or  to  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  to  view  it 
in  its  glory  ?  As  impolitic  in  any  American  to  judge  of  Romanism  as 
it  appears  in  New  York,  in  Baltimore,  in  Cincinnati,  in  New  Orleans, 


174  THE   DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 

or  in  Mexico.  Let  him  go  to  the  meridian  of  St.  Peter's,  on  the  baL^s 
of  the  Tiber,  and  see  it  at  home  in  all  its  glory.    We  ask  no  more. 

That  Protestantism  is  essential  to  political  liberty,  is  the  best-sub- 
stantiated fact  in  the  annals  of  European  nations.  It  is  endorsed  by 
the  most  enlightened  and  philosophic  journalists  and  essayists  of  the 
present  day.  Take  a  single  passage  from  Blackwood's  Magazine. 
Although  itself  anti-republican,  and  an  apologist  for  Toryism,  it  utters 
the  truth  on  this  vital  subject.    Weigh  the  following  sentences  :  — 

The  Papist  demands  religious  liberty.  The  \yords,  in  a  Papist's 
lips,  are  jargon.  He  has  never  had  it  in  any  country  on  earth.  Has 
he  it  in  Eome  ?  Can  a  man  have  the  absurdity  to  call  himself  a  free- 
man when  the  priest  may  tear  the  Bible  out  of  his  hand?  when,  with- 
out a  license,  he  cannot  look  into  the  Book  of  Life  ?  when,  with  or 
without  license,  he  cannot  exercise  his  own  understanding  upon  its 
sacred  truths,  but  must  refuse  even  to  think  except  as  the  priest  com- 
mands ?  when,  for  daring  to  have  an  opinion  on  the  most  essential  of 
all  things — his  own  salvation — he  is  branded  as  a  heretic  ?  and  when, 
for  uttering  that  opinion,  he  is  cast  into  a  dungeon  ?  when  the  priest, 
with  the  Index  Expurgatorius  in  his  hand,  may  walk  into  his  house 
and  strip  it  of  every  book  displeasing  to  the  caprice,  insolence  and 
ignorance  of  a  coterie  of  monks  in  the  Vatican  ? 

We  affirm,  in  the  most  unequivocal  manner,  that,  to  be  free,  nations 
must  be  Protestant.  The  Popish  religion  is  utterly  incompatible  with 
freedom  in  any  nation.  The  slave  of  the  altar  is  essentially  the  slave 
of  the  throne.  We  prove  this  by  the  fact  that  no  Popish  country  in 
the  world  has  been  able  to  preserve,  or  even  to  have  a  conception  of 
the  simplest  principles  of  civil  liberty.  If  we  are  told  France  is  free, 
the  obvious  reply  is,  that  though  France  is  the  least  of  all  Popish 
countries,  it  is  wholly  under  military  government;  it  has  no  habeas 
corpus;  and  no  journalist  can  discuss  any  subject  without  exposing 
himself  to  Government  by  giving  his  name.  Would  this  be  called 
liberty  in  England?" 

And  yet  this  would  be  our  American  liberty  if  Romanism  should 
ever  gain  the  day  in  America.  The  holy,  infallible,  apostolic  Church 
of  Puome  is  essentially  immutable.  This  is  her  boast.  The  reign  of 
Popery  ever  must  be  a  reign  of  terror  to  all  who  love  liberty  of 
thought  and  freedom  of  speech. 

^  ^  To  Protestant  America  and  Protestant  England,  young  gentlemen, 
the  world  must  look  for  its  emancipation  from  the  most  heartless 
spiritual  despotism  that  ever  disfranchised,  enslaved  and  degraded 
human  kind.  This  is  our  special  mission  into  the  world  as  a  nation 
and  a  people ;  and  for  this  purpose  the  Ruler  of  nations  has  raised  U3 
up  and  made  us  the  wonder  and  the  admiration  of  the  world. 

A  nation — a  nation  great  and  mighty  and  prosperous— has  been 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


175 


born  in  a  day. "  Compared  with  other  nations,  we  have  had  no  child- 
hood. We  were  born  and  nurtured  and  developed  in  a  day,  some 
seventy-five  years  ago.  And  now  I  stand  in  the  midst  of  the  first 
literary  society  ever  instituted  in  the  immense  Valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. And  this,  strange  to  tell,  is  its  fifty-fourth  anniversary,  and  the 
first  semi-centennial  anniversary  of  Jefferson  College,  under  whose 
generous  maternal  auspices  it  has  been  nurtured  and  matured. 

And  what  an  imposing  scene  presents  itself  here  to  the  philosopher 
and  the  philanthropist !  Here,  on  the  environs  of  the  Monongahela, 
on  whose  waters,  just  eighty  years  ago,  the  first  white  man's  cabin  was 
reared  and  the  first  Christian  hymn  was  sung  amidst  the  solemn  still- 
ness of  the  deep,  dense  forests  in  which,  till  then,  had  only  echoed  the 
warwhoop  and  the  Indian's  yell.  The  white  man,  moccasined  with  his 
deer-skin  boots,  wrapped  in  his  hunting-shirt,  with  a  tomahawk  sus- 
pended from  his  girdle  on  his  right  side,  and  a  scalping-knife,  sheathed 
in  a  deer-skin  scabbard,  dangling  on  his  left,  with  rifle  on  his  shoulder, 
his  faithful  dog  by  his  side,  sallies  forth  from  his  cabin  or  his  fort,  at 
early  dawn,  and,  with  cautious  step  and  listening  ear,  surveys  his 
environs.  If  neither  savage  man  nor  savage  beast  greets  his  watchful 
eye,  he  grounds  his  rifle,  seizes  his  axe,  and  begins  to  girdle  the  forest- 
tree,  or,  with  mattock  in  hand,  engages  in  grubbing  the  virgin  earth  in 
quest  of  his  daily  bread.  Grathering  courage  as  he  proceeds,  day  after 
day  the  forests  bow  beneath  his  sturdy  strokes,  and  an  opening  is  made 
through  which  the  sun  penetrates  the  newly-opened  soil  and  quickens 
into  life  the  precious  seeds  which,  with  so  much  parsimony,  he  had 
hopefully  deposited  in  the  bosom  of  his  mother  earth.  Thus  began, 
twice  forty  years  ago,  the  settlements  around  us.  And  what  a 
change ! 

On  every  side  around  us,  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  a  thousand  hilis 
and  valleys,  waving  in  rich  harvests  or  covered  with  green  pastures, 
overspread  with  bleating  flocks  of  sheep  or  lowing  herds  of  cattle, 
interspersed  with  beautiful  villas  and  romantic  hamlets,  shaded  with 
venerable  oaks,  the  remains  of  ancient  forests,  or  enclosed  with  ever- 
greens of  other  climes,  that  vie  with  each  other  in  lending  enchant- 
ment to  the  scenes  that  environ  the  homesteads  of  the  rugged  pioneers 
of  the  great  and  mighty  West,  present  themselves  to  our  enraptured 
vision.  They  are  alike  the  trophies  of  bold  adventure,  of  successful 
enterprise,  and  the  imposing  evidence  of  industry,  morality  and  good 
taste. 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  those  brave 
and  magnanimous  pioneers  ?    We  are  unable  to  do  them  justice.  The 


176 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUK  COUNTRY. 


beautiful  towns  and  cities  spread  all  over  the  new  western  world, 
"  with  glistening  spires  and  pinnacles  adorned,"  pyramidal  trophies  of 
industrial  art,  monuments  of  generous  liberality,  piety  and  good  sense^ 
in  solemn  and  majestic  silence,  speak  their  praise.  Thrones  of  justice, 
solemn  temples,  stately  residences,  colleges,  male  and  female  seminaries, 
everywhere  attest  their  good  taste,  their  liberality,  patriotism  and 
genuine  philanthropy. 

The  Americans  very  generally  seem  to  have  made  a  new  ami 
valuable  discovery.  They  strongly  affirm  that  good  mothers  make 
good  sons,  and  that  good  fathers  make  good  daughters.  Hence  the 
prudence  and  policy  of  educating  both  sexes  with  equal  generosity. 

Solomon  long  since  discovered  that  a  mans  wisdom  made  his  face 
to  shine,  but  went  no  farther.  The  Yankees,  however — a  very  shrewd 
people — with  equal  clearness  discovered  that  a  woman's  learning  made 
her  face  to  shine,  with  superior  lustre.  They  went  to  work  on  this 
sound  theory,  and  what  has  been  the  result  ?  We  look  around  us  here 
and  everywhere,  on  all  public  occasions,  on  crowds  of  ladies  whose 
faces  shine  with  such  beauty  that  it  is  always  dangerous  for  them  to 
travel  abroad  unveiled.  It  is  not  the  lily  and  the  rose  that  vie  with 
each  other  for  precedence  on  their  fair  faces,  but  it  is  the  sparkling, 
intellectual  eye,  the  philosophic  smile  and  the  graceful  assenting  nod. 
So  imposing  are  their  charms  and  their  influence,  the  fascinations  of 
their  imagination  and  the  poetry  of  their  manners,  that  no  heart  of 
man  is  proof  against  their  charms.  They  have  a  decided  and  con- 
trolling influence  upon  all  our  seminaries  of  learning  for  young  men. 
Students  in  our  colleges  grow  pale  over  the  midnight  lamp,  and  are 
distilling  the  nectar  of  poetry  and  philosophy  from  Greek  and  Koman 
springs,  to  render  themselves  acceptable,  in  prose  and  verse,  to  the 
refined  sensibilities,  the  chaste  imaginations,  the  good  sense  and  melli- 
fluent eloquence  of  American  ladies  in  general,  and  of  Western  Ame- 
rican ladies  in  particular. 

But,  gentlemen,  I  know  that  you  are  not  insensible  to  their  charms. 
You  are  not  such  stoics  or  book-worms  as  not  to  lay  down  Plato  -or 
Socrates,  Newton  or  Euclid,  even  Milton  or  Shakspeare,  to  hang  in 
profound  attention  upon  their  soul-subduing  disquisitions,  their  pro- 
found dissertations  upon  the  higher  magnetism  and  centripetal  ten- 
dencies of  the  sublimer  sentimentalities  of  their  philosophy,  which 
pauses  not  in  the  outer  court  of  humanity,  but  reposes  only  in  the 
penetralia  of  the  human  heart. 

We  have,  young  gentlemen,  been  involuntarily  borne  away  from  the 
plumb  and  square  of  a  strictly  logical  address.    But  even  the  stars  in 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


177 


their  courses  cannot  move  in  perfect  circles.  The  orbits  of  all  planets 
are  elliptical ;  and  we  are  all  but  planets — not  wandering  stars,  I  hope, 
nor  meteors  of  the  night.  Besides,  this  is  a  semi-centennial  occasion 
and  a  semi-centennial  address — the  first  of  the  kind  ever  pronounced 
in  any  college  of  the  great  West — the  great  and  mighty  West.  And 
you,  gentlemen,  are  the  oldest  literary  association  in  the  vast  Valley 
of  the  Mississippi  —  an  area  sweeping  through  twenty  degrees  of 
north  latitude  and  thirty  degrees  of  west  longitude  —  an  area  of 
arable  land  and  hospitable  climate  not  greatly  inferior,  when  all  pro- 
per subtractions  of  seas  and  mountains  are  made,  to  all  inhabitable 
Europe. 

Your  society  lacks  but-twenty  days  of  being  fifty-four  years  old. 
Your  regular  members  are  fourteen  hundred  and  eight,  and  your 
honorary  members  two  hundred  and  twenty-nine ;  amongst  which  you 
have  been  pleased  to  place  my  humble  name.  In  looking  over  your 
proper  membership,  we  notice  many  eminent  men,  now  filling  high  and 
important  stations  in  both  church  and  state.  Amongst  your  honorary 
members  we  see  a  constellation  of  the  most  dignified  and  honored 
names  in  the  annals  of  our  country ;  men  known  all  over  Christendom, 
pre-eminent  in  the  national  executive  department,  on  the  bench,  in  the 
Cabinet,  in  the  Senate,  in  the  legislative  halls  and  on  the  field  of  war. 
In  this  great  valley,  your  college  will  continue  to  hold  in  the  future, 
as  it  has  done  in  the  past,  a  pre-eminent  place.  Its  destiny  is  not  only 
onward,  but  upward.  Its  career  will  be  stiU  more  brilliant  in  the 
future  than  it  has  been  in  the  past.  You  will  not  only  leave  behind 
you,  but  you  will  carry  with  you  in  all  the  walks  of  life,  an  influence 
favorable  to  its  usefulness  and  its  honor. 

The  cause  of  education — of  rational,  moral,  philosophical,  religious 
education — is  the  most  transcendent  cause  in  any  and  every  com- 
munity. On  it  depend  the  prosperity,  the  influence,  the  honor  and 
the  happiness  of  every  state  and  of  every  people.  It  has,  therefore, 
intrinsically,  the  strongest  claims  upon  the  liberality,  the  fostering 
care,  the  aids,  the  smiles,  the  prayers  and  the  patronage  of  both 
church  and  state.  It  is  a  law  of  God  and  it  is  a  law  of  society,  para- 
mount and  insuperable,  that  educated  mind  shall  govern  the  world. 
It  has  done  it,  it  now  does  it,  and  it  will  continue  to  do  it  till  the  last 
pulse  of  time,  despite  the  clamors  of  ignorance  and  the  thunders  of  the 
Vatican.  How  necessary,  then,  that  it  be  conducted  according  to  the 
genius  of  true  religion  and  true  humanity !  How  important  that  it 
be  founded  on  the  Bible — that  great  library  of  heaven,  the  combined 
product  of  four  thousand  years,  the  result  of  the  labors  of  a  constella- 


L78 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


tion  of  forty  divinely-inspired  men,  embracing  a  period  of  sixteen 
centuries,  and  holding  positions  the  most  dignified  and  honorable 
amongst  men ! 

Of  the  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  colleges  in  the  United  States, 
ninety  have  been  chartered  since  Jefferson  College.  But  some  thirty 
colleges  are  older  than  it.  Of  this  aggregate,  twelve  are  Roman 
Catholic.  All  the  others  are  Protestant,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing, 
State  institutions.  Besides  these,  we  have,  in  the  American  Union, 
forty- two  theological  schools,  all  Protestant.  Romanists  have  no 
theological  schools.  Their  colleges  being  wholly  under  the  influence 
of  their  theology  and  church,  they  are,  upon  the  whole,  more  theo- 
logical than  literary,  and,  more  than  either,  scientific.  Protestants, 
therefore,  have  the  literature,  the  science  and  the  arts  of  the  country, 
we  may  say,  exclusively  under  their  direction.  The  whole  literary 
and  theological  force  of  Romanists  is,  therefore,  concentrated  in  twelve 
colleges.  Indeed,  Romanism  is  their  body,  soul  and  spirit.  They  are 
sold  to  the  Pope  and  absolutism.  With  them,  the  church  and  state  are 
one  idea.  Proportional  to  their  number  and  their  population,  they  are 
stronger,  richer  and  more  centralized  than  the  Protestant  institutions. 
They  are  conducted,  too,  with  more  secrecy  than  ours.  They  are  pure 
crystallizations  of  selfishness,  and,  like  all  secret  societies,  more  to  be 
feared  than  to  be  loved. 

Their  influence  is  the  only  portentous  cloud  in  our  horizon.  It 
is  seen  charged  with  an  electricity  ominous  to  our  destiny,  because 
ominous  of  mischief  to  liberty  of  thought,  of  speech  and  of  action  on 
all  the  vital  interests  of  such  a  community  as  ours.  In  a  community 
based  on  universal  suffrage,  unless  that  community  be  enlightened, 
moral  and  religious,  there  is  no  guaranty  of  a  prosperous  and  glorious 
career.  A  Protestant  conscience  is  essential  to  political  and  religious 
liberty,  and  as  necessarily  tends  that  way  as  all  the  rivers  of  earth 
ultimately  disembogue  themselves  into  the  ocean.  And  a  Protestant 
conscience  is  the  legitimate  consequence  of  Bible  literature  and  Bible 
institutions. 

The  star  of  our  destiny  is  that  star  which  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  Persian  Magi,  and  directed  their  steps  and  their  offerings  to  '^the 
new-born  King  of  the  Jews,"  now  the  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords, 
''by  whom  all  the  kings  of  the  earth  do  reign,  and  all  the  princes 
f  thereof  do  decree  justice."  Philo-literary  institutions,  under  Protestant 
colleges,  under  Protestant  auspices,  and  Bible  literature  and  morals, 
are  the  solid  sub-basis  of  a  free  and  an  enlightened  government,  in  the 
church  and  in  the  state — the  real  Jachin  and  Boaz — the  antitypes  of 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


179 


the  right  and  left  brazen  pillars  which  Solomon  reared  in  the  porch 
of  the  Temple,  to  emblazon  its  solemn  and  august  entrance. 

As  through  our  verdant  valleys  flow  the  limpid  rivulets  that  make 
our  creeks,  our  rivers  and  our  seas,  on  whose  bosom  float  the  gallant 
navies  which,  under  the  Stripes  and  Stars,  the  symbolic  ensign  of  our 
nation's  destiny,  command  the  respect,  the  homage  and  the  admiration 
of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  so  from  your  literary  institutions,  and 
from  all  similar  ones  in  our  colleges,  flow  those  healing  streams  which 
swell  the  rivers  that  fill  the  ocean  of  literature  that  shall  bless  the 
world. 

In  our  country's  destiny  is  involved  the  destiny  of  Protestantism, 
and  in  its  destiny  that  of  all  the  nations  of  the  world.  God  has 
given,  in  awful  charge,  to  Protestant  England  and  Protestant  America 
— the  Anglo-Saxon  race — the  fortunes,  not  of  Christendom  only,  but  of 
all  the  world.  For  this  purpose  he  has  given  to  them  all  the  great  dis- 
coveries and  improvements  in  the  arts  and  sciences  that  have  made  the 
wilderness  and  the  solitary  places  glad,  and  that  have  caused  the  deserts 
to  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose.  He  has  vouchsafed  to  them  "the 
splendor  of  Lebanon,"  and  added  "  the  excellency  of  Carmel  and  Sharon," 
and  "has  caused  them  to  see  the  glory  of  the  Lord  and  the  excellency  of 
our  God." 

To  us,  especially,  he  has  given  the  new  world  and  all  its  hidden 
treasures,  with  all  the  arts  and  sciences  of  the  old.  Europe,  Asia  and 
Africa  look  to  Protestant  America  as  the  wonder  of  the  age,  and  as 
exerting  a  preponderating  influence  on  the  destinies  of  the  world. 
We  have,  then,  a  fearful  and  a  glorious  responsibility.  Let  us 
cherish  in  our  individual  bosoms  this  feeling  of  personal  as  well  as 
national  responsibility;  and  not  only  enter  upon,  but  prosecute,  the 
duties  which  we  owe  to  ourselves,  our  country  and  the  human  race. 
Thus,  and  thus  only,  will  our  career  be  glorious,  our  end  victorious, 
and  our  destiny,  and  that  of  our  country,  ''fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as 
the  sun,"  and  to  our  enemies  ''terrible  as  an  army  with  banners." 

But  there  is  yet  one  position  which,  because  of  its  importance — its 
transcendent  importance — I  would  make  stand  out  before  you  in  bold 
relief,  and  leave  it  with  you  in  solemn  charge,  as  the  paramount  duty 
of  every  American  citizen,  and  especially  of  the  educated  and  talented 
youth  of  our  country,  who,  from  a  benevolent  and  insuperable  law  of 
the  Great  Philanthropist,  must  ever  hold  in  their  hands  the  casting  vote 
on  each  and  every  great  question  in  every  grand  crisis  that  may  involve 
its  future  weal  or  woe.  The  position  which  I  have  in  my  eye  is  founded 
on  one  strongly  affirmed,  viz.  that  educated  mind  must  govern  the 


180 


THE  DESTI^'Y  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


world.  It  is  the  grand  corollary  of  my  address,  first  in  intention, 
though  last  in  execution.  It  is  more  than  a  corollary.  It  is  the  corolla 
itself.  It  is  the  flower  that  contains  the  seed  that  yields  the  fruit  of 
the  political  tree  of  life  to  every  community  on  earth,  and  more  espe- 
cially in  a  community  to  which  God  has  given  in  solemn  charge  the 
key  that  opens  the  chest  that  holds  the  covenant  of  future  peace  and 
happiness  to  man,  as  a  social  and  immortal  being. 

jSTot  to  prolong,  nor  to  increase  your  suspense,  I  must  reiterate  an 
aphorism  early  announced  on  this  occasion — that  God  created  the 
universe,  not  because  of  his  wisdom  or  power  to  do  it,  but  to  find  a 
vent  for  his  goodness.  Now,  the  object  and  aim  of  goodness  is  hap- 
piness— prolonged,  not  momentary  happiness ;  increasing,  not  stationary 
happiness;  multiform,  not  uniform  happiness.  Hence  it  is  that  the 
perpetuity  and  prosperity  of  a  people,  or  nation,  are  wholly  dependent 
upon  their  goodness,  their  humanity,  their  philanthropy.  And  what  is 
either  individual  or  social  goodness  or  humanity,  but  the  proper  com- 
bination of  three  ingredients — justice,  truth  and  piety?  No  natic  q 
ever  survived  the  death  of  these  three  principles,  and  no  nation  ev-.  r 
can  die,  or  will  die,  till  these  principles  become,  with  them,  a  deid 
letter.  A  Eoman  once  said.  Fiat  justitia,  ruat  ccelum;  we  say,  Fiari 
jU'Stitia,  Veritas,  et  benevolentia,  et  non  ruet  e-odurn  in  scecula  sceculorur.i. 
Let  our  nation,  then,  be  just,  true  and  benevolent  to  all  nations  and  Ic 
herself,  and  it  will  stand  while  time  endures.  These  are  bright  stars 
— a  glorious  constellation — and  they  will  be  the  unwaning  and  unset- 
ting  stars  of  her  destiny,  and  that  of  every  other  nation  and  people. 
The  Jews,  the  monumental  nation — God's  ancient  elect  kingdom — 
would  have  remained  till  the  final  trumpet,  the  paragon  of  nations,  had 
they  continued  true  to  these  principles.  The  Saviour  once  said  that 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  on  certain  principles,  might  have  remained  till 
his  coming.  Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation,  but  sin  is  a  reproach 
and  a  desolation  to  any  people.  It  must  be  so,  because  the  laws  of 
nature  and  the  laws  of  God  were  aU  fashioned  and  established  under 
the  dynasty  or  supremacy  of  the  moral  sentiments.  The  pulse  of  time 
and  of  human  life  is  not  merely  indicative  of,  but  absolutely  dependent 
upon,  the  action  of  the  heart.  The  universe  was  conceived  and  born 
in  the  bosom  of  absolute,  eternal  and  immutable  benevolence.  Bene- 
volence has  for  its  sisters  rip^hteousness  and  truth.  This  beinsr  the 
moral  character  of  the  divine  being,  is  immutable  and  eternal.  On 
these  principles  our  country  stands ;  and  on  these  principles  alone  she 
can  stand,  and  rise,  and  flourish,  to  meet  not  only  her  own  wishes  and 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


181 


her  own  happiness,  but  the  expectations  and  the  prayers  of  all  the 
great  and  wise  and  good  of  mankind. 

Let  it,  then,  be  so  established  and  published  to  the  world,  that  we 
are  the  stern,  uncompromising  advocates  of  human  rights;  that 
America  is  not  only  "  the  home  of  the  brave,"  but  the  land  of 
the  free;"  that  we  supremely  love  equal  rights,  and  bow  to  no  sove- 
reignty but  to  that  of  God  and  the  moral  sentiments ;  that  with  open 
arms  and  warm  hearts  we  welcome  to  our  shores  the  oppressed  and 
down-trodden  of  all  nations  and  languages;  and  that  while  the  old 
world  is  pouring  into  our  harbors  and  into  our  homes  her  ignorant, 
superstitious  and  down-trodden  serfs  and  masses,  we  will,  by  common 
schools  and  common  ministrations  of  benevolence,  dispossess  them  of 
the  demons  of  priestcraft  and  kingcraft,  and  show  them  our  religion 
by  pointing  to  our  common  schools,  our  common  churches,  our  common 
colleges,  and  our  common  respect  for  the  Bible,  the  Christian  religion 
and  its  divine  and  glorious  Founder — the  Supreme  Philanthropist. 
But  you  may  ask  me  what  special  bearing  have  these  views  and  senti- 
ments on  you,  gentlemen,  as  members  of  the  Philo-Literary  Institute. 
Think  for  a  moment  of  the  moral,  as  well  as  of  the  literal,  import  of 
your  name. 

The  founders  of  your  society,  gentlemen,  were  peculiarly  happy  in 
the  selection  and  adoption  of  its  name — a  name  so  apropos  to  the  con- 
dition of  this  great  locality,  when  first  they  met  suh  tegmine  fagi,  and 
resolved  to  call  it  the  Philo-Literary  Society  of  Jefi'erson  College.  The 
name  of  Jefi'erson,  had  it  no  other  association  than  the  reputation  of 
the  memorable  and  justly  celebrated  Declaration  of  the  Independence 
of  the  American  colonies,  will  descend  to  the  latest  generations  in  that 
halo  of  glory  which  encircled  the  sun  of  our  destiny  on  the  first  morn 
of  its  rising.'  But  that,  gentlemen,  is  not  the  point,  nor  the  association 
of  ideas  on  which  I  would  congratulate  you,  nor  from  which  I  would 
argue  with  you.  It  is  the  special  name  of  your  own  society,  the  Philo- 
Literary  Society.  And  here,  for  a  moment,  let  us  pause  and  formally  1 
propound  the  question.  What  is  literature  ?  "  The  knowledge  of 
letters,"  you  promptly  respond.  But  this  is  a  definition  too  etymolo- 
gical for  my  taste,  or  for  my  use  on  the  present  occasion.  Literature, 
in  its  rhetorical  use,  denotes  not  mere  letters.  It  is,  indeed,  learning. 
But  in  its  usual  and  well-defined  distinctive  sense,  while  it  excludes 
the  positive  sciences,  it  embraces  languages,  history,  grammar,  rhetoric, 
logic,  criticism,  belles-lettres  and  poetry.  Be  it  so,  then,  according  to 
our  most  approved  lexicography.    In  literature  we  have,  therefore,  all 


182 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


the  machinery  of  positive  science,  without  which  we  :ould,  in  fact, 
have  no  real  science  of  any  sort  whatever. 

In  my  youthful  days  I  sometimes  wondered  why,  in  tne  Scotch  uni- 
versities, this  form  of  literature,  or  the  study  of  these  dead  tongues, 
was  called  humanity,  or,  rather,  humanities.  I  ultimately  discovered 
the  philosophy  of  this  portion  of  their  nomenclature.  The  Scotch,  you 
know,  are  a  nation  of  long  heads,  while  the  English,  at  least  of  the 
Puritan  stamp,  were  called  round  heads,  probably  more  from  the  cut 
of  the  hair  without,  than  from  the  form  of  the  brains  within.  Be  this 
as  it  may,  the  Scotch  early  discovered  that  the  gift  of  tongues,  or  of 
languages,  was  located  in  the  forehead.  They  imagined  that,  language 
being  the  symbol  of  ideas,  a  man  of  much  language  had  many 
ideas.  Amongst  that  people,  the  arts  of  acquiring  and  ooTOmuni- 
cating  knowledge  were  highly  appreciated  and  cultivated.  0^  them 
they  said — 

"These  polish'd  arts  have  humanized  mankind, 
So/ten'd  the  rude,  and  calm'd  the  boisterous  mind." 

Consequently,  they  had  professors  of  the  humanities  called  grj  a>mar, 
logic,  rhetoric,  poetry. 

Literature  is,  indeed,  in  its  proper  import,  a  lever  of  prodigious  arm. 
It  wants  but  the  Joe  IIou  Izo  of  Archimedes,  to  lift  r.  world  from 
earth  to  heaven.  But  this  affirmation  might  over-stimulate  some  weak 
and  nervous  heads,  and  therefore  it  ought  to  be  diluted  according  tr 
the  ratios  of  our  modern  panaceas,  in  the  ratio  of  one  grain  of  sec^c?, 
two  of  reason  and  four  of  faith. 

Eeligion  and  morals  come  to  us  objectively,  through  literature.  Yet 
literature  is  no  more  religion  or  morals,  than  lead  is  water  because  the 
water  passes  through  it.  Still  it  happens,  if  you  have  not  the  leaden 
pipe,  you  can  have  no  water  in  the  cup.  Now,  as  religion  comes  to  us 
through  the  Bible,  or  through  literature,  if  you  have  not  some  Divine 
literature  in  your  heads  or  ears,  you  will  never  have  Divine  love  in 
your  hearts.  Literature  is  not  paper  or  parchment.  It  is  that  which 
is  inscribed  upon  it.  The  envelope  of  a  letter,  any  more  than  the 
paper  on  which  it  is  written,  is  not  the  letter.  The  letter  is  the  written 
word.  And  yet  the  written  word  is  itself  but  an  envelope.  The 
power  that  smites  the  conscience,  that  melts  the  heart,  that  cheers  the 
broken  spirit,  is  not  the  paper,  the  ink,  the  written  symbol,  but  some- 
thing that  underlies  the  whole.  It  is  the  mind,  the  idea,  the  spirit 
the  conception,  clothed,  embodied,  uttered,  perceived,  received,  accre- 
dited that  agonizes  or  consoles,  that  softens  and  subdues,  that  purifies 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


183 


and  ennobles  the  heart,  that  transforms  the  man,  and  adorns  him  with 
the  beauty  of  purity,  the  true  graces  of  religion  and  morality. 

We  have  not  yet,  gentlemen,  capped  the  climax  of  the  honors  due 
and  actually  vouchsafed  to  literature.  The  Eternal  Spirit  employed 
literature  in  creating  light,  heaven  s  own  symbol  of  knowledge,  purity 
and  love.  How  passing  strange,  beautiful  and  sublime,  the  commend- 
ation given  to  language  in  the  first  paragraph  of  the  oldest  book  in 
the  world!  God  not  only  said,  "Let  there  be  light,"  but  he  created 
all  things  by  language  or  by  words ;  and  what  are  words,  but  the  utter- 
ances of  ideas,  emotions,  volitions?  All  literature  is  but  the  pictured 
symbols  of  vocables.  Language,  rudimentally,  is  literature,  fashioned 
by  the  tongue,  guided  by  the  ear.  Hence  the  deaf  can  manufacture 
no  language,  can  articulate  no  ideas.  Language  is  fashioned  by  the 
ear,  addressed  to  the  ear,  enters  into  the  brain,  and  thence  enters  into 
the  understanding,  the  conscience  and  the  heart.  From  the  heart 
again  it  responds  by  the  tongue  and  the  lips,  and  enters  into  the  ear, 
the  understanding,  the  conscience  and  the  heart.  Language  is,  there- 
fore, the  spiritual  or  intellectual  and  moral  currency  between  man  and 
man,  between  nation  and  nation,  between  ancestors  and  their  descend- 
ants; by  which,  though  dead,  they  commune  with  us  and  we  with 
them.  This  is  the  whole  circuit  of  language  that  decorates,  enriches 
and  beautifies  the  halls  of  literature,  science  and  religion. 

As  all  the  learning,  science  and  religion  in  the  world,  are  thus  em- 
bodied in  language,  those  who  are  initiated  into  these  sciences,  as  the 
graduates  of  our  colleges  are  presumed  to  be,  go  out  into  the  world 
like  a  regular  army,  panoplied  cap-d-pie,  for  a  grand  and  solemn 
mission ;  for  a  sacred  warfare  against  ignorance  and  error  in  all  their 
forms.  They  are,  by  their  education,  to  become  the  captains  and 
leaders  of  the  people,  especially  the  uneducated  masses,  which  in 
all  countries,  even  in  our  own,  constitute  the  great  and  fearful  majority. 
Associated  with  moral  excellence  and  moral  character,  they  are  pre- 
pared to  be  the  great  benefactors  of  their  country  and  of  their  con- 
temporaries. When  we  consider  what  one  well-educated  mind  has 
achieved  in  any  one  of  the  departments  of  literature,  of  science,  or 
of  art,  for  his  country  and  the  world,  we  are  not  prepared  to  estimate 
or  anticipate  what  may  be  accomplished,  for  weal  or  for  woe,  by  the 
mighty  hosts  that  are  annually  pouring  forth  from  all  our  halls  of 
science,  literature  and  religion,  in  the  great  fields  of  humanity  which 
jipread  out  before  us. 

Approve  or  disapprove  it  who  may,  it  is  a  law  of  reason,  a  law  of 
God,  that  the  educated  portion  of  every  community  must  direct  and 


184 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


form  public  opinion.  In  theology,  in  law,  in  politics,  in  physics  and 
metaphysics ;  in  all  ^he  errors  and  diseases  of  the  head,  the  conscience, 
the  heart,  as  well  as  in  the  body  natural,  the  body  ecclesiastic,  the  body 
politic,  they  must  exercise  an  immense  power.  Approve  or  disapprove 
it  who  may,  it  is  as  immutable  and  uncontrollable  as  the  law  that 
governs  the  spheres  and  regulates  the  seasons  of  the  year. 

Have  not  a  few  distinguished  individuals,  well  educated  in  almost  all 
the  fields  of  literature,  science,  politics  and  religion,  indelibly  stamped 
their  image  upon  a  nation,  an  age,  an  empire,  a  world?  These  are 
facts  so  obvious,  so  uncontrollable,  that  to  controvert  them  would  be 
only  to  stultify  one's  self,  or  to  falsify  the  ann.ils  of  nations  and  the 
history  of  the  world.  When,  then,  we  speak  of  the  destiny,  the  special 
destiny  of  our  beloved  country,  we  cannot  but  contemplate  it  through 
the  medium  of  our  schools  of  learning,  of  science,  politics  and  religion. 
Our  schools,  then,  one  and  all,  should  command  and  occupy  the  pro- 
found, the  patriotic,  the  religious  deliberation,  consideration  and  super- 
vision of  the  combined  wisdom,  talent  and  learning  of  the  age.  Every 
patriot,  every  philanthropist,  and  every  Christian,  will  say  from  his 
heart,  Amen.  Seeing  it  is  a  law  of  God,  a  principle  incorporated  in 
the  very  constitution  of  society,  it  must  be  wisely,  cheerfully  and  grate- 
fully acquiesced  in  and  submitted  to.  It  must  also  be  regulated  and 
managed  with  a  care,  a  wisdom,  a  diligent  supervision,  commensurate 
with  the  immense  and  eternal  interests  involved  in  it. 

Patriotism,  it  is  conceded,  has  no  special  place  in  the  Christian 
religion.  Its  founder  never  pronounced  a  single  sentence  in  commend- 
ation of  it.  The  reason  is,  I  presume  to  say,  that  the  world  was 
his  field,  and  as  patriotism  is  only  an  extension  of  the  principle  of 
selfishness,  he  deigned  it  no  regard;  because  selfishness  is  now  the 
great  and  damning  sin  of  mankind.  Still,  the  very  test  of  morality  is 
self-love.  We  are  commanded  to  love  our  neighbor  as  we  love  our- 
selves, neither  more  nor  less.  And  in  his  enlarged  mind  and  heart, 
our  neighbor  is  every  man  in  the  world.  Charity,  it  is  said,  begins  at 
home,  but  at  home  it  does  not  stay.  It  goes  abroad,  and  radiates  its 
blessings  according  to  its  strength,  to  the  utmost  domicile  of  man.  But 
few  men  can  extend  their  charity,  in  its  special  currency,  beyond  their 
village,  their  parish,  or  their  church.  Still,  when  the  frozen  Icelander 
or  the  sunburned  Moor  comes  within  our  sphere  of  doing  good,  we 
will,  as  we  ought,  pour  into  his  wounds  and  bruises  the  soothing  and 
mollifying  ointment  of  Christian  benevolence.  Our  country,  then,  for 
the  most  part,  engages  our  attention,  and  exhausts  all  our  means  of 
doing  good.    But  in  promoting  its  moral  excellence,  its  wealth,  its 


THE  DESTINY  OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 


185 


honor,  its  character,  we  increase  its  power  and  extend  its  means  of 
communicating  blessings  which,  without  it,  no  Christian  man  could 
bestow  upon  his  species. 

The  United  States  of  America,  as  they  grow  in  learning,  in  the  arts 
and  sciences,  and  in  all  the  elements  of  human  wealth  and  power,  can  ex- 
tend blessings  to  many  nations;  indeed,  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  world. 
In  promoting  her  health,  her  wealth  and  greatness,  especially  that  natu- 
ral characteristic  of  a  paramount  regard  for  the  freedom,  amelioration, 
civilization,  as  well  as  the  evangelization  of  foreign  lands,  we  lay  for  her 
prosperity,  for  our  own,  for  that  of  our  children,  for  that  of  the  human 
race,  the  most  solid,  substantial  and  enduring  basis,  pregnant,  too,  with 
the  civilization  and  advancement  of  the  great  family  of  man.  In  this 
way,  too,  we  secure  for  ourselves  and  for  our  posterity  the  richest 
inheritance  which  mortals  can  secure  in  heaven  or  on  earth.  Philan- 
thropy, like  honesty,  is  the  best  national,  as  it  is  the  best  individual, 
policy.  It  acts  and  reacts ;  it  blesses  and  is  blessed ;  it  glorifies  and  is 
glorified.  If,  then,  as  a  nation  and  a  people  we  stand  out  upon  the 
canvas  of  time  as  the  most  generous,  magnanimous  and  benevolent 
nation,  we  will,  as  certainly  as  the  sun  radiates  and  attracts,  bless  the 
nations  and  be  blessed  by  them,  and  grow  in  every  element  and  charac- 
teristic of  a  great,  a  mighty,  a  prosperous  and  a  happy  people. 

Now,  my  young  friends,  in  forming  your  beau  ideal  of  your  indi- 
vidual duty,  honor  and  happiness,  should  you  concur  with  these  views 
and  principles,  you  wiU  carry  with  you,  in  aU  the  private  or  pubHc 
walks  of  life,  an  influence  most  benignant  and  l)eatific.  You  will 
guide  the  less  favored  of  mankind,  because  they  cannot  but  look  up  to 
you.  You  will  thus  form  their  views,  guide  their  aims  and  elicit  their 
suffrage,  on  every  question  you  advocate  for  the  public  interest,  honor 
and  happiness.  And  that  you  may  do  so — be  blessed  in  blessing,  be 
elevated  in  elevating,  be  honored  in  honoring — is  not  only  the  wish  of 
your  humble  orator,  but,  doubtless,  that  of  every  one  who  takes  any 
real  interest  in  your  true  and  real  happiness,  in  that  of  your  country 
Bud  of  the  human  race. 


ADDRESS. 


PHRENOLOGY,  ANIMAL  MAGNETISM,  CLAIRVOYANCE, 
SPIRITUAL  RAPPINGS,  ETC. 


DELIVERED  AT  WASHINGTON  COLLEGE,  PA.,  1852. 


G-ENTLEMEN : — 

Humanity,  in  its  grand  and  awful  amplitude — in  its  height  and 
depth — in  its  length  and  breadth — in  all  its  relations  to  the  past,  tho 
present  and  the  future,  to  things  seen  and  unseen,  to  the  finite  and  to 
the  infinite — is  the  theme  of  themes,  most  recondite,  mysterious  and  sub- 
lime ;  transcending  far  the  astronomies,  the  geologies,  the  physiologies^ 
thereunto  appertaining.  We  have  never  seen  any  thing  so  wonderful, 
so  mysterious,  so  awful,  as  man.  In  the  elements  of  his  constitution  hf 
is  a  microcosm — a  world  in  miniature — an  abbreviated  system  of  the 
universe.  In  the  truthful  yet  awful  and  sublime  conception  of  his 
being,  he  is  an  embodiment  of  all  the  essences  of  things,  animate  and 
inanimate,  in  unison  with  an  emanation  of  Divinity — a  manifestation 
of  which  stirs  within  him,  imparting  to  him  a  sublime  and  awful 
personality,  constituting  him  a  terrestrial  representative  of  the  Self- 
Existent,  who  fills  with  varied  life  and  beauty  the  awful  circles  of 
time,  space  and  eternity ;  himself  the  last,  the  greatest  and  the  most 
wonderful  volition  and  operation  of  the  absolute  and  incomprehensible 
Divinity. 

Self-knowledge,  of  all  the  knowledges  of  earth,  is  'par  excellence^ 
and  by  common  consent,  the  most  desirable,  the  most  useful,  and  yet 
the  most  difficult  to  obtain.  Few  students  ever  become  bachelors,  much 
less  masters,  of  this  science  and  of  this  art — the  greatest  of  all  the 
sciences  and  of  all  the  arts,  whether  called  useful  or  ornamental. 

Still,  it  is  possible  to  rise  to  very  considerable  eminence  in  this  art, 
and  to  save  ourselves  from  the  labyrinths  and  mazes  of  folly  into 
which  a  fond  but,  ofttimes,  a  blind  parental  tenderness,  precipitates 
iihe  dearest  objects  of  its  solicitude  and  afiection.  How  many  young 
men,  and  young  ladies  too,  have  mistaken  both  themselves  and  theii 

186 


PHRENOLOGY,  ANIMAL  MAGNETISM,  CLAIRVOYANCE,  ETC.  187" 


Qission  into  this  world;  and  though  in  mind  and  manners,  as  well  as 
in  birth  and  circumstances,  fitted  to  have  acceptably  and  honorably- 
filled  a  conspicuous  niche  in  the  great  temple  of  humanity,  are  found 
at  last  amongst  the  broken  ware  and  lumber  of  six  thousand  years,  and 
"  crammed  into  a  space  we  blush  to  name" ! 

Old-bachelor  mistakes  of  this  sort  are  comparatively  innocent  and 
harmless,  because  they  die  childless,  and  entail  not  their  follies  or  their 
misfortunes  on  others.  But  when  an  ambitious  father  or  a  vain  mother 
takes  a  stripling  by  the  hand,  and  whispers  into  his  ear  some  romantic 
notion  of  his  great  parts  and  eminent  capacity  for  this  or  that  elevated 
dignity  and  place,  they  propagate  errors  lasting  a-s  life  and  reaching 
beyond  its  goal  into  the  awful  infinite  of  future  destiny.  True,  in  this 
life  we  sometimes  reap  the  first-fruits  of  these  follies  in  painful  years 
of  anguish  and  disappointment. 

How  many  sprightly  youths,  that  might  have  figured  acceptably  to 
themselves  and  others  behind  a  counter,  in  an  artist's  or  mechanic's 
shop,  or  on  a  luxuriant  farm,  have  been,  unfortunately,  thrust  into 
some  of  the  falsely-imagined  more  honorable  and  respectable  callings 
of  life !  Here  one  is  found  culling  simples,  compounding  panaceas  or 
nostrums  for  all  the  maladies  of  human  life,  and  thereby  only  "  adding 
to  the  bills  of  mortality."  Another  pushes,  or  is  pushed,  into  the  musty 
lore  of  Eoman  or  English  pandects  of  laws,  antique,  and  sometimes  as 
arbitrary  and  whimsical,  as  any  one  of  the  five  hundred  and  thirty-four 
decisions  of  the  Justinian  Code,  to  which  the  Roman  emperors  gave  the 
force  of  law.  And  yet  those  fifty  volumes  of  legal  judgments  contained 
but  a  part  of  their  civil  law. 

By  such  aids,  an  ingenious  youth  sometimes  acquires  the  unprofitable 
art  of  making  the  worse  appear  the  better  reason ;  or,  by  subtleties  of 
learned  quibbling,  hangs  up  in  chancery  to  doomsday  the  justice  or 
the  right,  which  unperverted  reason  or  unperplexed  justice  and  com- 
mon sense  would  have  immediately  awarded. 

Another,  perhaps  even  more  unfortunate,  is  taught  to  regard  a 
"  pulpit  of  wood,"  or  a  sacred  desk,"  as  more  honorable  than  the 
^sculapian  art,  or  the  costliest  ermine  that  ever  decorated  a  supreme 
tribunal,  and  paralyzes  both  his  head  and  his  heart  in  conning  over 
the  voluminous  decisions  of  synods  and  councils,  or  in  mastering  the 
Fabrician  lore  of  the  Augsburg  or  some  other  time-honored  formula 
of  Christian  faith. 

Still,  we  have  yet  a  quantum  sufficit  of  the  salt  of  reason  and  of 
faith,  that  may  conserve  all  that  is  good  and  true,  so  long  as  we  cherish 
the  Bible  and  the  Baconian  creed.    The  inductive  science  has  pre- 


188 


PHRENOLOGY,  ANIMAL  MAGNETISM, 


vailed  over  the  Platonic  and  the  Aristotelian,  and,  under  its  guidance 
and  that  of  Heaven's  own  book  of  light  and  love,  we  are,  or  may  be, 
safe  from  every  relic  of  Roman  hermeneutics  and  of  Roman  prescrip- 
tion, whether  Pagan  or  Papal.  This  is  of  right,  and  ought  to  be,  the 
constellation  of  our  destiny. 

There  is  in  the  true  light  of  true  science  and  of  true  religion  a 
stimulating  efficiency  that  energizes  and  enlarges  the  human  soul.  The 
superiority  of  all  the  bloods  and  races  of  men  on  the  verdant  earth,  as 
to  mental  energy  and  activity,  is  to  be  traced  more  to  the  influence  of 
the  Bible  and  Protestantism,  than  to  any  peculiar  tincture  or  element 
in  the  blood  or  marrow  of  the  Caucasian,  or  of  any  other  race. 

This  opinion  is  not  the  mere  result  of  any  learned  a  priori  ratio- 
-cinations.  It  is  a  well-established  fact,  the  result  of  a  posteriori  de- 
monstration, from  the  fullest  annals  of  nations  now  extant  in  every 
well-assorted  library  in  the  world.  The  Bible-reading,  Protestant 
States  of  Europe  and  America  are  confidently  appealed  to  in  evidence 
of  this  affirmation.  Compare  the  Papal  and  the  Protestant  States  of 
the  same  languages  and  genealogies,  in  any  and  every  empire  in  the 
world.    From  such  comparison  we  fear  nothing  against  our  position. 

Why,  in  the  long  race  of  four  thousand  years,  did  the  Jews,  in  peace 
and  in  war,  excel  not  only  all  the  Pagan  nations,  but  also  all  the  other 
Shemitish  nations  and  dialects  of  earth,  in  all  that  aggrandizes  and 
ennobles  human  nature  ?  Why  excel  the  Protestant  States  of  Europe 
the  Papal  States? — the  Protestant  cantons  of  Switzerland  the  Papal 
cantons  of  Switzerland ;  Protestant  Ireland  Papal  Ireland ;  Protestant 
America  Papal  America  ?  Have  the  annals  of  nations  ever  more  uni- 
vocally  answered  any  appeal  ? 

Patriarchs,  Jews  and  Christians,  with  one  God,  one  altar,  one  sacri- 
fice, one  faith,  one  Lord,  one  Spirit  and  one  hope,  against  gods  many, 
lords  many,  mediators  many,  altars,  priests  and  victims  innumerable, 
have,  in  every  conflict,  ultimately  triumphed.  The  great  and  awful 
religious  and  moral  truths  of  revelation  naturally  energize  and  in- 
vigorate the  human  soul,  as  bread  and  water  energize  and  invigorate 
the  human  body.  Hence  the  superior  civilization  and  force  of  cha- 
racter of  the  Protestant  Anglo-Saxon  race,  whether  found  in  Asia, 
Europe  or  America.  We  neither  reason  nor  decide  from  partial  pre- 
mises or  from  a  few  solitary  examples.  We  rest  upon  the  concurrent 
developments  and  demonstrations  in  the  long  race  of  three  or  four 
thousand  years.  Compare  Hesiod  or  Homer  with  David  or  Solomon ; 
Solon  or  Lycurgus  with  Moses;  Pythagoras,  Plato  or  Socrates  with 
the  Bible  sages — the  Jewish  prophets,  from  Isaiah  to  Malachi.    In  one 


CLAIRVOYANCE,  SPIRITUAL  EAPPIXGS,  ETC.  18i^ 

focal  point  compare  continental  Europe  with  Great  Britain;  even 
their  representatives  at  this  hour,  the  drift-wood  of  European  and 
American  civilization  in  Australia  and  California,  contending  with  all 
other  nations  and  people  for  the  empire  of  gold.  Is  it  not  a  moral 
demoxistration,  more  resembling,  from  its  brilliancy  and  power,  a 
mathematical  demonstration  than  any  other  logical  comparison  ever 
instituted  by  man?  We  fear  no  mind,  however  enlightened,  no  array 
of  historical  facts  and  documents,  however  large  and  respectable,  in 
any  controversy  on  these  premises. 

"While  yet  standing  in  the  outer  court  of  our  subject,  I  would  further 
premise,  that  every  thing  very  good  in  society  originates  in,  and  ema- 
nates from,  true  religion  and  true  philosophy;  and  that  every  thing 
very  evil  originates  in,  and  emanates  from,  false  religion  and  false 
philosophy.  There  is  a  true  and  a  false  philosophy  of  God  and  man, 
as  there  is  of  nature  and  society.  The  true  philosophy  is  only  to  be 
acquired  from  the  profound  study  of  God's  own  library — the  rich  and 
ample  volumes  of  Creation,  Providence  and  Redemption. 

Your  Pantheon,  gentlemen,  Pagan  though  it  be,  proves  this  as- 
sumption. Its  daimoon  kakon  was  the  fons  et  prindpium,  the  real 
fountain,  of  all  evil ;  while  its  doAraoon  agatlion  was  the  fons  et  jprin- 
dpium,  the  true  and  real  source,  of  all  personal  and  social  good.  In 
aU  the  forms  of  polytheism,  when  resolved  into  their  constituent  ele- 
ments, these  were  the  proximate  or  remote  causes  of  all  Grecian  and 
Roman  moral  good  and  moral  evil. 

In  Christendom  there  are,  it  is  true,  many  modifications  of  Chris- 
tianity, but  they  are  all  resolvable  into  two,  and  only  two,  essentially 
distinct  forms.  In  their  essence,  matter  and  form,  they  are  either 
Papistical  or  Protestant.  They  are  politically  and  ecclesiastically 
contemplated  under  the  popular  designations  of  absolutism  and  re- 
publicanism. The  Papacy  is  sheer,  bald  absolutism.  Protestantism 
is  the  negation  of  this  idea  or  assumption,  and  the  affirmation  of  free- 
dom of  thought,  of  conscience,  of  speech  and  of  action,  in  harmony 
with  the  law  of  God,  as  every  one  understands  it.  Protestantism  is 
essentially  republican,  and  elective  in  all  its  tendencies.  False  religion 
may,  indeed,  in  its  licentiousness,  fitfully  become  a  fierce  and  bloody 
democracy,  a  heartless  oligarchy,  or  an  absolute  despotism.  But  in  the 
last  it  finally  reposes,  as  its  legitimate  goal.  Every  rudimental  idea  or 
element  in  our  political,  literary  and  moral  institutions  is  of  the  essence 
and  spirit  of  Protestantism. 

There  is,  in  my  opinion,  no  more  perfect  and  complete  antagonism 
on  earth  than  that  between  Papalism  and  Protestantism.    They  nevei 


190 


PHRENOLOGY,  ANIMAL  MAGNETISM, 


can  amalgamate.  One  or  the  other  must  ultimately  triumph  in  every 
community.  No  oaths,  no  tests,  no  forms,  no  covenants  of  naturaliza- 
tion can  ever  assimilate,  unite  or  identify  them.  Oil  and  water,  light 
and  darkness,  good  and  evil,  are  not  more  discordant  and  heterogeneous 
than  Protestantism  and  Eomanism.  While  Protestantism  has  the 
majority,  we  will  inevitably  continue  republican.  And  should  Ro- 
manism obtain  the  majority — which  may  the  Lord  forbid  ! — we  ahould, 
as  certainly,  come  under  an  absolute  despotism.  He  is  a  simpleton, 
or  unread  in  Romanism  and  in  the  history  of  Christendom,  that  can 
otherwise  think. 

Tell  us  not  of  the  European  Republic  of  Venice,  with  its  aristocratic 
government.  It  has  long  since  waned,  and  is  now  a  portion  of  the 
kingdom  of  Italy.  There  is  no  real  republic  in  Europe,  and  certainly 
none  in  the  bosom  of  the  holy  mother  Church.  We  have  no  ancient 
dynasties,  no  standing  armies,  no  chartered  aristocracies,  no  state 
religions.  European  States,  the  freest  and  the  best,  have  these,  and, 
therefore,  are  not  free. 

But  it  is  in  this  new  world,  and  in  this  new  world  only,  that  Pro- 
testantism fully  develops  itself.  It  is  in  the  United  States  of  America 
alone,  that  the  free  discussion  of  every  question  involving  freedom 
of  thought,  freedom  of  speech  and  freedom  of  action,  in  all  the 
relations  of  life — political,  moral  or  religious — is  guaranteed  and 
fully  enjoyed  by  every  citizen.  And  hence  the  American  Union  is 
becoming,  is  perhaps  even  now,  the  cradle  of  new  ideas  of  all  sorts,  home- 
bred and  foreign.  Here  they  are  nurtured,  cherished  and  perfected, 
with  equal  generosity,  magnanimity  and  benevolence.  Let  any  one 
desirous  to  know  or  comprehend  the  prolific  genius  of  full-bred,  Ameri- 
canized, Protestant  Anglo-Saxons,  make  a  special  visit  to  Washington 
City,  and  spend  one  leap-year  in  the  Patent-Office  and  its  correlate 
museums,  and  if  his  head  is  not  pregnant  with  more  new  notions 
than  he  could  nurse  and  develop  in  a  century,  I  will  concede  that  I 
am  no  philosopher,  and  still  less  a  phrenologist.  There  is  every 
thing  in  this  large  world  of  inventions,  from  the  cranium  of  an  Indian 
trapper  down  to  the  trap  of  a  spiritual-rapper  of  the  Rochester  school. 
It  is  in  these  rare  galleries,  and  with  Gall,  Spurzheim,  George  Combe, 
the  Messrs.  Fowler,  Elias  W.  Capron,  and  Henry  D.  Barron,  for  your 
guides,  thao  you  can,  with  the  aid  of  correlate  spiritual  spectacles, 
get  a  genume,  unsophisticated  peep  into  the  cabinet  of  true  and  un- 
sophisticated spiritualism,  with  all  the  knocks,  bumps  and  echoes 
•essential  to  a  comprehension  of  the  spiritual  spheres  of  the  upper  and 


CLAIRVOYANCE,  SPIRITUAL  RAPPINGS,  ETC. 


191 


nether  worlds  of  our  present  hemisphere.  On  retiring  from  your  first 
lessons,  you'll  say — 

There  are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth,  Horatio, 
Than  are  dream'd  of  in  your  philosophy." 

But  you  must  hold  fast  to  the  idea  of  matter,  as  well  as  spirit,  else 
you  may — 

"  Up  whirled  aloft, 
Fiy  o'er  the  back  side  of  the  world  far  off 
Into  a  limbus puerorum  large  and  broad." 

And  here  we  will  premise  one  of  our  favorite  aphorisms,  which  is  as 
sage  as  it  is  brief: — 

"  'Tis  through  the  known,  and  only  through  the  known. 
That  any  man  can  learn  the  things  unknown." 

You  must  also,  at  your  commencement,  cautiously  and  carefully 
survey  the  true  metaphysical  sphere.  It  is  a  most  mysterious  and 
sublime  sphere.  According  to  my  telescope,  it  is  bounded  on  the  north 
by  matter,  on  the  south  by  spirit,  on  the  east  by  eternity,  and  on  the 
west  by  infinity.  It  is  canopied  by  imagination,  and  founded  upon 
abstraction.  I  have  taken  its  position  and  bearings  from  my  spiritual 
observatory,  under  very  favorable  circumstances,  and  presume  it  to  be 
philosophically  correct,  according  to  the  true  Baconian  faith  and  the 
oracles  of  Plato. 

From  these  introductory  and  initiatory  speculations,  we  may  prrj^^ed 
to  descant  somewhat  freely  upon  the  tendencies  of  phrenology,  mes- 
merism, clairvoyance,  and  the  spiritual  rappings — all  of  which  come 
fairly  within  the  purview  of  the  new  philosophies,  theoretic  and  ex- 
perimental, of  the  nineteenth  century.  I  cannot  now  enter  upon  these 
themes  either  learnedly  or  at  length.  I  am  not  profoundly  read  in 
any  one  of  them.  But  I  have  ciphered  just  so  far  as  to  see  all  the 
bumps,  without  seeing  through  them.  Consequently,  in  ascending 
these  stairs,  I  place  my  left  hand  on  the  baluster  of  common  sense, 
and  my  right  hand  on  the  baluster  of  faith,  with  my  eyes  directed  to 
my  feet.  At  the  top  of  the  first  flight  I  pause,  and  ponder  on  George 
Combe's  Phrenology.  The  bumps  and  the  brains  are  all  right,  accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Spurzheim  and  Dr.  Bell.  But  he  builds  his  theory  upon 
one  fatal  assumption.  He  affirms  the  proposition,  that  the  constitu- 
tion of  this  world  appears  to  be  arranged,  in  all  its  departments, 
on  the  principle  of  slow  and  progressive  improvements."  He  and 
Moses,  unfortunately,  are  in  direct  antithesis  on  this  great  point,  and 


192 


PnRENOLOGY,  ANIMAL  MAGNETISM, 


wholly  irreconcilable.  Man  never  fell,  hut  rather  grows  better,  accord- 
ing to  the  philosophy  of  George  Combe.  Against  this  capital  error,  if 
I  mistake  not,  his  own  brother,  Andrew  Combe,  strongly  remonstrated, 
as  well  as  the  distinguished  W.  Scott,  Esq.,  once  President  of  the 
Phrenological  Society  of  the  great  city  of  Edinburgh.  Phrenology  is, 
therefore,  not  chargeable  with  the  aberrations  of  George  Combe. 
Against  his  assumptions,  we  have  collected  and  collated  four,  as  we 
think,  unanswerable  arguments  : — 

I.  That  universal  history  furnishes  not  a  single  fact  in  proof  that 
any  barbarous  tribe  or  nation,  by  any  innate  elements  in  its  constitu- 
tion, or  by  its  own  unassisted  efforts,  ever  made  one  step  in  the  career 
of  intellectual  and  moral  improvement. 

II.  That  from  all  monumental  evidence,  and  from  universal  history, 
it  is  demonstrable  that  the  most  ancient  nations  were  farther  advanced, 
in  moral  and  intellectual  attainments,  than  their  successors. 

III.  That  the  analogies  drawn  from  geological  facts,  on  which  Combe 
and  others  too  fondly  rely,  so  far  from  favoring  his  assumption,  directly 
prove  the  contrary. 

IV.  That  the  present  civilization  of  Great  Britain,  Hke  that  of  the 
more  civilized  nations  of  the  Old  World,  is  the  product,  not  of  unas- 
sisted barbarism,  but  of  successive  conquests  and  intermixtures  with 
other  nations;  and  especially  of  the  early  introduction  of  Christian 
principles  ctnd  a  Christian  people.  And  this  applies  to  our  own  country 
as  much  as  to  any  other.  The  proofs  and  documents  confirmatory  of 
these  facts  are  voluminous  and  unanswerable. 

Indeed,  his  own  geological  statistics  demonstrate  a  fact  which  sub- 
verts all  his  reasonings,  viz.  That,  so  far  from  the  gradual  evolutions 
of  time  improving  man,  animal  or  plant,  it  required  various  successive 
exertions  of  creative  power  "before  the  jarring  elements  were  reduced 
to  order;"  that  no  less  than  five  successive  races  of  plants  and  four 
successive  races  of  animals  appear  to  have  been  created  and  swept 
away  by  the  physical  revolutions  of  the  globe  before  the  system  became 
so  permanent  as  to  be  fit  for  man. 

To  enter  formally  into  the  details  of  facts,  evidences  and  arguments, 
illustrative  and  confirmatory  of  these  statements,  would  be  more  tedious 
than  necessary  or  profitable  on  such  an  occasion  as  the  present.  This 
has  been  well  and  ably  done  by  more  skilful  hands.  It  is  fully  shown 
by  the  researches  of  geologists,  that  no  race  of  animals  was  ever  de- 
rived from  an  antecedent  or  contemporary  species,  or  was  gradually 
perfected.  And  certainly  the  history  of  three  thousand  years  furnishes 
not  a  single  fact  corroborative  of  such  an  assumption. 


CLAIKVOYANCE,  SPIRITUAL  EAPPINGS,  ETC. 


193 


As  to  the  history  of  man,  it  appears  from  all  the  records  of  earth 
that  he  has  accomplished  mightier  and  more  astonishing  works,  in 
ages  the  most  remote,  than  he  has  achieved  since  the  ages  of  authentic 
history  began.  Of  the  four  great  empires  of  time,  the  Babylonian 
excelled  the  Medo-Persian,  the  Medo-Persian  the  Grecian,  the  Grecian 
the  Roman,  in  the  great  achievements  of  earth  that  give  character  to 
the  human  mind.  The  great  elementary  principles  that  terminate  in 
a  higher  civilization  originated  amongst  the  primitive  nations,  and, 
in  an  unbroken  chain,  have  been  handed  down  to  us.  We  may,  in  all 
safety,  commit  the  question  to  the  more  enlightened  portions  of  our 
own  or  of  any  other  civilized  community,  whether  Moses  and  his 
people  have  not  contributed  more  to  the  civilization  of  the  world  than 
all  the  kings  and  heroes  from  the  days  of  the  Pharaohs  down  to 
Napoleon  the  Great ! 

Still,  these  objections,  subtracted  from  all  the  arguments  and  evi- 
dences, do  not  essentially  impair  the  superstructure.  The  materialism 
of  the  system,  as  dispensed  by  the  Messrs.  Fowler,  is  a  still  greater 
objection.  Yet  despite  the  erroneous  reasonings  and  fallacious  assump- 
tions of  some  of  its  advocates  and  defenders,  there  is  sufficient  evidence 
that  the  mind  of  man  incarnate,  commonly,  but  not  always,  acts,  and 
is  acted  upon,  by  the  nervous  machinery  of  the  brain ;  and  that  the 
brain  and  its  developments  in  the  cranium,  with  the  physiology  of  the- 
human  body,  afford  an  index  to  the  mind  within. 

Dr.  George  Combe,  the  great  apostle  of  phrenology  in  Scotland,, 
is  more  transparently  infidel  than  most  of  his  American  brotherhood. 
Still,  as  a  class,  they  are  not  entirely  above  suspicion.  There  is, 
indeed,  more  to  fear  than  to  hope,  from  the  tendencies  and  develop- 
ments of  both  the  American  and  European  schools  of  phrenology, 
mesmerism,  clairvoyance  and  spiritual  rappings,  especially  amongst 
an  uneducated  population.  Christianity,  however,  fears  nothing  from 
any  true  science  of  body  or  soul,  matter  or  spirit.  But  there  is  now, 
as  well  as  in  former  ages,  much  that  is  called  science,  which  is  '^science 
falsely  so  called." 

One  of  the  worst  symptoms  of  certain  European  and  American 
phrenological  schools,  is  a  prevailing  and  pervading  disposition  to  test 
the  claims  of  the  Bible  by  an  appeal  to  phrenology,  rather  than  to  test 
the  claims  of  phrenology  by  an  appeal  to  the  Bible.  This,  indeed,  has 
created  a  prejudice  against  phrenology  which  is  more  benevolent  than 
rational.  Weak,  indeed,  is  the  faith  of  any  man  in  the  Bible,  who  fears 
any  thing  for  it  from  any  quarter  whatever.  If  any  man  has  true 
faith  in  his  own  personal  identity,  and  true  faith  in  the  Bible  he  could 

13 


194 


PHEENOLOGY,  ANIMAL  MAGNETISM, 


not  be  persuaded  that  it  is  a  lie,  though  one  rose  from  the  dead  and  so 
affirmed.  Paul  spoke  as  a  true  philosopher  when,  on  a  certain  occasion, 
he  said,  ''Though  we  or  an  angel  from  heaven  preach  any  other  gospel 
to  you  than  that  which  we  have  preached,  let  him  he  accursed ^  Iso 
man  that  truly  (that  is,  rationally)  believes  the  gospel,  fears  any  thing 
in  the  lame  of  science,  learning  or  wisdom,  whether  called  phrenology, 
pneumatology,  psychology  or  physico-theology. 

When  any  proposition  is  proved  to  be  true,  the  universe  could  not 
prove  it  false.  If  twelve  veracious  men,  compos  mentis,  sound  in 
mind  and  body,  should,  on  the  scaffold,  swear,  at  the  jeopardy  of  their 
lives,  that  they  saw  a  man  murdered,  cut  to  pieces,  buried,  laid  in  the 
grave,  and  on  the  third  day  after  rise  again  whole  and  sound,  walk 
about,  eat,  drink  and  converse  with  them  during  forty  days,  could  any 
speculations,  a  priori  reasonings,  or  theorizings  upon  body  or  spirit, 
stultify,  falsify  or  annihilate  the  united  testimony  to  a  plain  matter. of 
fact,  reported  by  them,  and  for  which  deposition  they  laid  down  their 
heads  and  suffered  them  to  be  cut  off?  Credat  Judceus  Apella,  non 
ego! 

None  but  a  skeptic  at  heart  could  fear  any  thing  from  any  alleged 
science,  true  or  false,  against  the  Bible  facts,  precepts  and  promises. 
Times  without  number  it  has  been  assailed,  by  all  sorts  of  men  and 
by  all  sorts  of  arguments.  It  has  been  laughed  at,  ridiculed,  carica- 
tured, anathematized,  banished,  inhibited,  imprisoned,  burned,  dragged 
through  the  streets  of  Paris  by  a  common  hangman,  as  though  it  w^cre 
an  execrable  felon ;  and  yet  it  not  only  lives,  but  reigns  and  triumphs 
in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  the  greatest,  the  wisest  and  the  best  of  man- 
kind. It  is  being  translated  into  aU  the  dialects  of  earth.  It  is  borne 
on  the  wings  of  every  wind  to  every  point  of  the  compass.  It  is  pene- 
trating Australia,  New  Zealand,  the  isles  of  the  Pacific,  and  the  coasts 
of  both  continents,  despite  the  Vatican  and  all  its  thunderings  and 
voices  and  trumpets.  It  is  reinvading  Italy,  and  is  secretly  sold  or 
bestowed  in  the  very  metropolis  of  Popery,  within  sight  of  St.  Peter's, 
It  has  almost  invaded  the  palace  of  Pio  Nono  himself,  and  terrified 
the  pretended  vicar  of  Christ. 

Dr.  Combe,  in  Edinburgh,  and  other  phrenologists  in  New  York 
and  elsewhere,  may  doubt  whether  death  be  a  punishment  consequent 
upon  the  sin  of  Adam,  or  whether  it  entered  our  world  in  pursuance 
of  any  moral  aberration,  or  merely  as  the  inevitable  result  of  the  wear 
and  tear  of  the  physical  forces  upon  all  organic  life.  They  may  even 
honestly  assume  and  teach  that  the  pains  of  parturition  are  no  more 
connected  with  Eve's  transgression  than  are  those  of  the  fowl  and  the 


CLAIRVOYANCE,  SPIRITUAL  RAPPINGS,  ETC. 


195 


brute.  They  may  propose  the  improvement  of  the  physical  constitution 
of  man,  as  the  only  means  of  his  moral  and  spiritual  health,  and  pity 
those  who  endeavor  to  improve  the  physical  by  the  moral.  They  may 
write  and  preach  hygeia  and  the  laws  of  health  and  life,  and  make  the 
present  eating,  drinking  and  sleeping  of  man  his  paradise  and  his 
heaven.  They  may  regard  prayers  and  thankgivings  for  special  pro- 
vidences and  special  deliverances,  like  the  doctrine  of  the  fall  and  the 
contamination  of  sin,  as  one  and  all  but  the  innocent  speculations  of 
poets  or  the  fables  of  philosophers,  for  the  benefit  of  the  uneducated, 
but  entirely  below  the  respect  of  phrenologists  of  the  higher  schools, 
being  merely  the  remains  of  ancient  traditions — the  hoary  fables  of  a 
remote  and  unwritten  age. 

They  speak  eloquently  and  reverently  of  the  ''dear,  blessed  Bible, 
the  family  Bible,  that  lay  on  the  stand,''  gilded  with  gold  and  covered 
with  dust.  They  sincerely  regret  that  it  is  of  so  little  account,  because 
so  "  obscure/'  so  "  corrupted"  in  the  text,  ''  having  so  many  doubtful 
readings,"  and  requiring  so  ''  many  learned  and  consecrated  inter- 
preters." Still  it  is  a  good  book,  and  worthy  of  one  or  two  careful 
readings  during  life.  But,  as  Dr.  Combe  deeply  regrets,  its  require- 
ments are  so  high,  and  its  oracles  and  precepts  so  sublime,  that  to 
command  obedience  to  them  is  like  commanding  a  horse  to  fly  to 
heaven,  without  even  the  wings  of  a  bat.  The  doctrine  of  the  fall,  he 
must  think,  is  a  fundamental  error  of  the  divines,"  which,  ''because 
of  their  entire  ignorance  of  the  laws  of  nature,  and  of  a  true  system 
of  mental  philosophy,  they  were  obliged  to  adopt."  He  would,  there- 
fore, benevolently  advise  the  Christian  ministry  to  turn  their  churches 
into  lecture-rooms,  and  to  preach  the  laws  of  eating  and  drinking,  of 
sleeping  and  working,  more  philosophically ;  and  of  studying  the 
physical  economy  of  life  as  the  true  doctrine  of  salvation,  and  the  only 
scientific  path  to  good  health,  a  good  stomach  and  a  good,  plump,  fat, 
round  old  age. 

Thus,  walking  on  stilts  with  rapid  strides,  phrenology  has  almost 
made  the  tour  of  Christendom  within  the  memory  of  one  generation.  It 
has  selected  for  its  special  companions  a  cohort  of  craniologists,  with 
their  craniometers,  examining  craniums.  These  philosophers  deliver 
lectures  in  four  sciences,  which  sprang  from  one  egg.  They  are, 
scientifically,  denominated  craniology,  craniognomy,  craniometry  and 
cranioscopy.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  bone,  as  well  as  of  marrow,  in 
these  sciences  of  the  solid  contents  of  human  craniums,  which,  by  the 
Aid  of  the  scalpel  and  tne  scalping-iron,  furnish  ample  materials  for 


196 


PHRENOLOGY,  ANIMAL  MAGNETISM, 


very  profound  disquisitions  on  this  pre-eminently  metaphy sice -physical 
subject. 

In  older  times,  our  revered  fathers  taught  that  man's  thinking- 
power  was  in  his  head,  and  his  feeling-power  in  his  heart.  Hence, 
wise  men  in  former  years  died  of  ''nervous  headaches,"  and  all 
disappointed  lovers  died  of  ''broken  hearts."  What  simpletons  they 
were ! 

In  good  old  Scotland,  I  formerly  heard  disquisitions  upon  the  phi- 
losophy of  man,  both  in  college  and  from  the  pulpits  of  the  orthodox. 
These  learned  men  could  show  the  exact  difference  between  the  south 
and  the  southwest  side  of  a  hair.  But  in  speaking  of  man,  they 
always  reduced  him  to  three  heads,  as  they  called  them :  we  would 
rather  say  three  points.  They  gave  him  a  body,  a  soul  and  a  spirit. 
This  was  his  entire  outfit  for  the  pilgrimage  of  earth.  They  were 
very  learned  doctors,  and  gave  us  Hebrew,  Greek  and  Latin  for  every 
thing,  sacred  and  divine. 

They  discriminated  between  the  soul  and  the  spirit,  and  affirmed  that 
Hebrews,  Greeks  and  Eomans  had  an  appropriate  name  for  each.  The 
Hebrews,  for  example,  had  ruach  for  the  spirit,  and  nepesh  for  the 
soul ;  the  Greeks,  pneuma  for  the  spirit,  and  psuchee  for  the  soul ; 
while  the  good  old  Eomans  had  animus  and  spiritus  for  the  mind  or 
spirit,  and  anima  for  the  soul.  Paul  himself,  it  was  alleged,  spoke  and 
wrote  in  this  philosophic  style.  With  him,  there  was  a  species  of 
trinity  in  man.  One  of  his  prayers  was  quoted  :  "  Aurb^  dk  6  debt;  rr^:; 
elpijv^i;  b.yt6.aai  ufidt;  6X6££hc(;'  xac  bXbxXrjpov  bfioyv  rb  Tzvtufia,  xai  )J 
^oyrj,  xat  ro  awiia!'  (See  1  Thess.  v.  23.)  In  English :  May  God 
sanctify  you  wholly, — 1st,  the  pneuma,  or  spirit ;  2d,  the  psuchee,  or 
soul;  3d,  the  sooma,  or  body.  These  constitute  the  positive,  compara- 
tive and  superlative  of  man — three  natures  in  one  personality. 

The  whole  divine  philosophy  of  man,  according  to  Paul,  is  thus 
condensed  or  concentrated  into  a  nutshell.  It  is  this  :  Man's  spirit  by 
his  soul,  and  his  soul  by  its  organ  of  many  nerves,  (the  brain,)  operates 
upon  a  world  within  him ;  and  his  spirit  by  his  soul,  and  his  soul  by 
its  organ,  (the  brain,)  and  the  brain  by  its  organ,  (the  body,)  operates 
upon  a  world  without  him.  The  formulas  of  this  faith  are  very  brief. 
Acti  agimus.  Acted  upon,  we  act.  Actus,  me  invito  f actus,  non  est  meus 
actus.  An  act  done  against  my  will  is  not  my  act.  Actus  nonfacit 
reum  nisi  mens  sit  rea.  The  act  does  not  make  a  man  guilty  unless 
the  mind  be  also  guilty.  This  was  and  is  the  short  metre  of  the 
soundest  religious  and  moral  orthodoxy !  Who  of  us,  the  sons  of  such 
philosophic  sires,  would  not  endorse  it  ? 


CLAIRVOYANCE,  SPIRITUAL  RAPPINGS,  ETC. 


197 


Having  paid  a  passing  tribute  of  respect  to  phrenology,  we  are,  in 
common  courtesy,  constrained  to  compliment,  not  her  cousin-german, 
but  her  German  cousin,  mesmerism. 

Frederic  Anthony  Mesmer,  of  the  past  and  present  century,  a 
German  physician,  having  been  some  time  psychologically  sojourning 
among  the  planets,  till  electrified  by  their  serene  influence,  so  long  ago 
as  1766  gave  to  the  world  a  thesis  on  planetary  influence,  endeavoring 
to  show  that  these  heavenly  bodies  difi'used  through  this  nether  uni- 
verse a  subtle  fluid,  acting  upon  and  impregnating  the  nervous  system 
of  all  animate  terraqueous  beings.  He  founded  the  new  philosophy 
of  Animal  Magnetism  about  the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  He 
lived  and  died  on  this  side  of  the  science  of  psychomancy.  He  did  not 
consult  the  souls  of  the  dead,  but  only  the  souls  of  the  living. 

The  science  and  art  of  mesmerism  is  simply  the  science  and  art  of 
communicating  a  peculiar  species  of  sleep,  either  by  the  eye  or  the 
hand,  so  afiecting  the  human  body  as  to  leave  the  mind  active  and 
intelligent — wide  awake  and  watching ;  even  more  intuitive  and  pene- 
trating under  the  conquest  of  the  animal  energies  than  when  encum- 
bered with  the  working  of  its  own  machinery  and  with  the  sights  and 
sounds  of  earthly  realities. 

This  new  art  and  mystery — science  it  cannot  be  called — is  in  rapid 
progress  of  cultivation  at  the  present  time.  Its  metes  and  boundaries 
are,  however,  nearly,  if  not  altogether,  ascertained,  lits  vocabulary  is 
strange  and  mysterious.  With  its  votaries,  the  word  see  indicates  a 
new  and  strange  idea.  We,  in  common  parlance,  see  by  the  means 
of  light,  and  by  an  organ  we  call  the  eye.  But  they  profess  to  see 
without  light,  and  with  closed  eyes,  or  without  eyes.  We  see  while 
awake,  but  they  only  see.  mesmerically  when  asleep.  How,  then,  can 
men,  who  only  see  with  eyes  open,  and  by  means  of  light,  understand 
their  visions,  and  sights,  and  revelations?  Neither  prophets  nor 
apostles,  in  ancient  times,  saw  earthly  things,  read  letters,  or  saw 
their  antipodes  through  ocean  spectacles  encased  and  underlaid  with 
■earth  and  granite.  We  are  thus  fairly  lost  and  bewildered  in  the  pre- 
mises, by  terms  and  phrases  which  no  dictionary  of  earth  expounds. 
They  can,  in  their  vernacular,  equally  see  a  mountain,  and,  through  a 
mountain,  a  spirit  on  the  other  side,  without  the  aid  of  sun,  or  lamp, 
or  eyes.  Their  doctors  dispense  medicines,  and  examine  pulses,  by 
looking  through  a  man's  skin,  and  flesh,  and  bones,  into  and  through 
the  marrow  in  his  bones,  and  count,  compare  and  analyze  the  nerves 
of  every  tissue  from  the  centre  of  the  brain  to  the  centre  of  the  heart. 
These  are  -clairvoyants  with  a  vengeance,  whom  any  man  of  mere  com- 


198 


PHRENOLOGY,  ANIMAL  MAGNETISM, 


mori  sense  and  common  faculties  would  fear  to  encounter !  They  claim 
to  possess  a  new  species  of  omnipresence  and  omniscience,  or  what  is 
equal  to  both. 

A  mesmerized  lady  takes  the  hand  of  a  person,  and  travels  with  him 
in  mind  from  Philadelphia  to  Paris  in  less  than  four  seconds,  and  with 
him  walks  through  the  Louvre,  and  with  him  contemplates  the  por- 
traits and  pictures,  one  by  one,  and,  in  less  than  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye,  returns  to  Philadelphia  and  reveals  the  vision.  And  yet  the  mes- 
merizer  disbelieves  in  spirits,  and  only  believes  in  fluids.  Who  can 
reason  with  or  against  such  pretensions?  It  is  neither  a  subject  of 
reason  nor  of  revelation,  and,  therefore,  we  at  once  surrender,  or  deny 
in  toto  the  whole  pretence,  as  a  demoniacal  pretension,  or  a  new  art  or 
device  of  jugglery. 

Some  of  its  special  pleaders  deny  the  pretence  of  looking  through 
solid  rocks  or  solid  substances,  and  yet  they  pretend  to  travel  to  Paris 
or  London,  in  a  straight  line,  through  the  earth,  or  so  much  of  it  as, 
in  a  rectilinear  direction,  lies  to  the  right  or  left  of  a  traveller  from  a 
room  in  New  York  to  a  room  in  London  or  in  Paris.  The  somnambu- 
list may  not  always,  in  such  excursions,  succeed ;  but  if  he  only  once, 
in  any  given  number  of  times,  succeeds,  it  is  sufficient.  The  miracle, 
in  that  case,  is  wrought. 

Many  of  the  mesmerizers  deny  both  spirits  and  miracles,  as  positive 
entities.  Fluids  and  effluvia  are  their  spirits  and  wonder-working 
agents.  Fluids  and  effluvia,  with  them,  become  oral  prophets  and 
prophetesses ;  divine  fortunes  and  narrate  them ;  pry  into  the  future 
and  launch  into  eternity.  Every  somnambulist  is  positively  inspired, 
if  not  by  a  spirit,  certainly  by  an  effluvium,  or  some  subtle,  inappre- 
ciable material  agency,  more  refined  than  any  gaseous  body  known  to 
science  or  to  fame. 

But  the  mysteries  of  mesmerism  transcend  all  other  mysteries ;  for, 
while  it  denies  spiritual  inspiration,  it  claims  an  inspiration  and  a 
power  above  and  beyond  all  the  inspiration  of  prophets  and  apostles. 
Its  most  ingenious  advocates  even  deny  the  theory  of  working  upon 
the  imagination,  and  assert  that  wild  bulls,  mad  dogs,  and  animals  in 
the  agonies  of  death,  have  felt  its  awful  power  and  have  been  healed. 
And,  strange  to  tell,  while  faith  in  men  is  essential  to  its  development, 
brutes,  without  either  faith  or  reason,  are  wholly  under  its  power. 
Nay,  even  doors  and  floors  are  mesmerized  by  the  waving  of  the  hand ; 
and  human  feet  and  hands  are,  nolens  volens,  bound  in  adamantine 
chains  by  its  enchanting  power. 

And,  stranger  still,  connected  with  phrenology,  greater  miracles 


CLAIRVOYANCE,  SPIRITUAL  RAPPINGS,  ETC. 


199 


than  even  these  are  wrought  by  its  sublime  magicians.  Even  charac- 
ters are  convertible  by  its  mystic  power.  A  gentle  wave  of  a  mes- 
merist's hand  over  this  or  that  organ  gives,  for  the  time-being,  a  new 
character.  Its  subject  becomes  a  churl  or  a  prodigal,  a  thief  or  an 
honest  man,  a  combatant  or  a  coward,  veracious  or  a  liar,  not  as  the 
touch,  but  as  the  shadow,  of  the  mesmerist's  hand  or  finger  passes  near 
the  localities  of  certain  organs  of  the  brain  or  bumps  of  the  cranium. 
Young  ladies,  and  even  the  coyest  old  maids,  are  courted  and  subdued 
by  its  mystic  charms.  Truly  it  is  a  terrific  and  an  appalling  power 
in  the  hands  of  certain  priests  and  priestesses  of  either  Cupid,  the  son 
of  Venus  and  Jupiter,  or  the  son  of  Erebus  and  Nox. 

But,  in  certain  cases,  it  is  questionable — a  matter  yet  sub  judice — 
whether  the  power  of  the  mesmerist  is  more  in  his  hand  or  in  his  eye. 
Perhaps  it  is  in  both.  When  doctors  differ,  pupils  may  disagree.  Bui 
it  is  said  that  a  glove  from  the  hand  of  a  lover  may  be  transmitted,  by 
post,  any  distance,  to  his  mistress,  and  become  a  medium  of  the  most 
felicitous  communication,  by  what  is  technically  called  ^Wapport" — a 
term  for  whose  meaning,  young  gentlemen,  I  must  refer  you  to  your 
best  French  dictionaries. 

This  is  an  improvement  in  harmony  with  the  telegraphic  despatch 
of  the  age.  Thus,  by  the  aid  of  mesmerism,  a  young  gentleman  at 
Washington  may  not  only  communicate,  but  hold  court,  with  the  mis- 
tress of  his  heart  at  the  distance  of  a  few  thousand  miles.  In  this  way, 
the  language  of  his  affection,  while  yet  warm  from  his  heart,  may  reach 
her  eye,  and  be  as  efficient  of  love  as  the  most  felicitous  tete-d-tete 
demonstration.  We  are,  indeed,  very  much  in  doubt — if  this  alleged 
science  should  prove  to  be  any  thing  but  a  lusus  naturce,  an  ignis- 
fatuus — whether  it  would  not  be  infinitely  more  pregnant  of  evil  than 
of  good  to  human  kind. 

But,  as  yet  advised,  we  are  slow  to  believe  its  boasted  claims  and 
marvellous  pretensions.  There  is  one  fact  of  colossal  magnitude, 
strongly  asserted  by  those  who,  from  a  large  field  of  observation  and 
innumerable  trials  made,  have  a  right  and  an  authority  to  speak  which 
I  have  not,  from  any  attention  which  I  have  paid  to  the  subject.  It  is 
this :  No  one  has  ever  yet  been  magnetized  in  good  health  when  free 
from  any  suspicion  or  apprehension  of  the  operation  to  which  he  or  she 
was  subjected.  The  mind  or  the  imagination  must  be  excited  or  mor- 
bidly affected,  from  representations  made,  in  order  to  superinduce  a 
sta+e  of  feeling  in  harmony  with  the  mind  and  intentions  of  the  ope- 
rator. Now,  as  conceded  on  all  hands,  ''physical  agents  act  of  them- 
selves, independent  of  the  will  of  the  subject.''    This  is  essential  to  ali 


200  PHRENOLOGY,  ANIMAL  MAGNETISM, 

our  conceptions  of  physical  agency  in  all  cases.  But  not  so  in  moral 
agencies.  In  these,  the  will  of  the  agent  and  of  the  subject — the 
operator  and  the  operated  upon — must,  in  every  act,  simultaneously 
sympathize  or  harmonize.  We  have,  indeed,  mental  as  well  as  physical 
invalids  in  the  great  family  of  man.  These  are  rather  passive  instru- 
ments, and,  in  the  hand  of  every  tempter,  of  every  ingenious  or  enthu- 
siastic operator,  an  easy  prey.  The  extent  of  this  subtle  influence, 
whether  in  the  hand  or  in  the  eye  of  the  charmer  and  of  his  prey, 
has  never  yet  been  ascertained  either  in  man  or  in  the  brutal  tribes 
of  earth. 

The  true  philosophy  of  mesmerism  is  to  be  found  in  the  infirmities 
of  human  nature — its  morbid  sensibility,  its  credulity,  its  insatiate 
curiosity,  its  love  of  the  marvellous,  and  the  necessary  absence  of  self- 
government.  These  render  their  subjects  the  easy  prey  of  imagina- 
tion, and  of  the  faith  or  of  the  self-confidence  of  bold  experimentalists, 
themselves  too  often  as  much  deceived  as  deceivers. 

A  clear  and  comprehensive  conception  of  the  laws  of  sympathy  and 
of  animal  influence  upon  animal  bodies,  with  the  diflerent  states  of  the 
parties,  will  go  a  sufficient  length  to  free  every  one  from  being  a  proper 
subject  for  the  manifestations  of  the  too  credulous  or  too  cunning  hand 
of  well-practised  manipulators.  The  sinful  curiosity  to  acquire,  and 
the  presumption  to  impart,  may,  indeed,  conspire  to  yield  results  as 
astounding  as  they  may  be  judicial,  on  the  part  of  divine  govern- 
ment, to  furnish  those  who  presume  to  open  the  sealed  volumes  of  for- 
bidden knowledge. 

As  in  the  cases  of  those  who  formerly  consulted  demons,  who  had 
I  ecu  arse  to  familiar  spirits  and  to  wizards,  seeking  to  unseal  the 
volumes  of  human  destiny  and  to  pry  into  secrets  which  God  has  as 
kindly  hidden  as  he  has  benevolently  revealed  that  which  man  ought 
to  know  of  himself  and  of  his  destiny  in  order  to  his  true  and  lasting 
glory,  honor  and  felicity,  God  has  now  given  an  undiscerning  mind,  so 
that  a  deceived  heart  has  turned  multitudes  aside ;  insomuch  that 
none  of  them  can  deliver  his  own  soul  from  the  infatuation,  and, 
therefore,  can  neither  see  nor  say,  "  Is  there  not  a  lie,  an  error,  in  my 
right  hand?" 

That  all  bodies — the  human  body  as  well  as  every  other  body,  mine- 
ral, animal,  or  vegetable — are  the  subjects  and  residences  of  an  electric 
spirit,  no  one,  tolerably  initiated  into  the  secrets  of  nature,  either  can 
or  will  deny.  And  what  is  this  electric  spirit,  permeating,  in  certain 
degrees  and  dispensations,  every  thing  terraqueous,  organic  and  in- 
organ^V?    Are  its  mysteries  all  revealed?    Is  any  one  of  them  all 


CLAIRVOYANCE,  SPIRITUAL  RAPPING3,  ETC. 


201 


revealed?  No:  not  one.  Science — true  science — cheerfully  puts  its 
finger  upon  its  lip,  and  nods  assent.  Ether,  atmosphere,  water,  earth, 
are  its  grand  and  august  treasure-houses.  These  are  all  distinct 
bodies,  each  one  severally  possessing  its  own  treasures  of  this  mys- 
terious spirit.  And  yet  it  is  not  pure  spirit.  It  is  only  relatively  so 
called.  Not  one  of  its  phenomena  is  perfectly  comprehended  by  any 
living  man.  In  one  class  of  bodies  it  is  made  manifest  only  by  fric- 
tion ;  in  another  class,  by  sensible  communication.  Some  bodies 
absolutely  refuse  to  receive  electricity  by  communication ;  one  class 
becoming  electrical  by  friction  only,  another  only  by  communication. 
This,  indeed,  is  not  an  absolute  law.  By  force  of  human  genius  they 
can  be  made  convertible  into  each  other.  Pools  of  water  have  been  so 
electrified  as,  on  presentation  of  the  human  hand,  to  yield  enough  to 
produce  pain.  But  we  must  ascend  towards  heaven  to  find  its  proper 
habitation.  Its  home  is  the  ether  that  lies  beyond  the  realms  of 
atmospheric  air.  Hence,  its  solemn  and  sublime  chambers  never  can 
be  entered  by  the  foot  of  mortal  man. 

We  may  talk  of  the  quantities  of  electricity  under  the  denomina- 
tions of  positive  and  negative;  of  its  residences,  transmigrations, 
transformations  or  metamorphoses ;  but  its  secret  chambers  and  its 
domestic  laws  no  son  of  earth  can  penetrate  till  he  has  shuffled  off  this 
mortal  coil. 

We  may  caU  the  electricities  positive  and  negative,  vitreous  or 
resinous,  without  increasing  our  knowledge  of  either.  We  may  ascer- 
tain its  immutable  laws — such  as  that  the  rubbing  and  the  rubbed 
body  always  require  opposite  electricities,  and  that  the  intensity  of  the 
electric  force  resembles  the  law  of  gravitation,  being  inversely  as  the 
square  of  its  distance.  But  of  its  essence  and  its  primordial  modus 
operandi  the  philosopher  is  yet  as  ignorant  as  an  Indian  from  the 
cliffs  of  the  Andes  or  a  Bedoueen  from  the  deserts  of  Arabia. 

Shall  we,  then,  assume  as  a  fact  that  a  human  hand,  applied  friction- 
wise  to  a  human  body,  may  abstract  from  it  a  substance  sensibly 
affecting  the  brain,  and  at  the  same  time  dogmatically  affirm  that, 
with  the  fluid  abstracted  or  communicated — the  one  positive,  the  other 
negative — the  mind  of  the  subject  is  perfectly  identified  with  that  of 
the  agent  ?  Such  an  inference  would  be  at  open  war  with  every  prin- 
ciple and  law  of  sound  reason  and  of  human  experience.  But,  that 
some  physical  effect  might  and  would  accrue  to  one  or  both,  might,  on 
some  of  the  laws  of  animated  nature,  be  lawfully  presumed.  If,  indeed, 
the  mind  of  man  were  a  mere  fluid — even  the  most  recondite  and  ab- 
stract— the  inference  would  not  be  so  perfectly  incongruous,  illogical 


2U2 


PHRENOLOGY,  ANIMAL  MAGNETISM, 


and  revolting.  But  to  identify  the  human  understanding,  spirit,  rea- 
son, conscience  or  affections  with  matter  solid,  liquid  or  gaseous,  is 
alike  at  war  with  reason  and  revelation,  as  well  as  with  all  the  canons 
of  a  $ound  and  safe  philosophy.  But  all  that  we  have  assumed  or  said  is 
with  reference  to  the  spiritual  rappings  or  knockings — the  legitimate 
result  of  mesmerism  and  clairvoyance,  as  developed  in  the  recent  con- 
versations with  the  dead.  The  links  of  this  chain,  however  curious, 
should  we  attempt  now  to  trace  them,  would  trench  alike  upon  our 
time  and  your  patience.  We  prefer,  on  such  premises,  to  be  sug- 
gestive rather  than  dogmatic. 

To  save  time,  I  will  then  assume  that  with  a  good  ^'medium,'' 
and  a  quantum  sufficit  of  animal  magnetism;  the  spiritual  knockings, 
first  heard  in  modern  times  in  the  house  of  Rev.  John  Wesley,  believed 
in  by  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  and  reported  and  commented  on  by  Dr. 
Priestley,  are  true  and  veritable  facts;  that  old  Jeffrey's  ghost  did 
torment  the  family  of  the  distinguished  Wesleys,  more  or  less,  during 
three-and-thirty  years;  and  that  the  fearful  knocks  first  heard  in 
Hydesville,  in  the  town  of  Arcadia,  New  York,  in  1847,  afterwards 
tenanted  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox,  staunch  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church ;  testified  to  by  so  many  true  and  veritable  citizens 
in  New  York ;  more  fully  developed  in  Rochester,  Auburn,  Skaneateles, 
and  recently  in  rhany  towns  in  this  Union,  according  to  the  prophecy 
that  went  before  concerning  them,  through  the  distinguished  Baron 
Swed^borg,  in  his  prophecies  concerning  the  year  1852,  which  was  to 
decide  the  fate  of  his  Church  and  doctrines,  are  all  true  and  veritable 
facts  and  documents,  of  unquestionable  truth  and  verity.  I  do  hereby, 
therefore,  engross  and  accept,  as  veritable  and  substantially  true,  with 
a  reasonable  discount  for  the  false  and  hypocritical  pretences  of  some 
ring-streaked,  speckled  and  spotted  goats,  that  have  insinuated  them- 
selves, horns  off,  amongst  these  true  and  honest  believers,  the  facts  as 
stated.  Having,  then,  thus  cordially  admitted  the  whole  premises  and 
facts  claimed,  I  proceed  to  offer  a  few  reasons  and  considerations  why 
they  ought  to  be  promptly  repudiated  by  all  rational  and  well-informed 
Christians  and  citizens,  in  these  United  States -and  elsewhere. 

Necromancy  is  just  as  true  as  history,  and  as  much  to  be  believed.  It 
is  a  universally  conceded  doctrine  of  revelation,  accredited  by  all  learned 
Protestants,  from  Luther  down  to  the  present  day.  It  is  both  a  science 
and  an  art,  true  as  the  Bible.  As  a  science,  it  develops  a  portion  of 
the  unseen  world,  as  clearly  as  Newton  developed  a  portion  of  the  seen 
world.  There  is  a  spirit  world  as  well  as  a  material  world.  There  is  a 
world  of  darkness  and  death  as  well  is  a  world  of  light  and  life. 


CLAIEVOYANCE,  SPIRITUAL  RAPPINGS,  ETC. 


203: 


Necromancy  was  taught  in  Egypt  before  the  birth  of  Moses.  The 
art  of  conferring  with  the  dead  was  well  understood  in  Egypt,  whence 
it  travelled  all  over  the  earth.  Hence,  laws  concerning  it  were  a  part 
and  parcel  of  the  Jewish  code.  God  never  enacted  laws  against  abso- 
lute non-entities.  The  fact  of  his  enacting  laws  against  wizards, 
witches  and  necromancy  as  much  substantiates  and  authenticates  their 
reality  as  that  of  his  enacting  laws  against  sodomy  and  Sodomites,  and 
against  the  image- worship  of  Pagandom,  demonstrates  their  actual 
existence.  Balaam,  the  enchanter  and  soothsayer,  was  as  real  a  cha- 
racter and  prophet  as  Moses.  The  witch  of  Endor  and  her  necromancy 
were  as  much  facts  as  were  King  Saul  and  the  prophet  Samuel.  And 
that  she  had  power  over  the  dead,  is  just  as  veritable  as  that  Samuel 
had  power  over  the  living.  Down  to  the  Christian  era,  witches,  familiar 
spirits  and  witchcraft  obtained  all  over  Asia.  Paul  was  beset  by  a 
Pythonic  spirit,  as  truly  as  Jesus  was  tempted  by  Satan  in  person. 
These  are  Bible  facts  as  palpable  and  as  demonstrable  as  the  dis- 
possession of  demons  or  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus.  No  man,  who 
believes  the  Bible  testimony,  can  deny  it.  God  commanded  Moses  to 
punish  with  death  the  witches  that  troubled  Israel.  And  Paul 
places  witchcraft  amongst  the  execrable  sins  of  his  day,  and  warns 
Christians  against  it.  Some  semi-infidels  amongst  modern  Christians 
have  endeavored  to  ridicule  this  belief.  Knaves  and  fools  alike  have 
made  a  mockery  of  these  awful  realities,  as  much  as  Universalians 
make  a  mock  of  hell.  But  I  never  knew  a  well-educated  man,  or  a  man 
of  a  vigorous  or  enlightened  mind,  who  denied  or  doubted  these  awful 
realities. 

God  has  been  pleased  to  restrain,  and  again  to  let  Satan  loose  a  little 
season,  and  now  his  coming  is  heralded  from  Boston  to  California  and 
Oregon.  These  indications,  as  usual,  are  ridiculed  by  materialists  and 
atheists  of  every  school.  Christians  believe,  and  fear  for  coming 
events.  These  shadows  indicate  an  approaching  crisis.  Let  us,  then, 
be  prepared  for  it.  The  wise  shall  understand,  while  the  foolish  virgins 
are  asleep  and  have  no  oil  in  their  lamps. 

Never  were  actors  more  true  and  faithful  to  their  calling  than  these 
pretended  spirit-rappers.  They  are  always  communing  with  the  spirits 
of  the  dead.  They  are  asking  and  obtaining  messages  from  them,  but 
only  from  the  wicked  dead.  They  are  lying  spirits,  pretending  to 
speak  from  heaven  above,  but  they  speak  from  the  earth  and  below  the 
earth.  They  are  true  to  their  prophetic  character ;  and  alas  for  them 
that  consult  these  too  familiar  spirits,  whether  real  or  pretended,  which 
peep,  and  rap,  and  mutter  !   They  are  all  genuine  Universalians.  They 


204 


PHRENOLOGY,  ANIMAL  MAGNETISM, 


take  away  from  sinners  the  fear  of  death  and  hell.  Not  one  of  them, 
30  far  as  I  have  heard,  gives  a  single  intimation  of  he".l.  All  their 
communications  allure  to  the  belief  that  the  friends  of  all  inquirers 
are  now  in  Abraham's  bosom. 
.  There  have  always  been  a  few  such  real  or  false  pretenders,  and 
again  they  are  let  loose  from  prison,  and  are  everywhere  busied  in 
deluding  those  who  have  not  the  true  faith  in  their  hearts.  Since  the 
true  gospel  has  been  promulged,  and  is  being  promulged,  they  are 
exceedingly  fierce  against  it,  and  take  occasion  to  oppose  it  by  trans- 
forming themselves  into  angels  of  light.  They  now  say  that  Christ  is 
in  the  desert,  or,  rather,  most  of  them  delight  to  say  he  is  in  the  secret 
chambers.  How  fearfully  does  this  comport  with  those  secret  tables, 
the  mediums,  aiid  the  queries  and  responses  echoing  from  Eochester  to 
the  centre  and  circumference  of  this  much-favored  land  of  Bibles ! 

But  in  all  that  I  have  conceded,  I  have  not  yet  conceded  their 
reality.  These  are  such  poor  demons,  and  appear  in  forms  so  question- 
able and  mean,  that  I  cannot  fully  credit  their  reality.  If  demons 
they  be,  they  are  the  meanest  demons,  and  the  most  bereft  of  talent 
and  capacity  to  speak,  I  presume  to  say,  in  the  whole  annals  of  demon- 
ology.  We  have  read  of  demons  of  respectable  character  and  standing, 
in  former  ages ;  but  these  New  York  demons  are  the  veriest  liliputian 
demons  I  have  ever  read  of.  They  can  speak  neither  a  dead  nor  a 
living  tongue.  They  peep,  and  mutter,  and  rap,  and  thump,  as  the  most 
clownish,  ill-bred  demons  in  universal  history.  They  are  too  exceed- 
ingly fond  of  the  ladies,  and  associate  quite  too  familiarly  with  them. 
They  even  impinge  upon  their  wardrobes,  their  secret  chambers,  and 
have  the  rudeness  to  chatter  about  it  at  a  distance.  They  come  in 
shapes  so  questionable,  that  I  have  almost  concluded  they  are  only 
hypocritical  demons.  .  I  have  rummaged  over  one  of  their  most  erudite 
volumes  of  conversations  and  communications,  and  had  intended  to 
embellish  my  address  with  a  few  of  their  flowers  of  rhetoric,  but  I  am 
positively  so  electrified  by  shame,  that  I  can  scarcely  bring  myself  to 
make  a  single  quotation  from  their  low,  vulgar,  or  clownish  responses. 

Mr.  Wesley's  ghost  Jefi"rey,  of  Epworth,  Lincolnshire,  England,  was 
a  ghost  of  some  respectability  of  language  and  address.  And  Mrs. 
-Seeress  Harper,  formerly  Miss  Emily  Wesley,  was  a  lady,  every  inch  of 
her,  and  although  the  ghost  Jefirey  haunted  her  for  four-and-thirty 
years,  he  was,  upon  the  whole,  rather  genteel;  and  she,  in  all  their 
intercourse,  never  lost  her  happy  equilibrium. 

It  is  due  to  my  present  audience  and  to  those  absent  spirits,  rappers, 
mediums,  and  all  that  wait  upon  them  for  illumination,  that  we  cite, 


CLAIRVOYANCE,  SPIRITUAL  RAPPINGS,  LI'C. 


205 


from  their  annals,  a  few  of  the  new  revelations  and  communications 
with  which  they  have  been  favored.  We  will,  therefore,  propound  a 
few  questions,  and  give  their  answers  :— 

1.  When  a  spirit  leaves  the  human  form,  how  does  it  look  ? 
Davis. — ''Spirits  retain  the  same  bodily  form  in  the  spiritual  sphere,. 

and  at  first  they  feel  as  if  they  were  only  transformed  to  a  country 
they  know  not.  It  is,  however,  not  long  after  the  transition  before 
the  interior  senses  are  opened :  then  they  behold  and  appreciate  the 
change  and  the  beauties  with  which  they  are  surrounded." 

2.  Do  embodied  and  disembodied  spirits  intercommunicate  ? 
Davis,  Clairvoyant. — ''  It  is  a  truth  that  spirits  commune  with  one 

another  while  one  is  in  the  body  and  the  other  in  the  higher  spheres, 
even,  too,  when  the  person  in  the  body  is  unconscious  of  the  influence, 
and  hence  cannot  be  convinced  of  the  fact.  This  truth  will,  ere  long, 
present  itself  in  the  form  of  a  living  demonstration."* 

3.  How  will  the  world  receive  this  new  light  ? 

Davis. — "  The  world  will  hail  with  delight  the  ushering  in  of  that 
era,  when  the  interiors  of  men  will  be  opened,  and  the  spiritual  com- 
munion shall  be  established,  such  as  is  now  being  enjoyed  by  the  in- 
habitants of  Mars,  Jupiter  and  Saturn,  because  of  their  superior 
refinement."'^ 

4.  Pray,  Mr.  Davis,  as  you  illustrate  by  the  spiritual  communion 
now  enjoyed  by  the  inhabitants  of  Mars,  Jupiter  and  Saturn,  of  course 
you  have  been  there ;  but  we,  never  having  been  there,  cannot  under- 
stand you :  would  you  please  enlighten  us  in  that  point,  that  we  may 
understand  you  in  this  ? 

Davis. — ''I  cannot  communicate  with  you  on  that  subject." 

[JSnter  Reverend  A.  H.  Jarvis,  of  the  Methodist  Church.'] 

Mr.  Jarvis. — "There  are  many  facts  which  have  come  under  my 
observation  equally  convincing  of  the  intelligence  and  utility  of  the 
communications  from  these  unseen  agents,  who  I  now  believe  are  con- 
tinually about  us,  and  more  perfectly  acquainted  with  all  our  ways, 
and  even  our  thoughts,  than  we  are  with  each  other.  But  the  fact  in 
reference  to  my  friend  Pickard  is  what  you  desire.  He  was  at  my 
house  on  Friday  afternoon,  April  6th,  1849.  None  of  the  Fox  family 
was  present.  While  at  the  table,  we  had  frequent  communications  on 
different  subjects.  Pickard  was  requested  to  ask  questions.  He 
desired  to  know  who  it  was  that  would  answer  questions.  The  answer 
was,  'I  am  your  mother,  Mary  Pickard.'  Her  name,  or  the  fact  of  her 
death,  was  not  known  to  any  of  us.    The  next  Monday  evening  he 


*  See  Principles  of  Nature,  pp.  658,  675. 


206 


PHRENOLOGY,  ANIMAL  MAGNETISM, 


(Pickard)  was  at  Mr.  G.'s,  and  tarried  there  over  night.  He  there 
received  a  communication,  purporting  to  be  from  his  mother,  saving, 
'  Your  child  is  dead.'  He  came  immediately  to  my  place,  and  said  he 
should  take  the  stage  for  home,  (Lockport,  sixty  miles  distant.)  He 
left  in  the  stage  at  eight  or  nine  A.  M.  At  twelve  M.  I  returned  to  my 
house,  my  wife  meeting  me  with,  a  telegraph-envelop.  I  broke  the 
seal  and  read  mentally  first : — 

"'KocHESTEK,  April  10,  1849. 

'^'By  telegraph  from  Lockport,  to  Rev.  A.  H.  Jarvis,  No.  4  West 
Street.  Tell  Mr.  Pickard,  if  you  can  find  him,  his  child  died  this 
morning.    Answer.  R.  Mallory.' 

''I  then  read  it  to  my  wife,  and  said,  'This  is  one  of  the  best  and  most 
convincing  evidences  of  the 'intelligence  of  those  invisible  agents;*  and 
then  I  added,  '  God's  telegraph  has  outdone  Morse's  altogether.'  " 

"Was  not  this  a  glorious  message  from  the  spirit  land  ? 
We  will  take  another  specimen,  from  the  New  York  Tribune,  of  De- 
cember 28,  1849  :— 

''After  this  report  and  some  discussion  on  the  subject,  the  audience 
selected  another  committee,  composed  of  the  following  persons: — Dr. 
H.  H.  Langworthy,  Hon.  Frederick  Whittlesey,  D.  C.  McCallum,  Wil- 
liam Fisher,  of  Rochester,  and  Hon.  A.  P.  Hascall,  of  Le  Roy.  At  the 
next  lecture  this  committee  reported  that  they  went  into  the  investiga- 
tion at  the  office  of  Chancellor  Whittlesey,  and  they  heard  the  sound 
on  the  floor,  on  the  wall,  and  door ;  that  the  ladies  were  placed  in  dif- 
ferent positions,  and,  like  the  other  committee,  they  were  wholly  unable 
to  tell  from  what  the  sound  proceeded  or  how  it  was  made ;  that  Dr. 
Langworthy  made  observations  with  a  stethoscope,  to  ascertain  whether 
there  was  any  movement  with  the  lungs,  and  found  not  the  least  dif- 
ference when  the  sounds  were  made ;  and  there  was  no  kind  of  proba- 
bility or  possibility  of  their  being  made  by  ventriloquism,  as  some  had 
supposed — and  they  could  not  have  been  made  by  machinery. 

"  This  committee  was  composed  of  Dr.  E.  P.  Langworthy,  Dr.  J.  Gates, 
Wm.  Fitzhugh,  Esq.,  W.  L.  Burtis,  and  L.  Kenyon.  This  committee 
met  at  the  rooms  of  Dr.  Gates,  at  the  Rochester  House,  and  appointed 
a  committee  of  ladies,  who  took  the  young  women  into  a  room,  disrobed 
them,  and  examined  their  persons  and  clothing,  to  be  sure  there  were 
no  fixtures  about  them  that  could  produce  the  sounds.  When  satisfied 
on  this  point,  the  committee  of  ladies  tried  some  other  experiments,  and 
gave  the  young  ladies  the  following  certificate  : — 

*' '  When  they  were  standing  on  pillows,  with  a  handkerchief  tied 
around  the  bottom  of  their  dresses,  tight  to  the  ankles,  we  all  heard 
the  rapping  on  the  wall  and  floor  distinctly. 

(^Signed)  ' '  Mrs.  Stone, 

'  Mrs.  J.  Gates, 

'  Miss  M.  P.  Lawrence.' 


CLAIRVOYANCE,  SPIRITUAL  RAPPINGS,  ETC. 


207 


''In  the  evening  the  committee,  through  their  chairman,  Dr.  Lang- 
worthy,  made  a  very  full  report  of  their  examinations  during  the  day. 
They  reported  they  excluded  all  friends  of  the  two  ladies  from  the  com- 
mittee-room, and  had  the  examination  only  in  presence  of  the  com- 
mittee of  gentlemen,  and  ladies  chosen  by  them.  Notwithstanding  all 
this  precaution,  these  sounds  were  heard  when  the  ladies  stood  on  large 
feather  pillows,  without  shoes,  and  in  other  various  positions,  both  on 
the  floor  and  on  the  wall ;  that  a  number  of  questions  were  asked, 
whiph,  when  answered,  were  generally  correct.  Each  member  of  the 
committee  reported  separately,  agreeing  with,  and  corroborating,  the 
first  statements." 

We  will  adduce  only  another  specimen  of  these  revelations : — 

''Thousands  of  questions  have  been  asked  on  these  points,  and  have 
been  answered  by  spirits  who  purported  to  be  Emanuel  Swedenborg, 
the  'Seeress  of  Prevorst,'  George  Fox,  Galen,  William  E.  Channing,  Na- 
thaniel P.  Rogers,  John  Wesley,  Samuel  Wesley,  Percy  Bysshe  Shelley, 
Prof.  David  P.  Page,  and  many  others. 

Question. — What  is  your  mission  to  the  world  ? 

Answer. — To  do  good.  The  time  will  come  when  we  will  communi- 
cate universally. 

Question. — Of  what  benefit  will  it  be  to  mankind  ? 

Answer. — We  can  reveal  truths  to  the  world,  and  men  will  become 
more  harmonious  and  better  prepared  for  the  higher  spheres. 

Question. — Some  persons  imagine  that  the  spirits  are  evil,  and  that 
Satan  is  transformed  into  an  angel  of  light  to  deceive  us.  What  shall 
we  say  to  them  ? 

Answer. — Tell  them  some  of  their  bigotry  will  have  to  be  dispensed 
with  before  they  can  believe  we  are  good  spirits.  Ask  them  why  they 
refuse  to  investigate.  They  are  not  as  wise  as  they  suppose  themselves 
to  be. 

Question. — Can  ignorant  spirits  rap  ? 

Answer. — Yes.  (An  ignorant  spirit  rapped,  and  the  difi'erence  was 
very  plain  between  that  and  the  other.) 

Question. — Are  these  sounds  made  by  rapping? 

Amwer. — No.  They  are  made  by  the  will  of  the  spirits  causing  a 
concussion  of  the  atmosphere  and  making  the  sounds  appear  in  what- 
ever place  they  please. 

Question. — Can  they  make  the  sounds  to  all  persons  ? 

Answer. — No.    The  time  will  come  when  they  can. 

Question. — Is  there  some  peculiar  state  of  the  body  that  makes  it 
easier  to  communicate  with  some  persons  than  others? 

Answer. — Yes." 

Such,  gentlemen,  are  the  ^"^^a^i^-Divine  revelations  now  being  made 
to  the  world  by  the  spirits  in  prison,  or  somewhere  else,  through  these 
elect  gentlemen  and  ladies.    If  you  desire  to  have  their  own  explana- 


208 


PHRENOLOGY,  ANIMAL  MAGNETISM, 


tion  of  these  mysteries,  I  can  give  it  to  you  from  their  own  pens.  It 
is  all  compressed  into  one  period.    Here  il.  is  : — 

''They  (clairvoyants)  have  the  full  power  of  sympathy  with  the 
spirits,  through  the  medium  of  the  nervous  fluid  or  electricity,  which 
is  the  only  medium  of  communication  between  spirits  in  and  out  of 
the  body." 

On  these  premises  you  can  philosophize  without  my  aid,  and  readily 
appreciate  the  amount  of  credulity  which  the  Christian  philosopher  has 
now  to  encounter.  From  such  revolting  spectacles  and  silly  preten- 
sions, I  am  ashamed  and  mortified  to  say  that  we  must  fix,  at  no  very 
elevated  point,  the  standard  of  Christian  intelligence  and  good  sense 
of  a  great  mass  of  our  community  who  are  led  away  by  this  solemn 
mockery. 

But,  before  we  close,  it  may  be  expedient  to  suggest  a  few  criteria 
by  which  all  such  pretensions  may  be  tried,  however  plausible  and 
with  whatever  show  of  evidence  they  may  claim  the  attention  of  an 
enlightened  community. 

1.  We  either  have,  or  have  not,  a  Divine  Bevelation,  peifectly 
adapted  to  the  genius  and  condition  of  human  nature.  The  educated 
mind  of  Christendom,  during  a  period  of  more  than  eighteen  centuries, 
has  concurred  in  the  belief  and  assertion  of  this  transcendent  fact. 
The  philosophers,  poets,  orators,  legislators,  and  all  the  highly  gifted 
and  cultivated  leaders  of  public  opinion,  in  the  civilized  world,  have 
conceded,  that,  of  earth's  literature,  science  and  religion,  the  Bible 
itself  is,  'par  excellence^  the  Book  of  Books,  worthy  of  the  Supreme  In- 
telligence to  be  its  Author,  and  of  man  to  be  its  instrument,  subject 
and  object.  It  has  passed  through  every  ordeal — through  the  burning 
fiery  furnace  of  the  most  scathing  criticism ;  and,  like  the  pure  gold 
of  Ophir,  it  has  come  out  of  that  furnace  not  merely  unscathed,  but 
shining  with  a  lustre,  a  beauty,  a  glory,  that  surpasses  all  the  litera- 
ture, science  and  religion  of  all  ages,  races  and  generations  of  men. 
The  arm  of  flesh  will  sooner  quell  the  waves  of  the  sea,  arrest  the 
winds  of  heaven,  or  pluck  the  sun  from  the  centre  of  its  system, 
than  human  wisdom,  genius  or  learning  fasten  upon  any  page  of  this 
Divine  Volume  a  single  characteristic  of  weakness  or  folly — of  fraud 
or  fiction. 

Truth  and  error  have  their  appropriate  characteristics.  Nature  and 
art — I  mean  nature  and  human  art,  (for  all  nature  is  but  art  unknown 
to  man) — are  distinguishable  to  every  educated  age.  No  honey-bee 
ever  sought  honey  from  an  artificial  flower  in  all  its  bloom  of  beauty 


CLAIRVOYANCE,  SPIRITUAL  RAPPINGS,  ETC. 


209 


No  one  of  perspicacity,  who  has  read  with  attention  the  oracles  of  any 
Divine  prophet  or  apostle,  will  for  a  moment  listen  to  the  prosing  non- 
sense and  folly  of  a  mesmerized  clairvoyant.  To  listen  to  such  stuff 
as  is  printed  from  the  lips  of  such  sages,  as  a  communication  from 
heaven^  is  to  give  proof  positive  that  the  party  in  attendance  has 
never  seen  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  in  his  full-orbed  glory,  and 
knows  nothing  of  his  meridian  splendor. 

2.  But,  in  the  second  place,  these  assumed  revelations  are  private 
revelations,  and  from  private  impulse,  and  are,  consequently,  of  private 
interpretation.  Of  course,  then,  they  are  not  of  any  public  importance. 
This  is  not  a  seal,  but  a  brand  from  heaven,  of  their  imposture.  No 
oracle  of  God  is  of  any  private  impulse  or  private  interpretation,  for 
the  holy  men  of  olden  times  spake  as  they  were  moved,  not  by  angel 
or  spirit,  but  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  is,  itself,  an  explicit  refutation 
of  them.  No  divinely-inspired  man  ever  was  a  fortune-teller,  or  a 
communicator  of  private  intelligence  for  the  good  or  behoof  of  any 
individual.  Angels  have  been  sent  on  special  errands  to  special 
persons,  for  public  interest ;  but  the  Divine  Spirit  never  condescended 
to  answer  any  man's  petition  concerning  his  own  personal  property, 
domicil,  goods  or  chattels.  These  spiritual  rappers  and  their  spirits, 
in  all  their  speculations,  have  stamped  upon  themselves  the  brand 
of  their  own  fraud  and  imposition,  and  yet  have  not  sense  to  read 
or  see  it. 

3>  When  God  interposes,  it  is  on  an  occasion  worthy  of  himself. 
There  was  always  a  Moses  or  a  Joshua  in  the  field — a  Lawgiver  or  a 
Redeemer  on  the  stage — when  God  ''rapped."  His  voice  then  shook, 
not  a  door,  but  the  earth  and  the  heavens.  He  needed  no  lamp  nor 
sensible  light,  for  his  own  glory  veiled  the  sun  and  hid  the  stars  from 
mortal  vision. 

"When  Israel  went  out  of  Egypt, 
The  house  of  Jacob  from  a  people  of  strange  language, 
Judah  was  his  sanctuary, 
And  Israel  his  dominion. 

The  sea  saw  it,  and  fled ;  '  '  , 

The  Jordan  was  driven  back ; 

The  mountains  skipped  like  rams, 

And  the  little  hills  like  lambs. 

What  ailed  thee,  0  thou  sea,  that  thou  fleddest? 

Thou  Jordan,  that  thou  wast  driven  back  ? 

Ye  mountains,  that  ye  skipped  like  rams, 

And  ye  little  hills,  like  lambs  ? 


14 


210 


PHRENOLOGY,  ANIMAL  MAGNETISM, 


The  earth  trembled  at  the  presence  of  the  Lord, 
At  the  presence  of  the  God  of  Jacob ; 
Who  turned  the  rock  into  a  pool  of  water, 
And  flint  into  fountains  of  water." 

In  what  contrast  with  these  scenes  stand  the  domiciles  of  Mr.  Fox, 
of  Lyman  Granger,  and  of  Johnny  Grott,  of  Rochester,  Auburn,  or 
Skaneateles,  with  their  young  groups  of  ghostly  faces  peeping,  peering, 
muttering  around  a  drowsy  medium,  half  Mercury,  half  man,  waiting 
for  the  news  from  the  spirits  in  some  infernal  purgatory  beyond  some 
Stygean  pool ! 

It  is  a  canon  of  Protestantism,  worthy  of  a  golden  tablet,  that  to 
the  Bible's  last  amen  nothing  is  to  be  added  by  any  new  revelation 
or  commandment  of  demon,  angel  or  man.  Between  the  last  voice 
of  the  Apocalypse  and  the  final  trumpet  of  man's  drama,  no  new- 
oracle,  dream  or  vision  is  promised  by  God  or  expected  by  any  intel- 
ligent man. 

Indeed,  as  soon  as  the  drama  of  redemption  w^as  completed,  and  the 
keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  given  in  charge  to  the  Apostle  Peter, 
all  subsequent  preachers,  teachers  and  inquirers  were,  by  visions  or 
precepts  from  heaven,  sent  to  hear  words  from  Peter,  which  all  thai 
learn,  believe  and  obey  will  need  no  angel,  ghost,  medium  or  mission- 
ary from  another  sphere,  to  teach  them  any  thing  which  they  ought 
to  know,  to  fill  up  their  mission  and  destiny  of  life,  or  to  consummate 
their  own  glory,  honor  and  blessedness. 

-  Young  gentlemen,  we  live  in  an  age  of  wonders,  and  we  Anglo- 
Saxons  are,  in  fact,  a  wonderful  people.  We  have,  too,  as  a  people,  a 
wonderful  destiny  in  this  world,  beyond  our  individual  personal  destiny 
in  an  eternal  universe,  on  the  mere  confines  of  which  we  yet  stand. 
7ou  have  peculiar  privileges,  and,  consequently,  will  have  peculiar 
duties,  and  a  peculiar  destiny,  in  this  world.  The  truly  educated 
portions  of  our  country,  in  the  broad  and  large  import  of  the  word 
education,  are  not  one  in  a  thousand  of  our  aggregate  population.  The 
credulity  of  many  infidels  and  skeptics  has  afforded  a  somewhat  per- 
plexing theme  to  certain  moral  philosophers.  "We  allude  to  it  no 
further,  at  present,  than  to  express  our  wonder  at  the  facile  belief  of 
some  schools  of  infidelity  in  new  revelations.  They  reject  Moses  and 
the  prophets,  Jesus  and  the  apostles,  and  believe  in  the  day-dreams 
and  visions  of  every  new  pretender  to  some  new  form  of  supernatural- 
ism.  Hence  the  ready  ear  and  voluntary  belief  which  they  yield  to 
every  pretence  of  some  new  light  from  the  spirit  world. 

Within  a  few  years  there  has  been  a  very  general  excitement  amongst 


3 


CLAIRVOYANCE,  SPIRITUAL  RAPPINGb,  ETC. 


211 


this  class  on  the  subject  of  new  communications  from  the  dead.  We 
regard  this  fact  as  at  least  a  very  striking  proof  of  an  all-pervading 
la.tent  interest  in  the  state  of  the  dead,  and  of  the  unsatisfyingness  of 
all  the  mere  philosophies  of  earth  upon  the  unseen  and  the  eternal 
world.  Human  nature,  in  its  more  rational  forms,  without  a  positive 
and  explicit  revelation  of  a  future  life,  has  never  been,  and  never  can 
be,  at  rest.  It  demands  a  God,  a  future  judgment,  and  a  future  life. 
It  has  hopes  and  fears,  however  latent,  that  occasionally  develop  their 
positive  existence,  and  cannot,  by  any  possibility, 'be  either  eradicated 
or  annihilated.  But  the  misfortune  is  that  men  seek  to  conceal  or  to 
secrete  this  innate  dread  of  the  great  unseen  and  the  great  unknown, 
rather  than  to  institute  an  earnest  search  or  inquiry  after  the  great 
secret  of  his  being,  character  and  will.  Man  needs  a  revelation  of 
God  as  much  as  he  needs  the  breath  of  life.  The  future  of  himself  is 
always  infinitely  more  interesting  to  him  than  all  his  experiences  of  the 
past.  Hence  the  facile  ear  of  even  a  stern  unbeliever  in  the  Christian 
revelation  to  every  new,  and  strange,  and  mysterious  indication  of  a 
spiritual  sphere  and  of  a  future  life.  There  are  at  this  very  hour, 
I  am  constrained  to  think,  myriads  of  persons  more  laborious  and 
indefatigable  in  their  inquiries  after  mesmerism,  clairvoyance  and 
spiritual  rappings,  than  they  have  ever  been  to  investigate  the  claims 
of  Moses  or  of  the  Messiah.  This,  in  my  opinion,  is  a  proof  that  the 
requirements  of  Moses  and  of  Christ  are  inwardly,  or  at  heart,  more 
resisted  than  the  simple  fact  of  their  real  personality  or  of  their  Divine 
mission.  Human  nature,  fallen  and  degraded  as  it  is,  has  more  of  an 
innate  revulsionary  feeling  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible,  and  especially 
to  the  self-denial  which  Christianity  enjoins,  than  it  has  to  the  stern 
realities  of  a  God,  a  Saviour  and  a  future  life.  Had  Moses  and  the 
prophets,  Jesus  and  the  apostles,  granted  impunity  to,  or  delivered 
oracles  in  harmony  with,  the  demands  of  the  unbridled  lusts  and 
passions  of  men  in  the  flesh,  the  whole  world  would  have  loved, 
honored  and  adored  them,  and  have  gladly  acquiesced  in  their 
mission. 

Men  in  the  flesh  desire  a  heaven,  a  pathway  to  it,  and  a  safe  and 
sure  guide,  provided  that  this  heaven  and  its  highway  suit  their 
taste,  and  that  its  guide  grant  impunity  to  their  inordinate  afiec- 
tions.  Hence  the  growing  popularity  of  Universalianism  in  many 
parts  of  our  country.  It  is  in  good  keeping  with  the  tastes  and 
the  affinities  of  a  secular  population,  and  the  pulsations  of  a  purely 
animal  and  worldly  spirit. 

But  without  an  entire  regeneration  of  body,  soul  and  spirit,  what  sort 


212       PHRENOLOGY,  ANIMAL  MAGNETISM,  CLAIRVOYANCE,  ETC. 


of  a  paradise  would  heaven  be !  Mohammed  and  his  elysium  lying  be- 
yond the  seventh  heaven,  with  its  snow-white  rivers,  its  crystal  fountains, 
its  groves  and  gardens,  more  odoriferous  than  the  purest  musk,  studded 
with  goblets  bright  and  numerous  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  spread  over 
a  saffron  earth,  covered  with  pearls ;  women  formed  of  cognate  musk, 
beautiful  as  angels,  lolling  in  pavilions  of  hollow  pearls,  feasting  on 
nectar  and  ambrosia,  tuning  their  golden  lyres  to  the  odes  of  Venus 
and  Bacchus — the  chief  divinities  of  earth — would  be  the  proper 
heaven,  the  delightful  hope,  of  the  great  majority  of  the  most  polished 
circles  of  London,  Paris  and  Washington  City,  together  with  a  thousand 
other  towns  and  cities  of  inferior  fame. 

But  such  is  not  the  hope  or  the  heaven  of  the  Bible  and  its  Author. 
It  is  a  much  more  beautiful  and  glorious  heaven.  There  grows  the 
tree  of  life.  There  flows  the  river  of  life.  There  are  seen  the  cherubim 
and  the  six-winged  seraphim.  There  are  sweeter  melodies  than  mortal 
ear  has  ever  heard ;  more  heart-ravishing  sights  than  mortal  eye  hath 
ever  seen.  The  jasper,  the  sapphire  and  the  emerald,  the  beryl,  the 
amethyst  and  the  topaz,  and  all  the  diamond  brilliancies  of  earth,  are 
but  the  image  of  its  beauties  and  the  shadow  of  its  glories.  Yet  it  is, 
in  certain  circles,  a  very  unfashionable  place.  It  is  even  in  bad  taste, 
on  some  splendid  occasions,  to  allude  to  it.  And  I  am  not  sure  that 
even  here  it  is  in  good  keeping  with  the  occasion  to  dwell  too  long  upon 
it.  Pardon  me,  then,  you  cynic  critics,  for  trespassing  on  your  for- 
bidden ground.  Turn  we,  then,  to  the  constellation  of  the  Lesser  Bear, — 

"Where,  perhaps,  some  other  beauty  lies, 
The  blessed  cynosure  of  neighboring  eyes." 

And  here  we  shall  only  add,  that,  in  the  midst  of  all  the  knocking, 
rapping  spirits  of  earth,  there  is  a  Spirit  standing  at  the  door  of  every 
heart,  knocking  for  admission,  promising  to  all  who  open  to  its  call  a 
banquet  richer  far  than  earth  has  ever  seen  or  mortals  ever  known. 

But  that  Spirit  apeaks  in  a  style  of  lofty  argument,  of  moral  dignity 
and  Divine  grandeur,  worthy  of  a  Christian's  heaven ;  of  such  a  being 
as  God,  and  of  such  a  being  as  man,  viewed  in  all  the  sublime  and  awful 
outlines  of  his  moral  nature,  his  lofty  port  and  heavenward  aspirations, 
and  not  in  the  grimace  and  silly  buffoonery  of  those  spirits  that  peep 
and  mutter  tales  unworthy  of  man,  and  still  more  unworthy  of  woman. 
From  such  demons,  such  silly  demons,  whether  of  imagination,  fraud  or 
fiction,  let  every  man  and  woman  of  self-respect,  of  good  sense  and  of 
sound  discretion,  turn  away  with  scorn  and  contempt. 


ADDRESS. 


WOMAN  AND  HER  MISSION. 


DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE  HENRY  FEMALE  SEMINARY,  NEWCASTLE,  KY., 

MAY  30,  1856. 


I  APPEAR  before  you,  young  ladies,  on  this  interesting  occasion,  not 
to  flatter  you  or  your  sex,  but  to  contribute  to  your  gratification  and 
that  of  myself,  in  suggesting  to  your  consideration  some  practical 
views  on  a  subject  alike  interesting  to  your  sex  and  to  my  own.  That 
subject,  alike  important  to  us  both,  is  just  and  adequate  views  of 
woman  and  her  mission,  and  these  in  reference  to  her  proper  education 
and  development.  Regarding  woman,  as  I  do,  as  the  octave,  or  rather 
the  diapason,  of  the  hymn  of  -creation,  and  as  having  committed  to 
her  the  destinies  of  our  species  and  our  planet,  she,  in  the  scale  of 
material  nature,  in  unison  with  the  spiritual,  is  a  spectacle  alike  inte* 
resting  to  Creator  and  creature — to  all  intelligences,  of  all  ranks  and 
orders,  terrestrial  or  celestial.  If  the  morning  stars  in  concert  sang, 
and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy,  when  the  drama  of  creation 
culminated  in  the  person  of  Eve,  can  she,  whose  very  name  is  life, 
in  its  first  impersonation  and  full-orbed  grandeur,  ever  cease  to  be  not 
only  the  dearest  object  of  our  earth-born  afiections,  but  the  most 
attractive  spectacle  ever  seen,  when  robed  in  all  the  charms  and  graces 
of  our  ransomed  and  beatified  humanity  ? 

I  speak  not  of  her  as  she  now  is,  in  any  of  the  generally  diversified 
conditions  of  her  being,  superinduced  by  the  enmity,  if  not  the  envy, 
of  a  fallen  seraph.  But  I  speak  of  her  as  she  was,  when  she  stood  at 
the  left  side  of  Adam  on  the  day  of  her  espousals,  in  the  bridal  robes 
of  angelic  purity  and  love.  'Twas  then,  in  the  ambrosial  bowers  of 
Eden's  paradise,  she  stood  attired  in  all  the  charms  of  intellectual 
grandeur,  moral  beauty  and  ecstatic  bliss.  But  in  an  evil  hour  she 
hearkened  to  the  deceitlal  eloquence  of  Satanic  flattery,  and  touched 


214 


WOMAN  AND  HER  MISSION. 


the  alluring  fruit  of  the  one  only  forbidden  tree,  whose  mortal  taste 
brought  death  into  the  world,  and  all  our  woe."  In  this  eclipse  of 
reason,  in  this  aberration  of  heart,  the  sting  of  sin  transfused  its 
poison  through  her  whole  personality, — body,  soul  and  spirit;  and 
instantly  the  light  of  joy,  and  peace,  and  "love,  that  beamed  from  her 
spirit-stirring  and  soul-subduing  eyes,  vanished,  a  cloud  of  pensiveness 
sat  brooding  over  her  fallen  countenance,  and,  handing  the  fruit  to  her 
admiring  husband,  he,  in  the  blindness  of  his  devotion  to  her  charms, 
fascinated  and  overpowered  by  her  former  loveliness,  thoughtlessly 
and  recklessly,  without  a  single  remonstrance  or  demur,  snatched  it, 
ate  it ;  in  consequence  of  which,  all  his  glory  and  dignity  in  a  moment 
vanished  away. 

And  now,  born  as  we  are,  creatures  of  mere  instinctive  appetites  and 
passions,  we  have  become  an  easy  prey  to  that  same  insidious  tempter, 
and  make  our  debut  amidst  the  thorns  and  thistles  of  the  earth,  doomed 
to  desolation,  without  one  heavenward  aspiration,  void  of  even  one 
desire  to  know  our  origin,  our  relations  to  the  universe,  or  our  destiny 
in  it,  in  and  of  ourselves  have  become  the  most  helpless,  the  most 
passive  and  erratic  creatures  that  figure  upon  it. 

This  is  the  solemn,  significant  and  soul-appalling  fact,  interpret  it, 
hide  it  or  disregard  it  as  we  may.  But  for  it,  no  tear  had  ever  dimmed 
the  eye  of  beauty,  no  anxiety  had  ever  disturbed  the  human  breast,  no 
guilt  had  ever  clouded  the  understanding  or  agonized  the  soul  of  man. 

It  is  essential  to  our  redemption,  that  some  supernatural  inter- 
position should  have  been  originated  and  instituted,  else  our  escape 
from  this  condition  would  have  been,  so  far  as  our  reason  or  resources 
are  concerned,  wholly  impossible. 

There  are,  indeed,  a  few  speculative  philosophers  who  imagine  that 
reason  alone  could,  of  its  own  inherent  power,  have  originated  some 
remedy  for  those  conditions  of  ignorance,  guilt  and  bondage,  under 
which  we  languish,  sicken  and  die.  But  superficial  and  erratic 
reasoners  they  are,  who  can  even  imagine  any  such  possibility.  Eeason 
but  measures,  compares  and  decides  upon  given  premises.  Imagination 
is,  indeed,  in  a  certain  limited  sphere,  creative.  But  the  very  word 
itself  annihilates  its  claims  to  originate.  It  forms  images,  and  only 
images.  It  creates  not  one  original  idea.  It  can  abstract  and  combine, 
in  new  forms  and  modifications,  the  images  of  human  experience  and 
observation.    But  beyond  this  its  power  reaches  not. 

Eevelation  alone  meets  the  present  conditions  of  our  being.  And 
even  written  revelation  commences  its  career  with  the  positive  history 
df  the  drama  of  creation.    From  supernatural  revelation  alone  can  we 


WOMAN  AN1»  HEP.  MISSION. 


215 


derive  any  assurance  of  our  origin  or  of  our  origination.  Enlightened 
by  it,  certain  philosophers,  of  a  superficial  cast,  think,  or  assume  to 
think,  that  they  could  prove,  a  'priori^  the  being  of  God.  They  have, 
indeed,  demonstrated  a  power  to  materialize  every  thing,  which  only 
proves  that  they  never  could  rise  to  the  conception  of  a  spiritual  first 
cause  of  matter.  Others,  the  greatest  and  best  of  them,  too,  have  con- 
fessed that  matter  could  never  have  been  the  parent  of  spirit.  Those 
who  have  assumed  that  matter  is  naturally,  necessarily  and  eternally 
active,  have  never  yet  been  able  to  abstract  from  it  one  spiritual  volun- 
tary agent,  nor,  by  any  process  of  reasoning,  to  show  any  possibility  of 
such  a  process  or  result. 

But  even  with  Bible  in  hand,  there  are  those  now,  and  there  have 
been  those  formerly,  who  presume  to  say  that  woman  was  not  created 
simultaneously,  or  even  on  the  same  day,  with  man.  And  this,  forsooth, 
because  the  special  details  of  her  creation  are  not  found  in  the  first,  but 
in  the  second  chapter  of  Genesis.  It  is  indeed  conceded  that,  in  the 
second  chapter,  we  have  a  detailed  account  of  her  creation, — a  minute 
and  graphic  history  of  that  mysterious,  sublime  and  adumbrative 
operation.  But  to  the  attentive  student  of  the  style  and  manner  of 
Moses,  as  an  historian,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  the  case. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  we  are  informed  that  on  the  last 
working-day  of  the  first  week  God  created  man.  How  dull  and  indis- 
criminating  is  that  student  of  Holy  Writ  who  imagines  that  the  word 
man  is  there  used  sexually,  and  not  specifically  f  Does  not  Moses  say, 
(chap.  i.  27,)  that  God  created  man,  ''a  male  and  2i  female  created  he 
them?"  Indeed,  he  not  only  created  man  on  the  sixth  day  of  the  first 
week,  but  on  the  same  day  he  solemnly  enacted  matrimony,  simul- 
taneously with  woman's  creation.  This  was  the  only  marriage  in  the 
annals  of  time  unpreceded  by  courtship ;  the  only  marriage,  too,  cele- 
brated when  the  parties  were  not  one  day  old.  Every  thing  on  this 
occasion  was,  of  course,  original  and  unprecedented. 

There  was  something  so  mysterious  and  wonderful  in  the  creation  of 
Lord  Adam  and  Lady  Eve,  that  it  was  deemed  both  edifying  and 
important  to  give  to  them  a  special  account  of  their  instructive  and 
suggestive  origin ;  and  therefore  Moses,  by  Divine  inspiration,  after- 
wards gives,  in  the  next  chapter,  a  detailed  narrative  of  the  whole 
particulars  of  this,  the  most  exquisite,  peculiar  and  instructive  opera- 
tion of  God.  Hence,  he  resumes  the  subject  in  the  second  chapter ; 
but  this  is  not  the  only  act  in  the  whole  drama  of  creation,  upon  which 
he  enlarges  in  the  form  of  details. 

A  similar  misconception  we  have  observed  in  regard  to  the  deep 


216  WOMAW  AND  HEE.  MISSION. 

sleep'  into  wliich  Adam  fell,  preparatory  to  the  abstraction  of  a  part 
of  himself,  as  the  material  out  of  which  his  Eve  was  formed.  For 
aught  that  appears  in  the  statement,  that  deep  sleep  did  not  engross 
one  minute.  It  was  supernatural,  and  the  operation  may  not,  in  the 
whole  premises,  have  consumed  a  second.  Many  conceive  of  this 
operation  from  that  of  a  surgeon,  whose  preparations  often  demand 
much  more  time  than  the  work  itself.  But  it  was  in  harmony  with  all 
the  oracles  or  fiats  of  the  first  week.  If 

"The  modest  water,  awed  with  power  Divine, 
Beheld  its  God,  and  blushed  itself  to  wine," 

can  we,  shall  we,  suppose  that  the  creation  of  Eve  occupied  any  sensible 
measure  of  time  ?  We  cannot,  in  harmony  with  all  the  operations  that 
constitute  the  material  universe,  consummated  in  six  consecutive  days. 
Besides,  it  must  be  taken  into  our  premises  that,  according  to  the 
express  oracles  of  God,  both  in  history  and  in  law,  he  created  all  things 
within  six  days. 

In  our  common  version  of  the  Bible,  we  are  also  led  to  think  that 
our  mother  Eve  was  created  out  of,  or  around  the  nucleus  of,  a  crooked 
rib.  This  does  not  well  comport  with  her  character  and  sensibilities. 
The  original  Tsela  is,  however,  a  word  of  two  meanings,  indicative 
both  of  side  and  of  rib.  We  presume  that  there  must  have  been  some 
flesh  about  it.  Adam^  indeed,  sanctions  this  opinion ;  for  on  her  pre- 
sentation to  him,  as  soon  as  he  recovered  his  senses,  he  said,  "This 
creature  is  now  bone  of  my  bone  and  flesh  of  my  flesh;"  and,  in  attest- 
ation and  consummation  of  this  fact,  he  calls  her  Woman.  And,  still 
better  authority,  God  himself  said  on  this  occasion,  that,  in  holy  wed- 
lock joined,  man  and  woman  should  be  one  flesh,  as,  no  doubt,  comme- 
morative of  their  intimate,  mysterious  and  sublime  origin. 

There  is  a  pleasing  speculation  cherished  by  some  fond  philosophers, 
that  Adam's  left  side  was  opened  in  the  region  of  his  heart,  and  from 
this  they  argue  that  man's  left  side  became  his  weak  side,  because  from 
it  woman  was  extracted ;  and  to  this  assumption  they  assign  not  only 
the  weakness  of  that  side,  but  also  the  peculiar  love  of  man  for  woman. 
But  like  many  other  theories  in  this  our  day,  it  is  more  ingenious  aiid 
curious  than  philosophic  or  religious. 

There  is,  indeed,  a  more  or  less  favorable  stand-point  from  which  to 
contemplate  any  and  every  object  in  the  universe.  And  on  a  subject 
of  such  thrilling  and  soul-engrossing  interest  to  the  present  and  eternal 
happiness  of  our  species,  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  that  we  should 
be  placed  in  such  a  position,  and  in  such  an  attitude,  as  to  survey  the 


WOMAN  AND  HER  MISSION. 


217 


entire  mission  and  destiny,  not  of  woman  only  as  respects  her  own 
person  and  sex,  but  of  woman  in  her  mission  and  destiny  in  the  whole 
creation  of  God. 

And  for  what,  let  us  inquire,  was  woman  created  and  made  ?  You 
anticipate  me,  no  doubt,  and  would  respond,  She  was  created  and 
commissioned  to  be  a  help  meet  for  man.  Man  was  created  in  the 
image  of  God,  and  woman  was  created  in  the  image  of  man.  Man 
was  created  to  glorify  God,  and  to  enjoy  him  forever;  and  woman  was 
created  to  be  a  help  suitable  to  such  a  being  as  man,  and  to  participate 
in  common  with  him  in  glorifying  God  and  in  enjoying  him  forever. 
This  is  the  true  position  and  the  true  stand-point  from  which  we  should 
contemplate  one  another,  and  glorify  and  beatify  one  another,  in  perfect 
harmony  with  mutual  esteem,  affection  and  admiration,  and  in  a  felici- 
tous submission  to  all  the  conditions  in  which  our  heavenly  Father  has 
respectively  placed  us. 

This  stand-point  is  lofty,  and  commands  a  very  large  horizon.  But 
it  is  not  at  all  a  fictitious  position,  nor  an  exaggerated  importance 
gratuitously  assumed,  but  is  as  solid  and  enduring  as  the  Kock  of 
Ages. 

This  planet  allotted  to  man,  with  all  the  tenantry  thereof — of  air, 
and  earth  and  sea — was  created  for  him;  not  for  one  Adam  and  one 
Eve,  but  for  all  the  varieties,  types  and  manifestations  of  humanity, 
conceivable  by  the  Supreme  Intelligence. 

The  simple  fact  of  an  incarnation  of  the  Supreme  Divinity  in  our 
humanity,  is  more  suggestive  of  the  space  occupied  by  man  in  the 
bosom  of  his  Father  and  his  God,  than  all  the  volumes  of  the  highest 
reason,  than  all  the  poetry  of  the  loftiest  and  most  fruitful  imagina- 
tion, unfolds,  or  can  unfold  in  the  largest  series  of  ages  yet  to  come,  or 
conceivable  by  our  contracted  vision. 

But  this,  young  ladies,  in  its  soul-subduing  grandeur,  is  not  a  theme 
within  the  immediate  province  of  your  studies  or  of  your  capacities. 
Still,  a  glance  at  it  through  the  telescope  of  divine  revelation  is  of 
such  stimulating  power  and  efficiency  as  to  justify  an  allusion  to  it, 
to  excite  in  your  imagination  the  importance  of  qualifying  your- 
selves for  higher,  holier,  happier  and  more  enduring  positions  in 
the  area  of  the  universe,  than  you  could  aspire  to  without  such  sug- 
gestions. 

It  is,  indeed,  quite  enough  for  our  present  purpose,  and  for  the  short 
space  allotted  to  us,  to  impress  upon  your  attention  that  woman  was 
created  to  be  a  companion,  perfectly  suitable  to  man :  hence  it  is 


218 


WOMAN  AND  HER  MISSION. 


equally  her  duty,  her  honor  and  her  happiness,  to  iiccomplish  hersell 
for  this  high  and  dignified  position. 

It  is  true,  the  present  types  of  men,  usually  called  gentlemen,  are 
not  well  read  on  this  subject,  and  some  of  them  only  aspire  to  be 
genteel  men,  rather  than  gentlemen. 

Do  you  smile  at  this  distinction?  It  is,  indeed,  somewhat  ridicu- 
lous. Man,  however,  being  the  only  creature,  save  one,  that  can 
laugh,  he  must  have  something  to  laugh  at,  either  real  or  fictitious. 
Tailors  and  mantuamakers  manufacture  genteel  men  and  genteel  ladies, 
according  to  order ;  but  a  gentleman  and  a  gentlewoman  are,  according 
to  Paul,  the  fruit  of  Grod's  own  Spirit ;  for  Paul  says  that  the  fruits 
of  the  Spirit  are  love,  joy,  peace,  gentleness,''  &c.  Hence,  a  true  and 
real  gentleman  must  always  be  a  Christian ;  for  if  gentleness  be  the 
fruit  of  the  Spirit,  without  that  fruit  and  that  Spirit  no  one  can  ever 
rise  above  the  rank  of  a  genteel  man — a  polished  gentile.  As  for  a 
lady,  there  is  only  one  way  of  meritoriously  achieving  that  rank  and 
dignity,  and  that  is,  hy  becoming  a  dispenser  of  bread  to  the  poor. 
All  the  first  lords  and  ladies  recognized  in  Anglo-Saxon  literature  and 
history  were  bread-givers — dispensers  of  bread  to  the  poor  and  the 
dependent.  True,  they  occasionally  wore  some  trinkets  and  orna- 
ments. But  these  never  constituted  either  lords  or  ladies.  In  time, 
however,  these  bread-givers  died,  and  those  who  wore  only  the  trinkets, 
having  no  bread  to  give,  and  sometimes  little  to  eat,  engrossed  the 
honorable  title  of  lords  and  ladies. 

We  citizens  of  these  United  States  have  abjured  all  factitious  and 
hereditary  titles,  canonized  by  the  now  decaying  monarchies,  aristo- 
cracies and  autocracies  of  the  old  European  world.  Still,  we  have  not 
abolished  the  desire  for  them.  We  Americans  inherently,  and  in  virtue 
of  our  consanguinity  with  old  Adam  and  Eve,  desire  to  be  lords  and 
ladies,  just  as  much  on  our  Old  Virginia  sands  and  on  your  rich  Ken- 
tucky limestone  hills  and  valleys,  as  do  the  kings  and  queens  and  noble 
peers,  lords  and  ladies  of  rich  heraldic  families,  spread  over  the  green 
hills  and  valleys  of  the  islands  and  over  some  of  the  continents  of  the 
Old  World.  Here  they  are  sour  grapes,  because  inaccessible.  And 
hence  we  are  all  lords  and  ladies,  in  fee-simple,  now,  henceforth  and 
forever,  or  until  our  present  parchments  are  moth-eaten,  and  some 
Napoleon  le  grand  appears  in  our  midst. 

From  this  stand-point,  and  from  these  prefatory  views,  let  us  glance 
for  a  moment  at  the  grand  themes  which  have  in  them  all  the  potent 
elements  of  human  development  and  of  human  destiny. 


WOMAN  AND  HER  MISSION. 


21S 


To  present  this  subject  before  you  in  all  its  claims,  permit  me  again 
to  inquire,  For  what  was  woman  created  and  made  ? 

There  is  much  that  is  suggestive  in  the  name  given  to  her  on  the  day 
of  her  espousals.  Adam,  her  lord  and  husband,  gave  her,  as  we  have 
learned,  the  name  Life — the  most  felicitous  and  appropriate  name,  and 
the  most  suggestive  too,  bestowed  on  any  creature  named  by  Adam. 
It  is  a  most  beautiful  and  lovely  name.  What  monosyllable  in  uni- 
versal speech  indicates  an  object  so  dear  to  man  as  the  idea  of  his 
own  Life  ?  It  is  a  representative  of  all  that  we  include  in  the  idea  of 
happiness.  In  its  radical  conception,  in  its  etymology,  it  comprehends 
all  living  creatures ;  and  in  special  reference  to  man  it  indicates  society, 
company,  activity,  valor,  courage — even  a  host,  an  army.  Adam,  in 
calling  his  wife  Eve,  in  his  unclouded  reason  indicated  the  largest  con- 
ception of  human  happiness — indeed,  of  social  happiness.  And  had  he 
stood  firm  in  his  loyalty  to  his  Creator,  his  Eve,  his  Life,  would  have 
been  to  him  a  source  of  joy  and  pleasure — a  fountain  of  strength  and 
moral  heroism — greater  far  than  all  the  sensible  beauties  and  attrac- 
tions of  the  Paradise  around  him. 

She  was  in  herself  life,  and  to  him  the  soul  of  animated  nature. 
The  beauties  of  Paradise,  in  all  its  virgin  bloom  and  delicious  fra- 
grance, with  all  its  carolling,  warbling,  joyful  songsters,  could  not  have 
been  so  richly  enjoyed,  or,  indeed,  enjoyed  at  all,  by  such  a  being  as  a 
perfect  man,  without  the  companionship  of  a  kindred,  admiring,  sym- 
pathizing heart.  At  this  moment  I  am  reminded  of  a  few  most  felicitous 
lines  by  Mrs.  Sigourney  on  this  closing  act  of  the  drama  of  creation  : — 

"Last  came  a  female  form,  more  soft,  more  fair, 
And  Eden  smiled  to  see  the  stranger  there ; 
Then  tones  of  joy  from  harps  seraphic  rung, 
The  stars  of  morning  in  th^ir  courses  sung ; 
Earth  echoed  back  a  shout  of  grateful  love 
From  every  valley,  cavern,  stream  and  grove. 
Man,  fill'd  with  praise,  in  solemn  rapture  stood, 
God  bow'd  to  view  his  work,  and  God  pronounced  it  good." 

Eve,  then,  was  the  crowning  act  of  the  last  scene  of  the  entire 
drama  of  creation,  and,  so  far  as  our  planet  is  understood,  she  is,  and 
was,  a  microcosm  of  animated  nature  in  a  personal  and  social  embodi- 
ment, in  which  Creator  and  creature  are  united  in  the  holy  bands  of 
an  eternal  compact,  pregnant  with  all  the  elements  of  social  being  and 
of  social  blessedness. 

But  she  is  not  only  the  mere  life  of  humanity,  in  its  literal  import^ 
but  the  life  and  the  spirit  of  all  true  and  genuine  civilization.  The 


220 


WOMAN  AND  HER  MISSION. 


respect  paid  to  woman,  and  the  interest  exhibited  in  her  education  and 
social  culture,  constitute  the  index  of  the  civilization  of  every  com- 
munity under  the  broad  heavens.  Hence,  the  only  question  as  to  the 
comparative  civilization  of  any  nation  or  people,  which  is  an  end  of  all 
controversy,  is.  How  is  woman  regarded,  educated,  honored  f  This  is 
the  sovereign  and  superlative  index  of  civilization — of  comparative 
■civilization ;  and  above  it,  beyond  it,  there  is  no  appeal — there  can  be 
no  appeal.  In  forming  a  safe  and  satisfactory  judgment  of  the  spirit 
and  progress  of  civilization,  this  is  our  polar  star — our  ultimate  appeal. 
We  test  the  religion,  the  morality,  the  prosperity,  the  happiness,  of 
€very  nation  and  people,  by  the  question,  How  stands  woman  amongst 
them? 

We  are  happy  in  the  conviction,  that  wherever  Protestantism  is  in 
the  highest  ascendency,  there  is  woman  in  the  highest  honor  and 
esteem.  We  fearlessly  submit  the  question — the  whole  question — of 
woman's  rights,  honors,  privileges,  civilization,  to  this  tribunal;  and 
not  this  question  only,  but  the  questions.  In  what  country,  under 
what  form  of  government,  under  what  profession  of  Christianity,  is 
woman  most  honored  and  most  honorable  ?  I  do  this,  too,  in  the  full 
conviction,  in  the  full  assurance,  that  our  own  country  will  in  no  one 
point  of  contrast,  in  any  element  of  true  and  genuine  civilization, 
stand  second  to  any  other  in  the  broadness  of  what  is  usually  called 
the  civilized  world.  Indeed,  I  may  still  further  avow  the  conviction, 
that  among  Protestant  communities  themselves,  and  under  free  govern- 
ments— which  are  indeed  the  fruit  of  Protestantism — the  more  Pro- 
testant the  more  civilized,  the  more  honored,  the  more  honorable,  is 
woman,  educated  woman.  This  fact,  then,  is  one  of  the  elements  of 
the  reason  why  our  father  Adam,  in  his  vigorous  thought  and  broad 
horizon,  on  the  presentation  of  himself  to  himself,  in  a  second  per- 
sonality, prospectively,  in  bright  vision  of  the  future,  called  her  Life. 

But  the  social  nature  of  man  being  neither  physical  nor  intellectual 
alone,  neither  moral  nor  religious  alone,  in  another  attitude  and  at 
another  angle,  we  see  that  the  name  Eve,  or  Life,  was  still  more  ap- 
propriately and  felicitously  conferred  on  Adam's  bride.  There  are, 
in  the  phenomena  of  life,  many  forms  and  modifications  of  life.  We 
have  political  and  ecclesiastic  life,  as  well  as  an  animal  and  spiritual 
life.  And  woman  is  the  life  of  all  the  forms  and  institutions  of  all  the 
compacts  and  constitutions  of  society.  Adam — I  mean  Adam  the  fi r-t, 
in  his  first  estate — possessed  an  intuitive  perspicacity  beyond  any  one 
t)f  his  degenerate  posterity.  The  name  that  he  gave  his  wife  on  the 
morning  of  their  ruptials,  is  worth  all  the  dissertations  on  woman  evei 


WOMAN  AND  HER  MISSION. 


221 


written  by  any  of  Eve's  degenerate  offspring.  In  proof  of  this  as- 
sumption, we  refer  the  inquisitive  to  the  fact,  that  God  himself  as- 
sembled the  animated  tenantry  of  Eden  around  his  residence,  and 
caused  them  to  pass  in  review  before  him  to  ascertain  what  he  would 
call  them.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  final  examination  of  his 
attainments  in  the  science  of  zoology  in  its  broadest  sense ;  for  all 
the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  all  the  fowls  of  the  air,  were  made  to  pass 
before  him,  and  such  were  his  attainments  in  this  great  science  of 
sciences,  that  he  failed  not  in  a  single  instance  to  give  the  appropriate 
name  to  every  species  of  animated  nature  around  him.  Thus  he  ob- 
tained his  diploma  from  the  highest  authority  in  the  universe.  And 
what  a  splendid  monument  it  is  of  the  capacity  and  attainments  of  our 
father  Adam  in  the  school  of  animated  nature ! 

God  in  nature,  in  providence,  in  moral  government,  and  in  redemp- 
tion, presents  to  the  senses  of  man,  to  the  reason  of  man,  to  the  con- 
science of  man,  or  to  the  affections  of  man,  nothing  in  the  abstract, 
but  every  thing  in  the  concrete.  There  is  not,  indeed,  a  simple  sub- 
stance, nor  an  abstract  entity,  existing  alone  in  the  natural  universe. 
Every  thing  in  nature  exists  in  holy  wedlock  and  in  family  circles. 
Analysis  and  synthesis  are,  therefore,  the  grand  preliminaries  to  the 
acquisition  of  the  knowledge  of  the  works  of  God  and  the  operations 
-of  man.  The  doctrine  of  relations,  affinities,  congruities,  sympathies, 
antipathies,  attractions  and  repulsions,  has  its  foundation  in  this  fact — 
that  there  is  not  a  single  abstract  substantive  existence  in  so  much  of 
God's  universe  as  has  been  submitted  to  the  observation,  analysis  and 
reflection  of  man. 

Even  light — the  first-born  of  heaven,  supposed  to  be  one  of  the  most 
simple,  active  and  sublime  agents  of  the  physical  universe — is  a  com- 
pound of  seven  different  colors. 

The  universe  is  itself  a  library  of  God ;  but  to  all  the  pupils  in  his 
large  school  it  is  legible  only  in  part,  and  that  part  imperfectly.  But 
there  is  one  volume  in  this  grand  library  of  the  universe  peculiarly 
interesting  to  every  man;  and  that  is  his  autobiography — a  work 
written  by  himself  upon  himself,  and  one,  unfortunately,  which,  when 
written,  he  almost  always  reads  with  more  or  less  reluctance.  He 
cannot,  however,  proceed  very  far  in  the  study  of  this  work  until  four 
questions  arise  in  his  mind,  upon  which,  if  of  an  inquisitive  turn,  he 
feels  himself  constrained  to  ponder.  These  four  questions  are  of  soul- 
absorbing  interest.  They  are — 1.  Who  am  If  2.  What  am  If  3. 
Why  am  I?  4.  Whither  go  If  Of  these  four  primordial  questions, 
two  are  transcendental.   These  are —  What  am  I  ?  and.  Whither  go  I  f 


222 


WOMAN  AND  HER  MISSION. 


The  last  is  impliedly  answered  when  the  third  is  satisfactorily  decided. 
^'  Why  am  7.?"  is  a  question  too  profound  for  a  majority  of  mankind  to 
answer.  Indeed,  no  man  can  satisfactorily  answer  it  who  does  not 
believe  and  realize  the  fact  that  he  has  a  special  mission  into  the  world, 
and  this  mission  is  just  why  he  appears  at  a  particular  time,  on  a  par- 
ticular stage,  in  a  particular  scene  and  in  a  particular  act  of  the  great 
drama  of  humanity  at  his  stand-point.  Solomon,  the  wisest  of  men  by 
a  special  providence,  and  inspired,  too,  by  a  special  wisdom,  instituted 
his  Ecdesiastes,  or  became  a  preacher,  to  develop  the  question — 

What  is  that  special  good  which  a  man,  as  man,  should  pursue 
all  his  life  f"  He  occasionally  writes  as  a  sage  political  economist  in 
things  of  time  and  sense ;  but  he  also  writes  as  an  oracle  of  God  in 
things  pertaining  to  God  and  man,  in  spiritual  and  eternal  relations. 
And  to  this  question  what  answer  does  he  give  ? 

But  we  take  the  privilege  to  propound  to  you,  young  ladies,  not, 
What  is  man  ?  but.  What  is  woman  ?  She  is  but  the  one-half  of  man 
— only  the  one-half  of  humanity.  But  she  is,  or  may  be,  the  better 
half.  She  is  of  a  finer  tissue  in  body,  soul  and  spirit :  the  last,  and, 
we  think — if  mortals  of  such  dim  vision  and  within  so  contracted  a 
horizon  dare  so  think — decidedly  the  better  half — not  in  muscular 
power,  not  in  physical  strength,  not  in  animal  courage,  not  in  intel- 
lectual vigor,  but  in  delicacy  of  thought,  in  sensitiveness  of  feeling,  in 
patient  endurance,  in  constancy  of  affection,  in  moral  courage  and  in 
soul-absorbing  devotion. 

But  God  did  not  for  her  own  sake  bestow  upon  her  all  these  dis- 
tinguishing qualities.  He  did  not,  indeed,  create  her  immediately  from 
the  earth.  Adam  was  made  out  of  the  cold  dust  of  Eden ;  but  Eve  was 
made  out  of  the  animated  dust  and  from  the  left  side  of  Adam — nearest 
offshoot  from  his  heart.  He  not  only  made  her  out  of  the  left  side  of 
the  first  man,  but  in  holy  wedlock  he  placed  her  there  to  protect  the 
wound  and  vacuum  whence  her  personal  being  came. 

The  power  of  God  is  not  physical  nor  metaphysical  power ;  it  is  not 
spiritual  nor  animal  power,  in  our  conception  and  use  of  these  symbols 
of  thought.  It  is  divine  power  in  all  its  elements,  operating  simul- 
taneously in  all  these  directions,  under  the  control  of  a  simple  volition. 
He  only  willed,  and  the  universe  was;  but  that  will  was  embodied  in  a 
word — an  utterance  of  itself,  giving  existence,  local  habitation  and  form 
to  every  beau  ideal  of  goodness,  beauty  and  grandeur,  in  harmony  with 
his  own  supreme  excellence  and  majesty.  Hence,  the  well-cultivated 
mind  contemplates  God  in  every  thing  and  every  thing  in  God. 

No  mere  deist,  theist,  atheist  or  polytheist  ever  had  one  round,  clear 


WOMAN  AND  HEE  MISSION. 


225 


and  stroug  imprint  of  divinity  upon  his  understanding,  his  conscience, 
his  will  or  his  affections.  While  the  well-educated  Christian  sees  God 
in  every  thing  and  every  thing  in  God,  the  self-conceited  theist  or 
atheist  or  skeptic  sees  God  in  nothing  and  nothing  in  God. 

The  philosophy  of  the  universe  is  a  sublime  philosophy.  It  is  the 
philosophy  of  love.  And,  pray,  what  is  love  ?  How  would  you,  young 
ladies,  define  it  ?  Young  gentlemen  talk  about  it  learnedly,  and  some- 
times philosophically ;  but  they  do  not  comprehend  and  realize  it  as 
you  do.  Oh,  say  you,  we  have  not  had  much  experience  on  that  sub- 
ject, and  with  us  'tis  all  theory.  Well,  a  good  theory,  even  on  this 
subject,  is  better  than  no  theory  at  all.  But  we  are  not  inquiring  into 
a  theory,  good  or  bad,  sound  or  unsound :  we  are  inquiring  into  a  sub- 
stantive, real  existence. 

There  is  not  in  the  universe  a  more  positive,  a  more  substantive,  a 
more  real  existence  than  love ;  for  God  is  love.  This  is  a  divine  oracle 
from  a  most  true  and  veritable  source.  And  the  whole  universe  is  but 
an  outburst  of  love.  God  did  not  create  the  universe  because  he  had 
wisdom  to  do  it  or  power  to  do  it ;  for  neither  of  these  has  a  distinct 
positive  existence.  They  are  mere  attributes  of  love.  Love,  at  the 
true  stand-point  of  vision,  is  the  only  self-existent  entity  or  ideality,  or 
conception,  or  positive  principle,  or  actual,  indestructible  fact  in  ima- 
gination's boundless,  measureless,  endless  fields  of  thought.  It  ever 
was  and  is  and  ever  shall  be  the  one  only  immutable,  indestructible, 
self-existent  principle.  Two  eternal  antagonistic  principles  are  wholly 
beyond  the  landmarks  of  reason  and  sanity.  It  is  the  brightest  star 
in  the  diadem  of  love  that  it  is,  of  necessity,  the  one  only  self-existent 
and  necessarily  indestructible  reality  in  the  entire  area  of  rational 
thought.  And,  just  at  this  stand-point,  we  apprehend — we  do  not  say 
coynprehend — the  beauty,  the  truth  and  the  wisdom  of  that  oracle — 
that  God  is  love.  (John  iv.  8-16.)  Heaven  itself  is  but  the  theatre  of 
love.  There  is  no  other  theatre  of  its  full  development,  manifesta,tion 
and  enjoyment  than  heaven  itself.  The  most  loveless  thing  in  God's 
vast  universe  is  a  haughty  spirit ;  because  it  is  only  exorbitant  selfish- 
ness, attracting  nothing,  radiating  nothing,  but  repelling  every  thing 
coming  into  competition  with  itself.  Hence,  rebellion,  anarchy  and 
ruin  are  the  trinity  of  hatred  and  the  essence  of  endless  perdition. 

But,  while  we  thus  seek  a  fulcrum  and  a  lever  to  lift  us  up  to  an 
adequate  conception  of  love  in  its  essence,  its  origin  and  end,  we  must 
descend  to  the  atmosphere  of  earth  and  to  the  circles  of  our  fallen 
humanity,  where  love  i&  rather  a  passion  than  a  principle,  an  impulse 
than  a  law  of  reason,  of  God,  of  heaven  and  of  happiness. 


224 


WOMAN  AND  HER  MISSION. 


We  must  study  love  in  its  manifestations.  It  seems  to  act  in  society 
as  attraction  or  gravity  in  material  nature.  It  has  its  affinities,  its 
attractions  and  repulsions.  If  it  had  deform,  as  matter  has,  we  should 
be  compelled  to  regard  it  as  globular  in  its  form.  It  attracts  every 
thing  around  it  into  proximity  to  itself;  and  this  proximity  for  the 
sake  of  enjoyment,  of  blessing  and  of  being  blessed,  of  communicating 
and  of  receiving  felicity  in  the  most  direct,  immediate,  and  instanta- 
neous sympathy.  It  has  a  philosophy  in  it  the  most  recondite,  the 
most  attractive,  the  most  refining,  the  most  beatifying,  the  most  con- 
servative in  the  entire  area  of  cultivated  reason.  It  is  no  less  than 
intellectual,  moral,  spiritual,  divine  magnetism,  attracting,  alluring, 
radiating,  beautifying,  beatifying  kindred  spirits  in  eternal  circles, 
wide  as  creation  and  lasting  as  eternity. 

This  is  not  that  short-lived,  impulsive,  animal  thing  on  which  every 
simpleton  talks  with  the  fluency  and  brilliancy  of  quicksilver.  It  is  a 
glorious  reality,  since  God  is  love.  The  three  most  splendid  and  yet 
the  three  most  simple  propositions  in  all  the  oracles  of  G-od  are — 
1.  God  is  Spiritr  2.  God  is  Light:'  3.  God  is  Love.''  He  is 
not  relatively  a  spirit,  a  light  or  a  love ;  but  he  is  absolute,  infinite, 
eternal  and  immutable  Spirit,  Light  and  Love.  These  are  the  all- 
potent,  energizing,  active  and  soul-subduing  manifestations  of  Jehovah. 

But  you,  young  ladies,  may  think  that  these  are  matters  too  erudite, 
too  high,  too  lofty  and  too  far  beyond  your  stature.  In  one  sense — so 
far  as  full  comprehension  of  them  is  contemplated — they  may  be  not 
only  beyond  your  comprehension,  but  of  that  of  the  tallest  man  or  the 
tallest  angel  in  the  highest  heaven.  But  is  not  the  law  of  gravity,  is 
not  the  essence  of  light,  of  electricity,  of  magnetism,  also  beyond  your 
comprehension?  Not  one  of  them  is,  however,  excluded  from  your 
studies  or  meditations.  You  study  physical  science,  physiology,  pneu- 
matology,  and  probably  some  of  you  have  even  encountered  and  van- 
quished metaphysics.  Of  one  thing  we  are  assured,  that  these  studies 
are  as  much  within  your  grasp  as  they  are  within  that  of  half  the 
young  gentlemen  of  the  present  living  age.  In  our  galaxies  of  distin- 
guished females  there  are  some  very  brilliant  stars.  I  care  not  though 
you  visit  the  museums  of  literature,  language,  poetry,  philosophy,  theo- 
xogy,  theodicy,  metaphysics.  In  the  departments  of  the  highest  reason, 
literature,  science,  philosophy,  religion,  they  shine  with  great  splendor. 
What  deserved,  well-earned  reputation  have  Mrs.  Hemans,  Mrs.  Sigour- 
ney.  Miss  Beecher,  Mrs.  Charlotte  Elizabeth,  Madame  de  Stael,  Madame 
Guyon,  Mrs.  Ellis,  Madame  Roland,  Hannah  More,  Joanna  Baillie,  Mrs. 
Barbauld,  Agnes  Strickland,  and,  better  still,  the  Mrs.  Judsons!  Young 


WOMAN  AND  HER  MISSION. 


225 


iadies,  I  especially  commend  to  your  most  devout  study  these  greatly- 
gifted,  these  self-sacrificing  Christian  ladies  last  mentioned.  They  are 
an  evangelical  constellation  worthy  of  your  special  admiration  and 
imitation.  We  need  not  remind  you  of  the  Bible  female  heroes,  from 
Sarah  down  to  Electa  Cyria ;  nor  tell  you  of  the  Hannahs,  the  Debo- 
rahs, the  Queen  Esthers,  the  Marys,  the  Elizabeths ;  nor  of  the  women 
who,  through  faith,  received  from  the  dead  their  departed  children — 
such  as  the  widow  of  Zarephath,  and  the  Shunamite.  (2  Kings  iv.  34.) 
These  are  more  familiar  themes,  and  every  day  within  your  reach. 
The  highest  and  most  attractive  encomium  pronounced  in  Christian 
history  upon  woman  is  not  that  she  bathed  the  feet  of  Jesus  in  her 
tears  and  that  she  wiped  them  with  the  tresses  of  her  hair ;  it  is  not 
that  she  was  last  at  the  cross,  in  solemn  contemplation  of  the  fearful 
agonies  of  his  death ;  but  that  she  was  first  at  the  sepulchre  in  the 
early  dawn  of  the  first  day  of  the  week,  making  her  way  through  the 
Roman  guard,  with  full  intent  to  embalm  his  lacerated  body ;  in  honor 
of  which  most  afi'ectionate  and  grateful  devotion  he  presented  himself 
to  her  in  that  same  body,  as  the  triumphant  conqueror  of  death  and  of 
the  grave,  and  commissioned  her,  as  his  prime-minister,  to  announce 
the  gospel  of  his  resurrection  to  her  mourning  and  disconsolate  com- 
panions. 

The  true  philosophy  of  female  education  has  for  its  proper  basis,  not 
merely  her  person,  but  more  especially  her  mission.  That  man  and 
woman  should  be  educated  in  their  entire  personality — body,  soul  and 
spirit — is,  at  our  latitude,  not  a  debatable  subject.  The  full  develop- 
ment of  each  of  these  departments  or  constituents  of  our  humanity 
demands  a  special  education  and  training.  But  even  this  is  not  enough. 
There  is  a  still  more  special  education  in  reference  to  the  special 
calling,  or  the  special  mission,  of  each  individual.  This,  too,  being 
conceded  by  all  whose  views  are  of  any  value  to  society,  is  not  a 
debatable  subject.  Yet  we  have  reason  to  regret  that  female  educa- 
tion has  not  generally  been  conducted  more  in  harmony  with  the  spe- 
cial mission  of  woman,  under  the  conviction  that  she  was  intended  to 
be  emphatically  a  help  meet  for  man  on  the  whole  premises  of  hu- 
manity, and  not  merely  in  reference  to  the  accidents  and  specialties 
of  humanity. 

There  are  m  human  nature  sympathies  of  joy  as  well  as  sympathies 
of  sorrow.  Indeed,  it  is  a  Christian  precept,  ''rejoice  with  them  that 
do  rejoice,"  as  well  as,  "weep  with  them  that  weep."  There  are  also 
sympathies  of  admiration,  and  sympathies  of  contempt.  We  love  those 
who  admire  what  we  admire,  and  we  love  those  that  contemn  what  we 

15 


226 


WOMAN  AND  HER  MISSION. 


contemn.  In  each  and  every  element  of  human  nature,  of  human  cha- 
racter and  of  human  conduct,  there  are  sympathies  and  antipathies, 
conformities  and  non-conformities,  pleasure  and  pain.  Hence  the 
necessity  of  imparting  and  receiving  an  education  in  harmony  with 
all  these  premises,  in  order  to  the  enjoyment  of  one  another  in  the 
most  intimate  of  all  the  relations  of  life ;  and  also  the  propriety  of  the 
oracle  that  preceded  the  appearance  of  woman  : — Let  there  be  a  help  ■ 
meet  for  man.  Let  every  young  woman,  therefore,  be  so  educated  as 
to  be  a  help  suitable  to  those  with  whom  we  would  have  her  united,  in 
all  the  fortunes  and  misfortunes,  in  all  the  pleasures  and  pains,  in  all 
the  joys  and  sorrows,  of  earth  and  of  time. 

There  is  a  great  deal  in  a  name.  In  some  names  there  is  a  mixture 
of  history,  geography,  philosophy  and  religion.  Hence,  in  the  super- 
natural wisdom  of  our  Father  Adam,  in  his  primeval  rectitude,  all 
names  given  by  him  were  essentially  characteristic.  His  nomenclature 
was  so  perfect  that  Qod  sanctioned  it.  There  was  reason  in  it  all,  and 
a  reason  for  it  all.  Hence  the  reason  given  for  the  name  of  the  first 
woman  was  as  perfect  as  herself.  She  was  called  life,  because  she 
was  the  life  of  the  world. 

But  we  must  study  woman  in  her  mission,  in  order  to  train  her  and 
'  honor  her  according  to  her  rank  in  creation.  And  is  there  not  a 
reason  given  for  her  name,  from  a  source  of  unquestionable  authority  ? 
She  was  called  in  Hebrew  Havah,  in  Greek  Zoee,  in  English  Life,  be- 
cause she  was  the  life  of  the  world.  And  does  not  that  reason  indicate 
her  mission  ? 

She  was  an  extract  of  man,  in  order  to  form  man ;  in  order  to  de- 
velop, perfect,  beautify  and  beatify  man.  And  hence  these  four  terms 
comprehend  the  whole  duty,  honor,  dignity  and  happiness  of  woman  ; 
consequently,  her  education  should  be  equal  to  her  mission.  Every 
distinctive  element  of  her  sex  was  conferred  upon  her  in  order  to  her 
accomplishment  for  the  great  work  of  forming  and  moulding  human 
nature  in  reference  to  human  destiny.  How  important  and  how  true 
the  remark,  that  the  distinguished  men  who  have  made  their  mark  in 
the  moral  world  have  been  the  offspring  of  religious  and  exemplary 
mothers !  There  is  no  authority,  no  influence,  no  power,  of  whatever 
name,  equal  to  that  which  God  has  vested  in  woman,  in  its  conservative 
and  beatifying  character  and  influence  on  the  prosperity  and  happiness 
of  man.  In  conferring  so  much  influence  on  woman,  God  intended  to 
use  it  in  the  moral  government  of  the  world.  She  has,  consequently, 
a  mission  of  transcendent  importance — of  paramount  value  to  the  hap- 
piness of  man.     From  these  premises  we  argue  the  paramount  im- 


WOMAN  AND  HER  MISSION. 


227 


portance  of  her  education,  and  press  its  claims  upon  the  patriot,  the 
philanthropist  and  the  Christian. 

We  use  these  terms  because  of  their  popular  currency.  The  patriot, 
indeed,  is  absorbed  in  the  philanthropist,  and  the  philanthropist  in  the 
Christian.  The  full-orbed  Christian  is,  in  fact,  the  sum-total  of  all 
human  excellency,  grandeur  and  honor.  We  can  imagine  nothing 
noble,  or  grand,  or  beatifying  in  humanity,  that  is  not  comprehended 
and  absorbed  in  the  beau  ideal  of  a  Christian.  Hence,  any  school, 
male  or  female,  not  based  on  Christianity — genuine,  heaven-born  and 
heaven-descended  Christianity — is  a  wild  freak  of  uncultivated  reason, 
a  vagary  of  an  untutored  mind.  Hence  the  Christian  Scriptures  are, 
and  of  right  ought  to  be,  the  daily  text-book  of  every  school  in  Chris- 
tendom, based  on  the  true  philosophy  of  man,  from  the  nursery  up  to 
the  university. 

Why  memorize  the  grammar  of  a  living  or  a  dead  language,  why 
memorize  the  elements  of  arithmetic,  geography,  astronomy  or  human 
history,  and  not  memorize  the  Book  of  Life — the  volume  of  human 
destiny  in  its  rudimental  lessons  ?  Why  memorize  the  choice  selec- 
tions of  human  wisdom  and  eloquence,  and  not  the  Sermon  of  the  Mes- 
siah upon  the  Mount,  or  of  Paul  a  prisoner  before  a  Felix  or  a  King 
Agrippa  ?  Can  any  composition  on  the  earthly  attitudes  of  man,  on 
his  civil  or  political  relations,  equal  those  on  his  eternal  destiny  in  a 
boundless  universe  ?  Tell  it  not  in  Kome,  publish  it  not  in  Constan- 
tinople, that  in  the  schools  and  colleges  and  seminaries  in  the  United 
States  of  America  the  Bible  is  no  more  a  text-book  than  the  Koran  of 
Mohammed  or  the  Zendavesta  of  Zoroaster ;  that  Eoman  and  Grecian 
mythologies  are  read  and  studied  in  our  colleges  and  universities,  in 
the  centre  of  our  Christian  civilization,  while  Moses  and  David  and 
Solomon,  while  Jesus  and  Peter  and  Paul,  are  seldom  or  never  per- 
mitted to  be  heard  or  appealed  to,  any  more  than  the  Arabian  Nights 
or  the  tales  of  elves  and  fairies. 

Young  ladies,  such  has  not  been  your  misfortune.  The  star  of  your 
destiny  is  infinitely  more  splendid  and  felicitous.  You  have  learned 
that  woman,  like  an  angel  of  mercy,  was  sent  into  our  world  to  be 
queen  of  the  human  heart  and  mistress  of  the  moral  destinies  of  hu- 
manity. 

A  woman  became  the  mother  of  the  King  of  Heaven,  the  Lord  and 
Arbiter  of  the  sublime  and  grand  and  awful  empire  of  the  universe. 
Yes,  the  King  of  Eternity  was  solaced  in  the  bosom  of  ^lary  the 
Virgin.  And  through  him  you  have  become,  or  may  become,  heiresses 
in  common  of  the  empire  of  the  universe.    Christianity  has  infinitely 


228 


WOMAN  AND  HER  MISSION. 


aggrandized  your  sex,  and  has  conferred  on  you  the  sovereignty  of 
the  human  heart:  these  constitute  the  splendid  coronal  of  sanctified 
woman. 

Every  one  of  you  that  has  embraced  Christ  has  a  mission  from  this 
Sovereign  of  the  human  heart.  And  all  of  you  may  labor  in  it,  who 
sincerely  desire  it.  This  missionary  field  is  as  broad  as  the  tenanted 
earth.  It  is  a  mission  of  mercy ;  and  in  the  ear  of  enlightened  reason 
it  is,  in  its  pleadings,  the  true  sublime  of  true  eloquence. 

You  stand  not  in  the  front  rank  of  the  battle-field,  in  conflicting 
with  the  rebel  hosts  of  the  great  enemy  of  human  happiness.  But 
your  task  is  to  minister  to  their  comfort  who  war  a  good  warfare  in 
the  cause  of  man's  redemption.  You  pour  into  their  wounds  the  oil 
of  joy  and  gladness ;  you  solace  the  sick  and  the  dying  with  the  per- 
fume of  your  Christian  sympathy ;  and  you  soothe  the  parched  lips  of 
the  expiring  Christian  with  the  last  cup  of  water  from  the  perennial 
fountain  of  everlasting  love. 

Yours  is  a  beautiful  mission,  viewed  in  its  entire  amplitude ;  and  in 
reference  to  it  all  your  studies  should  be  prosecuted,  and  all  the  virtues 
of  Christian  excellencies  cherished  in  your  hearts  and  practised  in  your 
lives.  The  treasures  of  learning  and  science  should  now  be  mastered, 
and  every  literary  and  scientific  study  prosecuted  with  a  vigorous  dili- 
gence, in  order  to  your  successfully  entering  upon  a  career  of  useful- 
ness so  pregnant  with  enduring  blessings  to  yourselves,  so  full  of  pro- 
mise of  laurels  that  will  never  wither,  of  pleasures  that  will  never 
cloy,  and  of  a  reward  from  the  right  hand  of  the  final  Arbiter  of  the 
destinies  of  the  world,  richer  far  than  all  the  treasures  of  earth,  and 
as  enduring  as  the  throne  of  God  and  the  ages  of  eternity. 

There  is  no  necessity  to  mount  th^  rostrum,  to  stand  up  in  public 
assemblies,  to  address  mixed  auditories  of  both  sexes,  of  all  classes  and 
of  all  orders  of  society,  in  order  to  fill  up  the  duties  of  your  mission. 
If  Paul  would  not  have  a  woman  to  pray  unveiled  in  a  Christian 
church,  and  if  he  made  long  hair  a  glory  to  her,  because  it  veiled  her 
beauty  and  protected  her  eyes  from  the  gaze  of  staring  sensualists, 
think  you  he  would  have  sent  her  out  on  a  missionary  tour,  or  placed 
her  in  a  rostrum,  surrounded  with  ogling-glasses  in  the  hands,  not 
of  old  men  and  women  of  dim  vision,  but  of  green  striplings  of  pert 
impertinence?  Be  assured,  not  one  word  of  such  import  ever  fell 
from  the  lips  of  prophets  or  apostles.  On  the  contrary,  modesty, 
shame-faced n ess  and  sobriety  are  the  garland  of  beauty,  the  wreath  of 
glory  and  the  coronal  of  dignity  and  honor,  on  the  person  of  a  Chris- 
tian woman,  who  is  always  in  her  proper  sphere;  an    dect  f/idy not 


WOMAN  AND  HER  MISSION. 


229 


necessarily  of  the  aristocracies  of  earth,  but  of  the  ^lite  and  honorable 
of  heaven. 

I  am  one  of  that  feeble  minority  in  this  our  age  and  nation  who 
think  that  Solomon  was  richer  than  the  Rothschilds,  wiser  than  Ben- 
jamin Franklin,  and  more  admirable  than  Napoleon  le  Grand  in  the 
zenith  of  his  power  and  glory ;  and  yet,  having  spoken  three  thousand 
proverbs,  and  written  more  than  one  thousand  songs,  and  discoursed 
on  trees  and  plants,  from  the  hyssop  on  the  wall  to  the  cedars  of  Mount 
Lebanon,  he  consummates  his  literary  and  philosophic  labors  with  a 
dissertation  on  woman  and  his  beau  ideal  of  an  accomplished  lady  in 
the  relation  of  an  amiable  and  virtuous  wife.  With  the  close  of  his 
encomium  we  shall  close  our  address : — 

"She  openeth  her  mouth  in  wisdom, 
And  the  law  of  kindness  is  on  her  tongue. 
She  observeth  the  conduct  of  her  household, 
And  eateth  not  the  bread  of  idleness. 
Her  children  rise  up  and  bless  her ; 
Her  husband,  and  he  praiseth  her. 
Many  women  have  done  virtuously, 
But  thou  excellest  them  all. 
Gracefulness  fadeth,  and  beauty  is  vain ; 
But  the  woman  that  feareth  Jehovah  shall  be  greatly  praised. 
The  fruits  of  her  hand  shall  be  given  to  her, 
And  in  the  assemblies  her  works  praise  her." 

That  you,  young  ladies,  may,  each  and  every  one  of  you,  fill  up  all 
the  excellencies  of  Christian  character,  shine  in  all  the  splendors  of  the 
female  virtues,  and  lead  useful,  honorable  and  happy  lives,  is  the  sin- 
cere wish  of  your  friend  and  orator. 


ADDRESS  ON  EDUCATION 


CINCINNATI,  1856. 


There  is  not,  in  all  the  expanded  area  of  human  thought,  any  theme 
more  important  or  more  prolific  of  good  or  evil  to  man,  temporal, 
spiritual  or  eternal,  than  is  the  theme  of  human  education.  It  has 
commanded  the  attention,  and  more  or  less  engrossed  the  thoughts, 
of  the  most  gifted  minds  and  the  most  philanthropic  hearts  that  have 
adorned  our  common  humanity.  The  capacity  of  man,  the  dignity  of 
man  and  the  destiny  of  man  have  been  more  or  less  popular  themes 
in  every  age,  and  amongst  all  the  civilized  nations  of  the  earth.  The 
three  most  engrossing  questions  in  every  age,  in  every  clime  of  earth, 
and  in  every  tongue  of  man,  are,  were  and  ever  will  be,  What  am  I? 
Whence  came  I?   Whither  do  I  go  f 

These  are  the  loftiest,  the  most  profound  and  soul-engrossing  themes 
on  which  the  mind  of  man  can  concentrate  all  its  powers  and  its 
energies.  It  is  conceded  by  the  highest  tribunals  of  human  science 
and  human  learning,  by  the  greatest  and  best  of  all  philosophers, 
that  the  only  object  seen,  contemplated  and  admired  by  man,  which 
the  sun  surveys  or  the  earth  contains — the  only  existence  within 
the  human  horizon — that  will  never  cease  to  be — is  man.  He  of  all 
earth's  tenantry  had  a  beginning,  but  will  never,  never,  never  have 
an  end. 

It  is  this  view  of  man,  and  this  view  only,  that  magnifies  and 
aggrandizes  the  theme  of  his  education,  and  that,  in  every  age  of 
civilization,  has,  more  than  all  other  themes,  engrossed  the  attention, 
elicited  the  energies  and  commanded  the  activities  of  every  truly  en- 
lightened philanthropist. 

But  the  proper  philosophy  of  man,  indicated  in  his  origin,  constitu- 
tion and  destiny,  is  an  essential  preliminary  to  a  rational  disposition 
and  development  of  this  theme.  The  first  question,  then,  necessarily 
is.  What  is  man  f  He  is  neither  an  angel  nor  an  animal.  He  has  a 
body,  a  soul  and  a  spirit.  He  has  a  trinity  of  natures  in  one  per- 
sonality.   While  Jehovah  has  a  trinity  of  personalities  in  one  nature, 

230 


ADDRESS  ON  EDUCATION. 


231 


man  has  a  trinity  of  natures  in  one  personality.  He  has  an  animal 
nature,  an  intellectual  nature  and  a  moral  nature.  Hence  the  prayer 
of  the  greatest  apostle  and  ambassador  of  heaven  was,  ''May  God 
sanctify  you  wholly" — in  body,  soul  and  spirit.  These  are  not  two, 
out  three,  entities,  and  these  three  are  in  every  human  being.  Man 
has  an  animal  body,  an  animal  soul  and  a  rational  spirit.  Two  of 
these  are  earthly  and  temporal — one  is  spiritual  and  eternal.  He  is, 
therefore,  not  improperly  called  a  microcosm,  a  miniature  embodiment 
of  universal  nature,  or  of  the  Divine  creation. 

We  do  not,  then,  wonder,  standing  on  the  pinnacle  of  this  temple, 
that  there  was  a  Divine  interposition  in  behalf  of  humanity  in  its  ruins, 
and  none  for  the  angels  who  kept  not  their  first  estate.  And  this, 
indeed,  is  no  ordinary  attestation  of  the  dignity  of  man. 

Hence  the  institution  of  a  remedial  system,  to  elevate,  dignify  and 
oeatify  man,  was  introduced  by  the  Creator  himself,  and  consum- 
mated by  the  incarnation  of  the  Divinity  in  our  humanity.  This  is 
the  proper  stand-point  whence  to  survey  the  special  providence  and 
the  special  grace  vouchsafed  to  man  as  he  now  is,  in  his  lapsed  and 
ruined  condition. 

Hence  the  true  and  enduring  sub-basis  of  a  rational  and  adequate 
education  of  a  human  being,  is  a  just  and  true  conception  of  man,  not 
as  he  was,  but  as  he  is  now,  and  as  he  must  forever  be.  Any  system 
not  based  on  these  conceptions  cannot  possibly  meet  the  demands  of 
our  nature,  or  develop  and  perfect  a  human  being  to  act  well  his 
part  in  the  great  drama  of  human  life.  The  only  text-book  for  such 
a  system,  and  such  a  study,  and  such  a  perfect  development  of  man, 
is  that  inestimable  volume,  vouchsafed  by  God  himself,  in  progress 
of  completion  some  sixteen  hundred  years.  It  develops  his  nature, 
his  origin,  his  destiny,  and  counsels  his  course  in  life  with  special 
reference  to  his  full  development  and  preparation  for  the  highest 
honors,  pleasures  and  enjoyments  of  which  he  is  capable.  It  adapts 
itself  to  his  highest  reason,  to  the  strongest  and  most  enduring  cravings 
of  his  nature,  and  reveals  to  him  the  only  pathway  to  true  glory,  honor 
and  immortality.  Hence  we  conclude  that  this  volume  should  be  a 
standing  and  a  daily  text-book  in  every  primary  school,  academy  and 
college  in  Christendom. 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  true  philosophy  of  man  demands  that  a 
rational  and  systematic  course  of  instruction  should  be  instituted  and 
prosecuted  with  a  special  reference  to  the  conscience,  the  heart  and  the 
spirit  of  man,  as  to  the  understanding  or  intellectual  powers,  the  taste 
and  the  imagination  of  the  pupil  or  the  student.    The  whole  world 


232 


ADDRESS  ON  EDUCATION. 


within  him,  as  well  as  the  whole  world  without  him,  should  not  only 
De  defined  and  developed,  but  cultivated,  matured  and  perfected,  in 
full  harmony  with  his  origin  and  destiny,  not  only  as  far  as  appertains 
to  the  present  world,  but  also  as  relates  to  the  future  and  the  eternal 
world. 

Man  was  not  created  for  this  earth  as  his  whole  patrimony.  He 
was  destined  to  be  a  cosmopolite,  not  of  our  planet  only,  or  of  our  solar 
system,  but  to  have  intercourse,  free  and  cordial,  with  the  tenantry 
of  all  worlds,  and  to  be  a  peer  of  the  highest  circles  of  the  highest 
sphere  of  God's  universe.  He  is,  in  fact,  through  the  interposition  of 
the  second  Adam,  made  a  peer  of  the  highest  realms  in  creation,  and  a 
joint  heir  with  Adam  the  Second,  who  is  himself  heir  of  all  things. 
May  we  not,  then,  with  still  more  emphasis  and  earnestness,  inquire. 
What  should  his  education  be  ? 

What  then  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  education,  inquire  the 
sparkling  eyes  around  me  ?  It  is  a  Koman  word,  of  etymological  com- 
position. It  is  tantamount  to  development — a  complete  development. 
It  enlarges,  invigorates,  beautifies,  adorns  and  beatifies  the  soul  and 
spirit  of  man.  King  Solomon  endorses  this  theory  in  affirming  that  ^'a 
man's  wisdom  makes  his  face  to  shine;"  that  ''its  merchandise  is  better 
than  silver,  its  increase  than  that  of  fine  gold."  "It  is  more  precious 
than  pearls;  and  all  the  objects  of  desire  are  not  equal  to  wisdom." 
He  affirms  that  "  its  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness ;  that  all  its  paths 
are  paths  of  peace;"  that  ''it  is  a  tree  of  life  to  those  who  possess  it, 
and  that  happy  is  he  who  retains  it." 

But  there  is  knowledge  without  wisdom ;  and  there  may  be,  at  a 
certain  angle,  wisdom  without  much  knowledge.  We  have  occasionally 
met  with  persons  of  much  knowledge  possessing  little  wisdom,  and  with 
some  possessing  much  wisdom  with  little  knowledge.  Education,  how- 
ever, imparts  knowledge  rather  than  wisdom;  while  wisdom-  uses 
knowledge  with  discretion,  applying  and  appropriating  it  to  high  and 
holy  purposes.  Wisdom  and  knowledge  are  of  the  same  paternity,  but 
not  of  the  same  maternity.  They  are,  however,  eagerly  to  be  sought 
after ;  and  he  that  seeketh  them  with  all  his  heart  shall  attain  to  wise 
counsels.    They  are  the  richest  gifts  of  God  to  mortal  man. 

Education,  we  repeat,  is  the  development  of  what  is  in  man,  and, 
according  to  Webster,  "it  comprehends  all  that  series  of  instruction 
and  discipline  which  is  intended  to  enlighten  the  understanding,  correct 
the  temper  and  form  the  manners  and  habits  of  youth,  and  fit  them 
for  usefulness  in  their  future  stations."  It  is,  therefore,  physical, 
literary,  moral  and  religious.    No  irreligious  man  is,  therefore,  a  well- 


ADDRESS  ON  EDUCATION. 


233 


educated  man.  His  head  may  be  large  and  crowded  with  ideas;  but 
his  heart  is  dwarfed  and  cold  to  God  and  man.  His  conscience  is 
callous,  if  not  seared  with  guilt,  and  his  moral  sensibilities  morbid,  if 
not  paralyzed  to  death.  When  we.  affirm  the  conviction  that  every 
well-educated  person  must  be  a  genuine  Christian,  we  would  not  be 
understood  as  holding  or  expressing  the  idea  that  a  Christian  is  the 
mere  fruit  of  a  good  literary,  moral  or  religious  education.  Still, 
without  education,  in  some  measure,  no  man  can  be  a  Christian.  He 
must  understand  in  some  degree  the  oracles  of  God.  Since  the  Bible 
contains  the  oracles  of  God,  and  since  these  oracles  are  written  in 
human  language,  that  language,  whatever  it  may  be  as  a  mother 
tongue,  must  be  the  vehicle  of  all  intercommunication  between  heaven 
and  earth,  between  God  and  man.  Now,  if  that  language  be  not 
understood  by  any  particular  person,  he  cannot  come  to  the  knowledge 
of  his  God  or  of  himself,  so  far  as  God  has  spoken  to  man,  either  of 
himself  or  of  man,  or  so  far  as  the  most  enlightened  man  can  develop 
in  words  the  being  of  God,  the  providence  of  God,  the  moral  govern- 
ment of  God,  or  the  general  salvation  which  he  has  provided  for  man 
in  his  moral  ruin. 

Education  is,  therefore,  essential  to  the  salvation  of  any  man  in 
whose  hand  God,  in  his  moral  government  or  overruling  providence, 
has  placed  a  Bible.  This  measure  of  education,  essential  to  a  man's 
self-reliance,  his  origin,  responsibilities  and  destiny,  and  to  his  appre- 
ciation of  a  revelation  from  God  concerning  a  remedial  system,  and 
man's  present  lapsed  and  ruined  condition,  is  as  indispensable  to  his 
immortal  spirit  and  happy  destiny  as  are  atmosphere  and  lungs  to 
his  animal  life  and  health.  We  merely  assert  these  positions,  because 
they  are  conceded  by  every  man  of  sound  judgment  and  self-disposing 
memory.  And,  therefore,  a  certain  amount  of  education  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  give  to  every  man  the  means  of  possessing  and  enjoying 
the  life  that  now  is,  or  that  future  and  everlasting  life  to  come. 

For  this  end,  there  is  in  every  child  an  innate  craving  after  know- 
ledge, as  constant  and  as  insatiate  as  the  craving  for  congenial  food. 
There  are,  indeed,  degrees  of  it  discernible  in  all  children;  and,  as  a 
general  rule,  in  the  exact  ratio  of  the  cravings  for  knowledge  is  the 
power  or  faculty  of  acquiring  it. 

But  of  all  the  knowledges  of  earth  and  time,  the  knowledge  of  our 
eternal  destiny  is  rationally  the  all-absorbing,  soul-captivating  and 
soul-subduing  craving  of  humanity.  A  human  being  devoid  of  this 
is  not  com.pos.  mentis,  nor,  indeed,  compos  corporis.  Lungs  without 
atmosphere  would  not  be  more  useless  or  worthless  than  this  insatiate 


234 


ADDRESS  ON  EDUCATION. 


craving  for  light  and  knowledge  without  some  communication  from 
the  Father  of  our  spirits  on  the  soul-absorbing  theme  of  our  future 
and  everlasting  destiny.  This  is,  after  all  the  disquisitions  on  the 
certainty  of  a  revelation  from  God  to  man,  embracing  his  future  and 
eternal  destiny,  the  most  palpable  a  priori  argument  in  favor  of  the 
prince  of  school-books — the  Holy  Bible. 

But  we  argue  not  this  question  as  though  it  were  still  a  doubtful 
onC:  We  argue  from  it  as  from  a  fixed  fact,  fully  and  cordially  and 
gratefully  conceded  by  those  whom  we  now  address.  The  Bible,  in- 
deed, is  the  tongue  of  the  universe,  ever  unfolding  its  mysteries,  ever 
developing  the  awful  and  glorious  character  of  that  magnificent  Archi- 
tect whose  sublime  and  awful  fiat  broke  the  solemn  silence  of  eternity, 
and  gave  birth  and  being  to  a  thousand  millions  of  suns,  and  thirty 
thousand  millions  of  attendant  planets, — 

"  Forever  singing,  as  they  shine, 
The  hand  that  made  us  is  Divine." 

One  of  the  most  obvious  and  impressive  arguments  for  the  intellectual 
and  moral  dignity  of  man,  is  the  fact  that  nothing  short  of  the  infinite, 
the  eternal  and  the  immutable,  can  meet  and  satisfy  the  cravings  of 
his  spiritual  nature.  There  is  more  of  philosophical  fact  than  of  fable 
in  the  tradition  that  the  son  of  Philip  and  Olympias — Alexander  of 
Macedon — having  conquered  the  world  that  then  was,  hung  his  sword 
and  trumpet  in  the  hall,  weeping  that  his  arm  was  hampered,  and  had 
not  room  enough  to  do  its  work,  in  a  world  so  small  as  ours.  Ambition 
reddens  at  this  tale,  and  hangs  its  head  in  solemn  contemplation.  But 
the  truth,  the  glorious  truth,  the  soul-subduing  truth,  is,  that  nothing 
but  the  infinite  and  the  eternal  can  satisfy  the  cravings  of  an  enlight- 
ened human  soul.  This  thought — -fact  may  I  call  it  ? — is  enough  to 
show  to  any  one  of  grave  reflection,  that,  whatever  may  be  said  of  the 
physical  or  the  intellectual  nature  of  man,  the  moral  and  the  spiritual 
are  his  transcendent  glory  and  felicity.  And  hence  we  argue,  that 
any  and  every  system  of  education  that  does  not  contemplate  this  at  a 
proper  stand-point  is  perfectly  at  sea,  in  a  boisterous  ocean,  without 
sail,  compass,  or  pilot  aboard,  and,  therefore,  can  never  anchor  in  the 
haven  of  safe  and  happy  repose. 

Hence  our  position,  our  capital  position,  is,  that  the  Holy.  Bible  must 
be  in  every  school  worthy  of  a  Christian  public  patronage,  and  not  in 
the  library  only,  but  daily  in  the  hand  of  teacher  and  pupil,  professor 
and  student.  A  dwelling-house  without  a  table,  a  chair  or  a  couch 
would  not,       out  esteem,  be  more  unfit  for  guests,  than  a  primary 


ADDRESS  OX  EDUCATION. 


235 


school,  an  academy  or  a  college,  without  a  Bible — not  in  the  library 
only,  but  daily  in  the  hand  of  the  student,  in  solemn  reading,  study 
and  exegetical  development. 

The  most  highly  educated  minds  in  Christendom  will,  nemine  con- 
tradicente,  with  one  accord,  depose  that  for  simplicity,  and  beauty, 
and  intelligibility  of  style,  as  well  as  for  the  grandeur,  the  majesty 
and  the  sublimity  of  its  oracular  developments,  it  has  no  equal,  much 
less  superior,  in  all  the  libraries  and  archives  of  literature  and 
science,  of  ancient  or  modern  institution.  It  stimulates  all  the  ener- 
gies of  the  human  soul,  awakens  all  its  powers  of  thought,  elevates  its 
conceptions,  directs  its  activities,  chastens  its  emotions,  and  uj-ges  it 
onward  and  upward  in  the  career  of  glory,  honor  and  immortality. 

There  is  an  unreasonable  and  an  unfortunate  prejudice  in  some 
regions,  touching  the  introduction  of  the  whole  subject  of  religion, 
especially  of  speculative  creeds  and  catechisms,  into  the  public  semi- 
naries of  this  our  age  and  nation.  Into  the  merits  or  the  demerits  of 
this  economy  and  dispensation  of  religious  truth,  or  of  theoretic  and 
speculative  disquisitions  of  a  religious  bearing,  we  have  neither  tasto 
nor  time  to  enter. 

Suffice  it  to  say  that  there  is  a  catholic,  as  well  as  a  provincial, 
formula  of  Divine  truth,  and  that  neither  of  them  ought  to  be  placed 
upon  the  table,  to  be  theologically  dissected  or  embalmed.  Chris- 
tianity is  an  abstract  noun,  from  the  adjective  Christian,  and  that 
from  Christ  the  consecrated.  But  the  Bible  being  a  book  of  facts, 
and  not  of  theories,  it  may  in  these  be  studied,  believed,  obeyed  and 
enjoyed,  without  one  speculative  oracle,  on  the  part  of  teacher  or 
pupil. 

It  is  universally  conceded  by  all,  whose  judgment  is  mature  and 
worthy  of  authority  amongst  the  masses,  that  no  man  was  ever  healed, 
saved  or  restored  to  health  or  life  by  an  assent  or  subscription  to  any 
abstract  formula  in  physics,  metaphysics  or  theology.  We  live  not, 
we  cannot  live,  on  alcohol,  or  on  any  distilled  spirits  whatever ;  but 
we  can  live  and  enjoy  good  health  on  bread  and  water.  And  so  it  is 
in  religion.  No  man  ever  entered  heaven,  according  to  the  Bible, 
either  on  physics  or  metaphysics.  It  is  by  faith,  based  on  facts,  and 
not  by  mere  doctrines,  orthodox,  assented  to,  that  any  one  is  reformed, 
sanctified  or  saved.  So  the  learned,  and  the  truly  religious,  of  all 
I    creeds  and  human  plat  forms,  unequivocally  proclaim. 

Why  not,  then,  rather  carry  the  Bible  than  the  catechism  to  school? 
Why  not  listen  to  God  rather  than  to  man  ?  Are  we  more  safe  in  the 
teachings  or  in  the  hand  of  man  than  of  God  ?    Who  teaches  like  Him. 


236 


ADDRESS  ON  EDUCATION. 


who  possesses  not  by  measure,  but  without  measure,  the  Spirit  of  all 
wisdom  and  understanding, — who  taught  on  earth,  and  who  speaks 
from  heaven,  with  the  plenary  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  all 
wisdom  and  understanding?  No  school,  worthy  of  Christian  patronage, 
ever  was  or  can  be  founded  on  a  catechism,  or  on  the  speculative  dog- 
mata of  any  sectarian  formula  of  opinions.  We  demand,  and  the  age 
we  live  in  demands,  facts,  and  not  theories,  Divine  oracles,  and  not 
human'  dogmata. 

Had  it  been  compatible  with .  Divine  wisdom  and  prudence  to  sub- 
stitute a  formula  of  abstract  doctrine,  or  to  give  what  we  call  a 
synopsis  of  Christian  doctrine  and  sound  orthodoxy,  could  he  not, 
would  he  not,  have  given  us  an  infallible  summary — a  stereotyped  and  a 
divinely  patented  formula  of  sound  opinions,  in  mode  and  form  to  a 
scruple?  The  fact  that  He  who  foresaw  the  end  of  every  institution 
from  the  beginning,  and  who  foreknew  all  the  involutions  and  evolu- 
tions of  human  kind,  did  not  do  it,  is,  to  our  mind,  an  unanswerable 
argument  against  any  effort  of  man  to  do  it. 

In  our  studies  of  what  is  commonly  called  nature,  or  the  material 
and  spiritual  universe,  we  observe  that,  despite  the  four  elements  of 
the  moderns,  God  in  nature,  in  providence,  in  moral  government,  and 
in  redemption,  presents  nothing  to  ma.n  in  the  abstract,  or  absolute 
elementary  form,  but  every  thing  in  a  concrete  and  relative  form.  So 
■contemplated,  the  universe  and  the  Bible  bear  the  demonstrable  im- 
press of  one  and  the  same  mind  and  will.  To  the  educated  eye  of 
sound  reason,  there  is  one  supreme  intelligence  everywhere  manifest, 
without  a  single  aberration ;  and  there  is,  to  the  cultivated  ear  of  re- 
ligion, an  omnipresent  harmony,  without  one  discordant  note  in  all 
the  spheres  of  God's  own  universe. 

There  is  no  apology  for  skepticism  or  infidelity,  in  heaven,  earth  or 
hell.  There  is  not  a  more  demonstrable  proposition  in  the  whole  area 
of  enlightened  reason  and  cultivated  intellect,  than  that  the  same  mind 
that  projected  the  universe  and  created  the  body,  soul  and  spirit  of 
man,  also  projected  the  oracles  of  Eternal  Truth,  which  constitute  the 
materials  of  that  volume  we  so  emphatically  and  impressively  rail  the 
Holy  Bible. 

The  works  of  the  great  sculptors,  carvers,  painters,  arch:J.ccts,  the 
Phidiases,  the  Praxiteles,  the  Raphaels,  the  Michel  Angelo3,  of  world- 
wide fame,  are  not  more  marked  and  characterized  in  the  monuments 
left  behind  them,  than  are  the  shepherds,  the  husbandmen,  the  fisher- 
men, the  prophets,  kings  and  priests,  chat  were  the  oracles  and  the 
Amanuenses  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  all  Divine  wisdom  and  knowledge, 


ADI'RESS  ON  EDUCATION. 


237 


embodied  and  embalmed  on  the  pages  of  that  much-neglected  volume 
emphatically  denominated  the  Book  of  Life  to  man. 

This  is  not  only  the  family  Bible,  the  Sunday-school  Bible,  the 
church  Bible,  but  should  be  the  common  school,  the  academy,  the 
college  and  the  Congress  Bible,  and  daily  read,  studied  and  practised 
in  and  by  them  all. 

The  Bible  is,  indeed,  the  tongue  of  creation.  It  inspires  sun,  moon 
and  stars.  It  not  only  echoes  in  the  thunders  of  heaven,  in  the  tem- 
pests, the  whirlwinds,  the  earthquakes  and  the  volcanoes  of  earth,  but 
it  speaks  in  the  still  small  voice  of  morning  and  evening,  in  the  con- 
science, in  the  heart  and  in  the  soul  of  man.  It  was  the  great  moral 
engine  of  ancient  civilization,  so  far  as  it  obtained  a  local  habitation 
and  a  name  amongst  human  kind. 

For  the  best  essay  of  modern  times  on  the  subject  of  the  best  means 
of  civilizing  the  tenantries  of  the  provinces  in  Great  Britain's  East 
India  possessions,  a  rich  medal  was  voted  to  the  author  of  an  essay 
whose  theory  of  civilization  was,  Give  to  Pagandom  the  whole  Bible 
in  every  mans  vernacular,  and  teach  every  man  to  read  it."  The  Bible 
and  the  schoolmaster  are  God's  two  great  instrumentalities  to  enlighten, 
to  civilize  and  to  aggrandize  man. 

The  Assyrian  empire  was  annihilated  by  the  Medo-Persian,  the 
Medo-Persian  by  the  Grecian,  and  the  Grecian  by  the  Eoman.  But 
Bible  civilization,  even  in  its  rudimental  elements,  fettered  by  Grecian 
and  Koman  philosophies,  falsely  so  called,  sapped  and  mined  the  bases 
of  Pagan  governments,  and  gradually  paved  the  way  to  a  more  rational, 
humane  and  dignified  civilization. 

The  whole  philosophy  of  the  highest  civilization  ever  exhibited  on 
earth,  or,  indeed,  conceivable  in  our  horizon,  is  summarily  compre- 
hended in  two  precepts,  on  which,  according  to  the  greatest  philo- 
sopher that  ever  appeared  amongst  men,  depend  the  whole  law  and  the 
prophets.  These  two  precepts  are  but  two  manifestations  or  applica- 
tions of  one  principle.  Love  to  God  and  love  to  man,  on  the  part  of 
man,  is  the  gravitating  principle  conservative  of  a  rational  and  moral 
universe.  The  centres  of  all  systems  are  attracting  and  radiating 
centres.  It  is  so  in  the  physical,  the  moral  and  the  spiritual  universe. 
The  analogies  of  the  physical  to  the  spiritual,  or  of  the  spiritual  to  the 
physical,  universe,  so  far  as  observation  extends  its  dominion,  aided  by 
the  light  of  the  Bible,  and  what  is  sometimes  called  the  light  of  nature, 
fully  and  most  satisfactorily  demonstrate  and  attest  that  they  are  the 
offspring  of  one  and  the  same  supreme  intelligence,  and,  therefore,  they 
aeveraJ^.y,  more  or  less,  interpret  and  sustain  one  ancther. 


238 


ADDRESS  ON  EDUCATION. 


We  may  change  the  terminology  of  whatever  constitutes  our  beau 
ideal  of  a  perfect  social  system  ;  but  the  facts  or  realities  of  humanity, 
in  its  most  extended  horizon,  are  the  fruit  of  a  piety  based  upon  a 
Divine  communication.  Hence  the  Bible,  daily  in  the  hand  of  every 
pupil  in  every  school,  is  not  only  the  best  antidote  against  the  frailties 
:and  the  follies  of  man,  but  is  also  the  sovereign  directory  in  all  that 
constitutes  an  amiable,  honorable  and  magnanimous  man  or  woman. 

A  gentle-ma^n  and  a  gentle-womsin  may  be,  and,  indeed,  often  are, 
confounded,  in  our  current  dialect,  with  a  genteel  man  and  a  genteel 
woman.  But  these  are  the  mere  creatures  of  the  tailor  or  mantua- 
maker,  the  barber  or  the  milliner,  possessing  the  fashionable,  diction 
and  mannerism  of  a  Bostonian,  a  Londoner  or  a  Parisian.  These, 
indeed,  are  the  creatures  of  perverted  reason  and  romantic  fancy; 
often  at  war  with  head,  and  heart,  and  conscience,  alienating  the 
reason,  the  moral  sensibilities  and  the  affections,  from  all  that  is  truly 
amiable,  estimable  and  praiseworthy  in  the  legitimate  aspirations  of 
man  or  woman. 

Education  is  a  transcendently  interesting  theme.  Its  merits,  its 
claims,  its  achievements,  its  enjoyments,  its  honors  and  its  rewards, 
are  not  to  be  told  in  a  few  minutes,  nor  inscribed  on  a  few  pages.  It  is 
more  than  mere  science,  art,  literature,  philosophy,  theology  or  Christ- 
ology.  It  is  the  perfect  development  and  decoration  of  man,  body, 
soul  and  spirit.  It  develops  and  adorns  his  animal,  intellectual,  moral 
and  spiritual  nature.  It  enthrones  reason  and  conscience  within  him, 
and  subordinates  his  animalism  to  the  direction  and  control  of  an 
enlightened  conscience  and  a  purified  heart. 

To  achieve  these,  is  the  great  end  and  intention  of  a  rational,  moral 
and  religious  education.  And,  as  assumed  in  our  premises,  it  must  be 
adapted  to  our  whole  constitution,  our  position  in  the  social  compact, 
and  our  eternal  destiny  in  the  universe  of  God.  Any  of  these  over- 
looked, neglected  or  disparaged,  must  ordinarily,  in  the  common  course 
of  human  events,  terminate  unfortunately  and  unhappily.  The  indi- 
vidual pupil  is,  first  of  all,  the  loser,  but  society  must,  more  or  less, 
suffer  in  every  such  failure. 

We  have  in  all  communities,  formally  or  informally,  a  joint-stock 
concern.  The  honest,  industrious,  frugal  and  successful  operators  in 
the  busy  hive  of  humanity  do  always  suffer  from,  and  generally  have 
to  pay  all  the  costs  of,  all  the  drones,  spendthrifts  and  marauders 
within  their  respective  localities.  More  than  half  the  common  and 
necessary  expenses  of  social  life  are  imposed  upon  us  through  the 
neglect  of  a  rational  system  of  universal  education,  in  the  perfect 


ADDRESS  ON  EDUCATION. 


239 


development  of  what  legitimately  enters  into  its  unsophisticated  defini- 
tion and  import. 

Were  we  arithmetically  to  compute  our  taxes,  annually  paid,  charge- 
able to  the  neglect  of  a  rational  system  ol  intellectual,  moral  and  reli- 
gious education,  based  upon  the  mature  oracles  of  reason,  of  human 
experience,  and  the  authentic  annals  of  expenditures  on  account  of  the 
drones,  loungers,  loafers,  technically  defined,  in  erecting  for  them 
pillories,  jails,  court-houses,  penitentiaries,  prison-shops,  hospitals, 
houses  of  correction,  armies  and  navies,  to  say  nothing  of  lawyers, 
judges,  courts  of  oyer  and  terminer,  &c.  &c.,  all  of  which,  or  most  of 
which,  are  the  legitimate  results  of  the  entire  or  partial  neglect  of 
timely  physical,  intellectual,  moral  and  religious  culture,  they  would 
be  astounding.  These,  indeed,  are  the  cardinal  points  in  human  educa- 
tion, in  reference  to  which  the  ship  of  our  humanity  must  direct  its 
course  across  the  ocean  of  human  ignorance  and  depravity,  at  the  peril 
of  vessel,  cargo  and  all  the  hands  aboard. 

No  sage  philosopher,  no  profound  political  economist,  no  common 
philanthropist,  no  minister  of  State  or  of  Church,  has  given  to  this 
subject  a  tithe  of  the  thought  and  earnest  attention  which  its  vital 
importance  and  its  superlative  claims  legitimately  demand  at  our  hands. 
That  an  amelioration  of  the  social  system  is  practicable,  and  that  it  is 
desirable,  every  man  of  enlightened  reason  and  sober  thought  must 
admit.  A  cold  indifference,  indeed  a  sinful  apathy,  seems  to  exist  on 
the  part  of  many  who  possess  an  influence  which,  were  it  discreetly 
used  and  brought  to  bear  on  the  public  mind,  might  not  only  stay  the 

j    progress  of  this  social  delinquency,  but  introduce  such  a  system  of 

'    moral  education,  based  on  the  true  science  of  man  and  of  the  social 
system,  as  would  at  least  prevent  the  growth  or  spread  of  these  noxious 

'    elements,  which  ultimately  work  the  degradation  and  ruin  of  every 

I  people. 

We  hold  it  to  be  a  paramount  duty  of  every  citizen,  to  seek  the  good 
I  of  that  people  amongst  whom  himself  and  his  posterity  are,  by  Divine 
Providence,  located.  The  amor  patrice  of  the  Greeks  and  of  the 
Romans,  of  the  ancient  and  modern  Jews  and  Gentiles,  though  not  a 
virtue  wholly  disconnected  from  our  native  selfishness,  is  still  a  duty 
of  paramount  importance,  not  merely  to  ourselves,  but,  in  its  wide- 
spreading  and  long-enduring  influence,  more  or  less  bearing  upon  the 
destiny  of  subsequent  generations. 

No  man  on  earth,  by  any  Divine  or  human  warrant,  lives  solely  for 
himself.  Others  providentially  have  lived,  and  do  live,  for  him;  and 
both  religiously  and  morally  he  is  obliged  to  live  for  others,  or  to  make 


240 


ADDRESS  ON  EDUCATION. 


his  life  profitable  to  them.  No  man,  in  any  society,  lives  for  himself 
or  dies  for  himself.  This  is  an  oracle  both  of  reason  and  of  revelation. 
And  this  fact  alone  is  superlatively  suggestive  of  the  premises  from 
which  we  should  reason  on  the  whole  subject  of  education — physical, 
intellectual  and  moral.  The  world  is  so  constituted,  that  its  fortunes 
or  its  misfortunes  may  be  materially,  if  not  essentially,  changed  for  the 
better  or  for  the  worse  by  the  education  of  one  individual  actor  in  the 
drama  of  one  generation.  This  actor,  this  agent  for  good  or  evil  to 
contemporaries  and  to  posterity,  on  some  scale,  large  or  small,  often 
has  been,  and  may  hereafter  be,  the  creature  of  a  propitious  or  an  un- 
propitious  education.  Histories  and  biographies  of  all  sorts — -literary, 
moral,  philosophical,  political  and  religious  —  abound  with  examples 
and  illustrations  of  the  influence,  direct  and  indirect,  of  the  incal- 
culable good  or  evil  commenced,  conducted  and  consummated,  by  indi- 
viduals, clubs,  associations,  councils  and  conventions,  in  each  or  in  all  of 
which,  one,  two,  or  three  master-spirits,  prompting,  inspiring,  guiding 
and  controlling,  have  originated,  matured  and  consummated  crises 
of  good  and  evil,  in  Church  and  State,  in  public  and  in  private  life, 
in  sciences  and  in  arts,  useful  and  ornamental,  the  tendencies  and  bear- 
ings of  which  have  continued  for  generations  past,  and  will  continue 
for  generations  to  come.  Old  Testament  and  New  Testament  history, 
Chaldean,  Persian,  Medo-Persian,  Grecian,  Eoman,  German,  Fren<^,h, 
English  and  American  histories  and  biographies,  furnish  materials  for 
a  hundred  volumes  in  proof  of  the  position,  that  sometimes  one,  two  or 
three  distinguished  men  have  stamped  their  image,  not  merely  on 
the  coinage  of  their  respective  countries,  but  on  the  masses  that  have 
handled  it,  and  transmitted  it,  with  their  manners  and  customs,  during 
hundreds,  if  not  •  thousands,  of  years.  The  Bible  alone,  which  is,  or 
ought  to  be,  in  every  man's  hands  at  least  once  or  twice  a  day,  fur- 
nishes, in  its  biographies  and  narratives,  enough,  and  more  than 
enough,  to  convince  any  reasonable  man,  that  education,  good  or  bad, 
has  been  the  most  immediate,  and  continuous,  and  potent  agency,  in 
the  fortunes  and  misfortunes  of  mankind,  from  Adam  and  Noah  down 
to  this  present  hour. 

From  this  meagre  outline  of  the  all-permeating  and  all-potent  agency 
of  education  in  the  affairs  and  destinies  of  the  tribes,  and  nations,  and 
empires  of  earth,  we  are  authorised  to  conclude,  that  it  is  the  para- 
mount duty,  privilege  and  honor  of  every  family,  tribe,  state  and 
empire  on  earth,  to  take  it  under  its  most  special  care,  direction,  super- 
vision and  patrimony. 

The  richest  mine  in  any  community  is  its  mind.    In  it  are  found  iho 


ADDRESS  ON  EDUCATION. 


241 


wealth  of  nations,  the  honor,  the  dignity  and  the  aggrandizement  of 
every  community  on  the  verdant  earth.  It  is  a  Divine  decree,  which 
should  be  as  familiar  as  household  words,  and  as  oft  repeated,  that 
educated  mind  must  govern,  and  does  govern,  the  world,  and  the  uni- 
verse, of  which  it  is  a  constituent  part. 

Our  lawgivers,  our  law-interpreters,  our  judges,  our  executives,  should 
know  this,  feel  it,  realize  it,  and  patronize  national  education,  to  the 
utmost  extent  of  constitutional  limits.  Why  should  we  not  work  this 
mine  with  more  intensity  of  interest,  with  more  careful  and  paternal 
solicitude,  with  more  liberality  of  support,  with  more  generosity  of 
endowment,  than  any  other  mine  of  national  wealth — than  any  other 
fountain  of  national  dignity  and  prosperity  ?  All  those  lawgivers  and 
rulers  are  penny-wise  and  pound-foolish,  whose  national  coffers  are 
replete  with  gold,  while  a  majority  of  their  population  are  steeped  in 
ignorance,  and  more  or  less  polluted  with  crime. 

To  keep  within  the  precincts  of  one  letter  of  our  English  alphabet, 
we  ask — How  many  more  Franklins,  Fultons,  Fausts,  Farels,  Fauquiers, 
Fayettes,  F^ndlons,  Fergusons,  Fields,  Fieldings,  Findleys,  Flavels, 
.Fleetwoods,  Flemings,  Fletchers,  Forbeses,  Fosters,  Forces,  Francises, 
Frederics  and  Fullers,  might  we,  and  mother  England,  have  had,  pro- 
vided only,  as  a  people,  we  had  sooner  learned  that  educated  mind  is 
the  true  riches,  the  true  honor  and  the  real  estate  of  any  and  every 
people ! 

But  our  time  and  our  premises  are  too  much  restricted  to  enter 
into  the  development  of  this  theme.  But  we  need  not  go  far  abroad 
in  search  of  argument,  illustration,  or  proof  of  the  incomparable  value, 
benefit  and  importance  of  education,  in  all  its  Ijearings  upon  the  des- 
tiny of  man  now,  henceforth  and  forever.  In  fact,  the  whole  earth, 
with  all  its  riches,  real  and  personal,  was  designed  by  its  Creator  to 
be  one  grand  constellation  of  schools,  of  every  rank  and  order,  for 
training,  developing  and  perfecting  humanity,  not  merely  to  eat, 
drink,  fi'olic,  dance  and  die,  but  to  live,  reign,  triumph  in  immortal 
youth,  to  bloom  and  fructify  forever  in  the  eternal  paradise  of  God. 

From  a  consideration  of  this  lofty  and  profound  theme,  an  im- 
portant and  practically  interesting  question  arises  in  every  inquisitive 
and  earnest  mind.  How  is  this  education  to  be  prosecuted,  and,  in 
some  degree,  perfected?  To  answer  such  a  question,  might  occupy 
the  details  of  a  handsome  volume.  We  can  only  say  at  present,  that 
the  great  text-book  of  humanity,  especially  in  its  moral,  spiritual  and 
everlasting  relations  and  enjoyments,  is  emphatically  the  Bible;  not 
on  +he  shelf,  nor  on  the  family  stand,  but  daily  in  the  hands,  under 

16 


242 


ADDRESS  ON  EDUCATION. 


the  eyes  and  upon  tlie  conscience  and  the  heart  of  every  pupil  capable 
of  reading  it.  I  do  not  mean  in  the  nursery,  the  infant  school,  the 
Beminary,  the  academy,  the  college,  the  university,  but  in  whatever 
you  may  please  to  call  the  school,  the  Bible  must  be  daily,  solemnly 
read,  and  the  attention  of  the  pupils  or  students  concentrated  upon  it, 
with  corresponding  literary  and  exegetical  developments,  in  harmony 
with  the  capacity  and  attainments  of  the  pupil,  whether  child  or  strip- 
ling, whether  in  full  manhood  or  womanhood.  We  have  wrought  out 
this  problem  to  our  entire  satisfaction  during  the  last  fifteen  years, 
in  college  life;  and  we  previously  wrought  it  out  for  seven  years  in 
academic  life,  and  have  proof,  strong  as  Holy  Writ,  of  its  practicability, 
power  and  efficacy. 

In  the  Holy  Bible  we  have  five  books  in  the  Christi^tJ  Scriptures 
and  five  primary  books  in  the  Jewish  Scriptures.  These  are,  in  their 
simple  facts  and  docume.nts,  an  all-sufficient  library  for  this  dej^art- 
ment  of  education.  We  have  two  other  Bibles  for  two  other  collateral 
studies,  which  constitute  and  consummate  our  studies  of  religion  and 
morality.  These  are  the  volumes  of  the  earth  and  the  heavens :  the 
former,  the  text-book  of  geology;  the  latter,  the  text-book  of  astro- 
nomy. These  three  infallible  volumes  severally  studied,  analytically 
and  synthetically,  furnish  ample  data  for  any  and  every  student  in  the 
great  family  of  man  who  desires  to  comprehend  himself  in  his  origin, 
relations  and  destiny  in  this  magnificent  universe. 

But,  in  the  details  of  moral  culture,  it  should  be  notpd  with  much 
emphasis,  that  of  those  pupils  that  enter  schools  of  all  orders,  a  fearful 
majority  are  beyond  the  period  of  successful  moral  culture.  Neglected 
at  home,  they  enter  schools  from  which  they  very  seldom  can  receive 
that  culture  most  essential  to  the  full  exhibition  of  their  spiritual  and 
moral  constitution.  If  this  be  neglected  in  the  nursery  and  infant 
school,  as  it  is  in  a  majority — a  fearful  majority — of  cases,  there  is  not 
that  full  as'surance  of  hope  which  we  so  fondly  desire  to  entertain 
that  it  can  be  done  in  the  most  primary  school  beyond  the  nursery. 
There  is  a  seed-time  in  humanity  as  well  as  in  the  seasons  of  the 
year,  which,  if  passed,  is  rarely,  if  ever,  to  be  recalled  but  by  the 
special  grace  of  God.  Paul's  compliments  to  Timothy,  touching  his 
grandmother  Lois  and  his  mother  Eunice,  are  like  apples  of  gold  in 
pictures  of  silver,  and  ought  to  be  committed  to  memory  by  every 
mother  in  Christendom.* 

But,  When  may  moral  culture  most  hopefully  commence  ?  is  a  grave 


*  2  Tim.  i.  5  ;  iii.  15. 


ADDRESS  ON  EDUCATION.  243 

question — a  most  interesting  question.  Shall  we  say  in  grandmother 
Lois,  or  in  mother  Eunice  ?  Before  birth,  or  after  it  ?  This  is  to  me^ 
and  to  you,  ladies  and  gentlemen  —  Christian  ladies  and  Christian 
gentlemen — a  very  grave,  serious  and  highly  interesting  question. 
But  a  word  to  the  wise  is  sufficient  on  any  thing.  It  must  commence 
with  the  commencement  of  our  being,  and  be  continued  till  the  period 
of  our  full  physical  and  moral  development.  So  have  said  our  Solo- 
mons and  our  Apostle  Pauls,  with  all  the  good  and  great,  the  learned 
and  wise  men  of  the  last  three  thousand  years.  As  the  twig  is  bent, 
the  trees  inclined.  But  it  is  not  merely  to  commence  with  our  being, 
but  to  be  continued,  in  the  female  sex,  to  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  in 
the  other  sex — more  slow  to  learn — till  three  times  seven,  or  one-and- 
twenty  years. 

My  old  friend,  Robert  Owen,  of  Lanark,  Scotland — once  well  known 
in  this  city — took  the  position,  and  stoutly  maintained  it,  that  man  in 
his  prime  was  but  the  creature  of  mere  circumstances.  But,  since  the 
era  of  new  spiritual  communications,  he  has  learned  better,  and  aban- 
doned the  position,  and  now  imagines  that  there  is  more  in  man  than 
flesh,  blood  and  bones,  and  that  there  are  at  least  infernal  spirits,  and 
that  the  presumption  may  now  be  entertained  that  there  are  also 
supernal  spheres,  with  supernal  tenantry,  all  of  which  were  to  him,  in 
by -gone  days,  less  than  problematical. 

But  God's  own  Book  of  books  is  a  book  of  facts,  and  not  at  all  a 
book  of  theories.  Facts  are  for  children  and  the  great  masses  of 
humanity;  philosophies,  speculations  and  doctrines,  abstruse  and 
metaphysical,  are  for  philosophers  and  dogmatists,  and  not  for  the 
great  masses  of  humanity.  Moses  begins  with  facts  and  palpable 
documents,  and  ends  with  them ;  so  do  all  other  inspired  writers. 
They  give  us  every  thing  in  the  concrete  and  nothing  in  the 
abstract.  Hence,  the  divine  area  of  creation,  of  providence,  of 
moral  government  and  of  redemption  furnish  the  proper .  materials 
of  history  and  prophecy,  which  include  the  contents  of  both  Testa- 
ments. 

This  is  the  material  and  the  manner  of  all  the  inspired  documents ; 
and  it  should  be  the  material  and  the  manner  of  a  useful  and  practical 
education.  We  can  discover  no  good  reason  why  there  should  be  any 
difference.  God  is  revealed  to  man  by  what  he  has  done  and  what 
he  has  said,  just  as  man  is  revealed  to  man  by  what  he  has  done  and 
what  he  has  said.  Moral  culture  is  the  great  end  of  all  human  educa- 
tion.   This  is  the  polar  star  of  our  whole  theory.    Much  experience, 


244 


ADDRESS  ON  EDUCATION. 


and  more  observation,  have  most  satisfactorily  convinced  us  that  this 
can  never  be  achieved  without  the  instrumentality  of  Grod's  own  Book 
of  Life.  Scholastic  ethics  are  jejune  provisions  for  an  immortal  mind. 
God's  Book  is  the  only  book  of  life  to  man.  His  oracles  are  living 
oracles,  and  they  are  also  life-giving  oracles.  The  word  of  God  is 
a  liviTig  and  a  life-giving  word.  It  imparts  the  light  of  life  to  a 
benighted  world.  It  is  a  monumental  fact,  to 'be  read  and  studied 
and  admired  by  every  reflecting  and  cultivated  mind,  that  God  created 
the  universe  by  his  word.  In  the  only  infallible  and  satisfactory  ac- 
count of  the  origin  of  the  material  universe,  we  are  informed  that 
twice  seven  fiats  give  to  it  birth  and  being  and  location.  This  ante- 
dates all  the  existing  and  all  the  dead  philosophies  of  man  by  thou- 
sands of  years. 

The  Book  of  God  is  the  only  book  of  life,  the  only  charter  of  immor- 
tahty  to  man.  A  school,  an  academy,  a  college,  without  the  Bible  in 
it,  is  Hke  a  universe  without  a  centre  and  without  a  sun.  In  its  hal- 
lowed teachings  and  in  its  spiritual  breathings  upon  our  spirits  they 
are  stimulated,  energized  into  all  the  activities  of  a  moral,  a  spiritual 
and  an  eternal  Kfe  that  satisfies  the  perpetual  cravings  of  oui'  nature, 
the  longings  of  our  souls  for  the  infinite,  the  eternal,  the  unfading  joys 
of  a  bhssful  immortality. 

We  demand  no  politico- ecclesiastical  creed,  rubric  or  platform,  no 
red-book  dictated  and  commanded  or  recommended  by  the  civil  sword 
or  an  intolerant  priesthood.  We  want  the  Holy  Bible  of  Protestant 
Christendom  to  be  consecrated  in  the  heads,  the  hearts,  the  consciences 
and  the  lives  of  our  sons  and  daughters.  We,  therefore,  plead  with 
God,  and  we  plead  with  man,  and  especially  with  the  curators,  the 
superintendents,  the  presidents,  the  professors,  the  teachers,  of  aU  semi- 
naries of  learning,  to  permit  their  pupils,  if  not  to  cause  them,  duly  to 
listen  to  God  speaking  to  them,  teaching  them  and  directing  them  in 
the  path  of  life  and  honor  and  blessedness  eternal.  If,  with  Black- 
stone,  we  say,  "  The  trial  by  jury  is  the  palladium  of  our  civil  rights," 
the  Bible  in  any  school  in  America  is  the  palladium  of  all  our  rights, 
titles  and  honors,  temporal,  spiritual  and  eternal. 

If,  with  the  Honorable  Soame  Jenyns,  of  England,  we  place  not 
patriotism  among  the  Christian  virtues  because  our  Lord  did  not, 
being  only  social  selfishness,  we  will  not  withhold  that  Book  of.  books 
from  any  pupil  of  any  school,  in  any  section  of  humanity,  which  places 
fhilanthropy  before  our  eyes  in  its  most  attractive  forms,  and  which, 
indeed,  enthrones  it  in  the  heart  of  every  well-educated  youth,  as 


ADDRESS  ON  EDUCATION. 


245 


the  queen  of  all  the  social  virtues.  If  our  humanity  be  limited  or 
circumscribed  by  political  and  social  leagues  and  corporations,  let  us 
infuse  into  every  youthful  heart  that  spirit  of  universal  benevolence 
by  the  teachings  of  that  Divine  Spirit  which  makes  it  our  duty, 
our  interest,  our  honor  and  our  happiness  to  embrace  in  the  bosom 
of  Christian  benevolence  the  whole  family  of  man;  in  doing  which, 
we  practically  imitate  the  Father  of  all  mercies  and  the  Grod  of 
all  grace,  who  causes  his  sun  to  rise  upon  the  good  and  the  evil, 
and  who  sends  the  early  and  the  latter  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the 
unjust. 

To  the  professional  teachers  of  the  youth  of  our  country,  we  would 
express  an  opinion  which  we  have  long  cherished,  and  which  we  esteem 
it  both  a  duty  and  a  privilege,  on  such  occasions  as  the  present,  to 
express.  Gentlemen,  from  many  years'  experience  and  observation — 
at  least  one-quarter  of  a  century  of  my  life  a  professional  teacher — and 
familiar  with  many  of  the  most  reputable  teachers  in  the  Old  World 
and  in  the  New,  for  at  least  half  a  century,  I  have  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  no  class  of  men,  in  any  department  of  society,  have  more  of 
the  good  or  evil  destiny  of  the  world  in  their  hands  and  under  their 
influence  than  the  teachers  of  our  schools  and  colleges.  In  forming 
this  opinion,  I  have  taken  into  my  premises  that  everywhere-appre- 
ciated and  highly  respected  and  respectable  class  of  men  that  occupy 
the  pulpit — sometimes  called  the  sacred  desk — on  at  least  one  day  in 
every  week.  They  have  very  promiscuous  and  sometimes  very  un- 
stable hearers,  and  they  give  them  but  one  lesson,  or  at  most  two,  in 
one  week,  and  these  are  not  protracted  generally  beyond  the  limits  of 
a  single  hour,  while  most  of  you  occupy  the  attention  of  your  pupils 
more  time  in  one  month  than  they  do  in  a  whole  year.  In  point  of 
time  and  labor,  one  academic  teacher  is  equal,  in  this  area,  to  some  ten 
or  twelve  religious  instructors.  Besides,  you  teach  with  a  book  in  your 
hand,  and  the  same  book  is  in  the  hand  of  every  pupil  in  your  class. 
The  preacher  takes  a  verse,  and  you  take  a  page  or  a  plurality  of 
pages,  in  a  single  lesson.  You  have,  besides,  this  advantage — your 
classes  are  children,  or  young  men  with  good  memories,  not  deeply 
inscribed  with  the  cares  and  troubles  of  life.  Of  course,  then,  you 
have  a  power  paramount  in  shaping  the  destinies  of  mankind,  greatly 
superior  to  that  of  the  priesthood  and  clergy  of  this  age.  You  read 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  too,  in  the  vernacular,  and  sometimes  in  the 
original;  hence,  in  truth,  I  must  regard  you  as  quite  as  influential 
upon  the  destinies  of  the  world  as  are  the  clergy  of  the  living  age. 


I 


246 


ADDRESS  0>-  EDUCATION. 


Cherish,  then,  a  high  estimate  of  your  noble  calling,  and  estimate 
your  responsibilities  in  the  light  of  eternity;  and  act,  accordingly, 
your  part  as  responsible  functionaries  in  planting  in  the  heart,  in  the 
dawn  of  life,  the  seeds  of  those  holy  principles  which  enlarge  the 
understanding,  purify  the  heart  and  adorn  with  high  and  holy  virtuee 
the  life  of  m&n. 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


AN  ADDRESS  DELIVERED  AT  CLARKSBURG,  VA.,  1841. 


Fellow-Citizens  : — 

This,  I  trust,  is  an  auspicious  day  for  the  Old  Dominion.  I  hail  it 
as  a  day  long  to  be  remembered,  on  which,  for  the  first  time,  a  respe»„t- 
able  portion  of  the  intelligence,  patriotism  and  philanthropy  of  C\s- 
Alpine  Virginia  have  assembled  in  convention  gravely  and  benevolently 
to  deliberate  on  the  ways  and  means  by  which  this  community  shall 
discharge  to  itself  its  paramount  and  all-transcendent  duty.  For  if 
there  be  any  truth  in  the  oft-repeated  maxim  that  a  representative 
government  depends  not  merely  for  its  prosperity  and  perpetuity,  but 
for  its  very  existence,  on  the  intelligence  and  virtue  of  its  citizens, 
evident  it  is  that  the  great  and  superlative  duty  of  the  people  and  of 
the  Government  they  have  placed  over  them  is  to  provide  for,  and 
secure,  that  intelligence  and  virtue,  by  a  system  of  education  not  only 
rational  and  well  adapted  in  itself,  but  also  coextensive  with  the  entire 
wants  of  the  whole  community.  Until  this  be  done,  our  liberties  are 
not  secured,  and  nothing  can  be  efi'ectually  done  to  perpetuate  and 
extend  to  our  heirs  and  successors  that  rich  inheritance  obtained  for 
us  at  the  expense  of  so  much  blood  and  treasure,  and  transmitted  to 
us  by  those  noble  spirits  who  for  this  end  imperilled  all,  and  staked 
their  lives,  their  fortunes  and  their  sacred  honor. 

Two  objects  will  naturally  engross  the  attention  of  this  convention. 
The  first — What  sort  of  an  education  is  adapted  to  the  common  wants 
of  the  whole  community,  to  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  State  ? 
and  the  second — How  is  it  to  be  made  truly  common  and  accessible  to 
all? 

But  as  introductory  to  this  discussion,  certain  great  principles  ought 
to  be  clearly  propounded,  developed  and  accredited  by  those  who 
undertake  to  efiect  this  great  moral  revolution  in  the  community.  The 
interest  that  the  State  has,  purely  as  a  matter  of  policy,  in  establishing 

247 


248 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


and  sustaining  such  a  system  in  whole  or  in  part,  the  duties  which 
devolve  upon  the  Government  in  reference  to  the  establishment  and 
maintenance  of  such  a  system,  should  be  thoroughly  laid  open  to  the 
apprehension  and  full  conviction  of  all  persons  of  mature  age  and 
reason.  These  points  should  be  elaborated,  illustrated  and  confirmed 
by  facts  and  docuiieDts,  plain  and  undeniable,  in  all  the  primary  meet- 
ings of  the  people.  Lecturers  should  perigrinate  every  town,  village 
and  hamlet  in  the  State,  and  awaken  the  whole  community  to  the 
consideration  of  the  matter.  In  arguing  the  first  point — the  political 
interest  that  the  State  has  in  establishing  and  patronizing  universal 
education — care  should  be  taken  to  show  that  educated  mind  is  tho 
true  commonwealth  of  every  community.  This  may  be  done  by 
showing  clearly  and  conclusively  that  it  is  mind  and  society,  and  only 
these  two,  that  find  any  value  in  the  earth  above  that  which  the  brutal 
creation  enjoy.  Of  what  use,  for  example,  are  hills  and  mountains 
stored  with  minerals  and  metals  of  the  most  valuable  character,  with- 
out educated  mind  to  search  them  out  and  to  convert  them  into  use  ? 
Of  what  value  to  the  Indian  are  the  forests  in  which  he  roams,  or  the 
mountains  and  hills  of  brass  and  iron  on  which  he  treads,  destitute 
as  he  is  of  science  and  educated  art  to  convert  them  to  his  use  and 
comfort  ?  Of  w^hat  value  the  richest  mines  of  India  or  Peru,  of  Mar- 
garetta  or  Potosi,  to  him  who  has  not  skill  to  work  them,  and  art  to 
fuse,  and  compound,  and  mould,  and  hammer,  and  polish  their  products 
into  the  conveniencies  and  comforts  and  elegances  of  civilized  life? 
Do  not  the  granite  hills  and  marble  quarries  of  Italy  and  Egypt — the 
pearls  and  hidden  treasures  of  the  ocean — the  diamond,  the  ruby  and 
the  emerald,  with  all  the  precious  stones  of  the  earth — acquire  even 
their  beauty  and  lustre,  their  interest  and  value,  from  the  mind  that 
science  illumines  and  the  hand  that  education  guides  in  laying  them 
under  contribution  to  the  wants  of  man  ? 

Kay,  may  it  not  be  shown  that  the  richest  valleys  and  the  most 
luxuriant  soils  owe  their  fruitfulness  more  to  the  skill  and  labor  of  the 
cultivator,  than  to  their  natural  and  inherent  richness? — that  the  agri- 
culturist, the  planter  and  the  manufacturer  owe  to  science  and  general 
education  the  utensils  and  machinery  of  their  respective  callings  and 
pursuits  ? — that  it  is  educated  mind  that  makes  the  wilderness  and  the 
solitary  place  glad,  and  that  causes  the  desert  to  rejoice  and  blossom 
as  the  rose?  Of  all  the  sources  of  national  wealth,  may  it  not  be 
affirmed  that  not  only  is  the  mind,  the  iniellect  of  the  community,  the 
richest  and  the  most  considerable  part,  but  that  it  is  that  which  gives 
value,  and  riches,  and  beauty,  and  convenience,  and  comfort,  and 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


249 


refinement  to  every  thing  else?  Viewed  as  a  separate  and  distinct 
item  of  the  national  domain,  it  deserves .  more  labor,  cultivation  and 
improvement  than  all  the  other  items  of  public  property  in  the  statistics 
of  a  nation's  wealth.  Of  what  avail  to  the  world  the  genius  of  a  Newton, 
a  Franklin,  a  Fulton,  without  education?  To  what  do  we  owe  the 
plough,  the  sickle  and  the  scythe,  the  cotton-gin,  the  shuttle  and  the 
loom  ?  To  what  the  ships,  the  steamboats,  the  railroads,  the  thousand- 
and-one  inventions  that  subdue  our  forests,  that  beautify  our  fields 
and  meadows,  our  orchards  and  gardens,  that  erect  and  adorn  our 
dwellings,  that  build  our  towns  and  cities  and  replenish  and  enrich 
them  with  the  products  of  every  clime — with  the  fabrics  of  every 
hand?  To  these  and  a  thousand  such  inquiries  there  is  but  one 
answer;  and  that  answer  is.  Educated  mind.  As  a  single  item  of  a 
nation's  wealth,  the  political  economist,  whether  he  appear  in  the 
character  of  a  statesman,  a  philosopher,  a  patriot  or  a  philanthropist, 
•  is  therefore  compelled  to  say  that  the  development  and  cultivation  of 
the  mind,  the  whole  mind,  of  a  community,  by  a  judicious  and  favorable 
system  of  education,  is  the  first  and  superlative  duty  of  the  State. 
The  masses  of  national  wealth  that  have  been  accumulated  to  society 
by  the  inventors  of  the  mariner's  compass,  the  steam-engine,  the  cotton- 
gin,  are  worth  more  than  the  entire  commonwealth  of  Virginia,  real 
and  personal,  with  all  the  hereditaments  and  appurtenances  thereunto 
belonging.  And  who  can  tell  but  that  there  is  at  this  moment  amidst 
these  rough  mountains  and  deep  valleys,  these  gently-sloping  hills  and 
wide-extended  plains  that  diversify  and  beautify  Western  Virginia,  one 
or  more  such  minds,  like  marble  yet  in  the  quarry  or  a  diamond  among 
the  pebbles  of  Golconda,  which,  were  fair  science  to  smile  upon  their 
humble  birth,  might  make  them  not  only  gems  in  a  nation's  crown  of 
glory,  effulgent  stars  emblazoning  her  escutcheon,  but  sources  of  wealth 
equalling  the  resources  of  many  prosperous  years,  and  lessening  the 
toils  of  many  generations  ? 

But  it  is  not  only  as  a  portion  of  a  nation's  wealth  that  the  public 
mind  is  to  be  contemplated  by  even  the  mere  political  economist,  but 
as  a  means  of  a  nation's  defence,  and  of  its  annoyance  also.  Nations 
have  been  saved,  and  they  have  been  destroyed,  by  a  portion  of  their 
intellect  overpowering  all  the  balance.  A  minority,  a  very  small 
minority,  of  a  nation's  intellect,  immorally  educated,  has  often  proved 
the  scourge  and  the  ruin  of  a  whole  country.  A  few  spirits — a  mere 
trio,  like  that  of  Danton,  Eobespierre  and  Marat,  sustained  by  a  few 
subalterns  moving  in  humbler  circles,  but  holding  places  of  power, 
drenched  the  fields  of  France  in  human  blood,  clothed  its  millions  in 


250 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


the  sable  garments  of  mourning,  and  agonized  the  hearts  of  untol(* 
multitudes  with  unutterable  pangs  of  sorrows.  What  varied  mischiefs 
have  a  few  ambitious  marauding  Pharaohs,  Caesars,  Tamerlanes,  Bona- 
partes,  inflicted  on  mankind  !  At  the  shrine  of  their  unhallowed 
ambition  what  millions  of  human  beings  have  been  immolated !  And 
what  shall  we  say  of  the  Torquemadas,  the  Voltaires,  the  Hastings, 
the  Arnolds,  the  Burrs,  and  the  lesser  monsters  that  have  in  various 
spheres  scourged  mankind?  Men  of  high  intellect,  indeed,  partially 
educated,  but  whose  hearts  were  suffered  to  grow  up  the  hotbeds  of 
every  passion  and  lust  that  could  degrade  and  afflict  human  kind  I  But, 
to  turn  from  the  darker  to  the  brighter  side  of  the  picture,  we  have 
some  few  samples  of  the  power  of  good  intellectual  and  moral  culture 
combining  their  happy  powers  to  work  out  a  nation's  deliverance.  We 
need  not  indeed  tell  of  the  saviours  of  other  nations,  nor  of  the  few 
small  bands  that  have  from  time  to  time  risen  up  to  redress  a  nation's 
wrongs,  to  wrest  the  scorpion-scourge  of  tyranny  from  the  relentless 
hand  of  heartless  despotism.  We  can  tell  of  our  own  Washington, 
and  the  few  mighty  and  noble  spirits  of  that  era,  his  confederates  in 
the  council  and  in  the  field — who,  at  the  sacrifice  of  all  that  men  hold 
dear,  dared  to  redeem  a  nation  from  the  unjust  encroachments  and 
avaricious  spoliations  of  a  corrupt  Government  prompted  by  a  few 
aspiring  and  ambitious  men.  Yet  had  that  Washington  and  his  illus- 
trious compeers  been  still  better  educated  than  was  the  age  in  which 
they  lived  and  from  which  they  took  their  counsels  and  their  examples^ 
who  can  tell  but  that  without  so  much  blood  and  so  many  years  of 
suffering,  by  other  policies  and  principles,  all  that  we  enjoy  might 
have  been  secured  to  themselves  and  their  posterity  for  many  genera- 
tions !  Another  Franklin,  of  another  category,  might  have  arisen,  who 
could  have  stolen  from  the  breast  of  kings  the  electric  fluid  of  a  mo- 
narch's wrath  by  a  conducting-rod  that  would,  without  the  lurid  flash 
of  scathing  lightnings  and  the  mighty  peals  of  angry  thunders,  have 
sent  it  secretly  and  quietly  into  the  bosom  of  mother  earth ! 

The  powers  of  a  proper  system  of  education  have  never  yet  been 
fully  developed  on  a  grand  scale.  Yet,  from  the  developments  already 
made,  we  may  infer  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  we  will  look 
U)  the  schoolmaster  and  the  district  school,  more  than  to  mighty 
generals,  standing  armies  and  immense  navies,  with  all  the  muniiiona 
of  war,  for  the  preservation  of  a  nation's  peace,  a  nation's  safety,  and 
a  nation's  honor.  It  is  no  freak  of  fancy,  no  hallucination  of  a  romantic 
imagination,  but  the  oracle  of  substantial  truth,  derived  from  the  ex- 
perience of  the  past,  that  all  will  sooner  be  gained,  by  good  education, 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


251 


m  the  adjustment  of  even  national  wrongs  by  mediatorial  tribunals, 
which  hitherto  have  cost  millions  of  gold  and  torrents  of  human 
blood. 

We  are  beginning  to  see  that  as  yet  we  have  too  much  of  Roman 
barbarism,  not  only  in  some  of  our  patrician  regulations,  but  in  our 
rudimental  ideas  of  what  is  just  and  honorable,  and  in  our  views  of 
what  is  creditable  to  ourselves  as  individuals  and  as  nations.  Our 
political  halls  and  chambers  of  legislation — our  honorable  rencounters,  - 
first  in  wordy  strife,  then  in  polite  blackguardism,  and  finally  with 
powder  and  lead  or  Turkish  sabre,  bowie-knife  or  stiletto — show  that 
as  yet  we  are  but  half  civilized,  and  more  Pagan  than  Christian  in  the 
inner  man.  We  look  in  vain  to  those  standing  upon  the  upper  rounds 
of  the  ladder  of  human  ambition  for  help  to  remove  it  or  to  change  its 
position  and  modification.  We  must  begin  at  the  bottom ;  we  must 
stand  upon  the  soil,  and  raise  up  a  new  species  of  men,  and  attach  to 
the  high  places  of  the  State  a  ladder  of  a  new  and  more  rational  and 
moral  construction. 

Learned  men  and  the  higher  classes,  in  their  more  sober  and  lucid 
intervals,  begin  to  see  that  it  would  be  less  expensive  to  educate  an 
infant  than  to  support  an  aged  criminal  in  a  State  prison ;  nay,  that  a 
county  pauper  costs  more  than  a  well-educated  child.  It  is  therefore 
becoming  a  very  grave  question  whether  ignorance  and  crime  do  not 
now  cost  the  State  more  than  would  expatriate  them  and  introduce 
intelligence  and  virtue  in  their  place.  If  any  one  were  so  well  edu- 
cated in  the  State  finances — in  the  expenditures  for  jails,  pillories,  peni- 
tentiaries and  poor-houses,  with  all  the  expenditures  in  gaming,  gam- 
bling, immoral  speculations,  eating  tobacco  and  drinking  rum,  in  idle^ 
ness  and  its  brood  of  gigantic  vices — as  to  be  able  to  tell  how  many 
millions  per  annum  ignorance  and  vice  cost  the  nation,  I  doubt  not  for 
a  single  moment  but  that  it  would  be  found  that  we  are  annually  paying, 
in  various  ways,  direct  and  indirect,  more  for  the  present  stock  on 
hand  of  ignorance  and  vice  than  would  educate  every  child  born  on 
our  territory  in  a  good  common  school,  such  as  patriarchal  monarchs 
in  the  North  of  Europe  allow  their  population  out  of  the  public 
purse. 

Indeed,  there  are  some  conscientious  men  who  are  seriously  asking 
the  question  whether  a  State  government  has  a  right,  natural,  inhe- 
rent or  divine,  to  punish  the  crimes  which  grow  from  the  ignorance 
which  she  creates,  rather  than  removes,  by  laying  taxes  on  myriado 
without  their  consent,  and  withholding  from  them  that  education  which 
is  essential  to  their  clear  discrimination  of  right  and  wrong. 


252 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


It  is  no  longer  debatable  whether  the  great  mass  of  enormities 
which  are  daily  growing  up  in  this  country  are  not  the  legitimate 
offspring  of  the  want  of  good  primary  and  common  school  education. 
From  the  strictest  inquiries  and  researches  which  I  have  .been  able  to 
make,  from  our  penitentiary  reports,  and  the  number  of  executions 
for  capital  offences,  it  appears  that  while  in  our  best-educated  States 
the  proportion  of  the  whole  population  that  are  taught  to  read  varies 
from  more  than  one  hundred  to  one  to  twenty-eight  to  one,  the  pro- 
portion of  those  in  public  prisons  not  educated  at  all  is  more  than 
two  to  one.  The  difference,  then,  between  the  two  aggregates  in  the 
penitentiaries  and  out  of  them,  in  such  States  as  New  York,  for  ex- 
ample, is  as  follows : — Out  of  the  penitentiaries,  in  twenty-nine  per- 
sons twenty-eight  can  read  for  one  that  cannot ;  whereas  in  the  peni- 
tentiaries, out  of  twenty-nine  persons  fifteen  cannot  read  for  fourteen 
that  can. 

Dr.  Julius,  after  a  laborious  examination  of  the  principal  prisons  in 
the  United  States,  affirms  that  one-third  of  the  convicts  are  foreign- 
ers. In  New  York  they  are  frequently  one-half ^  Now,  these  are,  for 
the  most  part,  wholly  uneducated  persons.  A  cheering  fact  occurs  in 
the  statistics  of  the  State  prisons  of  New  York  in  demonstration  of 
the  influence  of  education  to  diminish  crime.  In  the  Secretary's 
report  for  1840,  it  is  stated  that  crimes  requiring  some  education  and 
skill,  such  as  "forgery,  perjury,  burglary,  &c.,  have  been  gradually 
diminishing  with  the  diffusion  of  education ;  whereas  those  the  usual 
concomitants  of  ignorance  and  debasement  are  increasing."  "That 
knowledge,"  remarks  the  chaplain  of  the  Connecticut  State  Prison,  "  is 
not  very  frequently  used  as  an  instrument  in  the  commission  of  crime, 
appears  from  the  fact  that  out  of  sixty-six  committed  to  that  prison  last 
year,  the  crimes  of  but  four  were  such  in  commission  as  required  ability 
to  read  or  write."  The  Directors  of  the  Ohio  Penitentiary  state  that 
"it  is  an  erroneous  impression  that  the  convicts  are  intelligent,  shrewd 
men.  Nearly  the  whole  number  in  our  prison  are  below  mediocrity 
in  point  of  information.  Of  two  hundred  and  seventy-six,  nearly 
all  are  below  mediocrity;  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  are  grossly 
ignorant,  and  in  point  of  education  scarcely  capable  of  transacting  the 
common-  business  of  life."  From  all  the  documents  that  I  have  had 
access  to,  it  appears  that  "  the  tendency  to  crime  amongst  the  ignorant  is 
fourteen  times  greater  than  it  ought  to  be  on  the  supposition  that  edu- 
cation has  no  power  to  restrain  it."  Is  not  this  a  cheering  fact,  regard- 
ing education  as  it  now  is,  having  generally  little  or  no  reference  to 
the  heart,  b  't  chiefly  to  the  head  ?    If  the  culture  of  the  heart  or  mora) 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


25a 


training  were  equal  to  tliat  of  the  mere  intellect,  which,  on  every  prin- 
ciple of  policy,  interest,  honor,  safety  and  benevolence,  it  ought  to  be, 
the  tendency  to  crime  would  be  a  hundred  times  greater  than  it  ought 
to  be,  on  the  supposition  that  education  has  no  power  to  restrain  it. 
Our  theory  might  carry  us  much  further;  but  we  are  content  to  let 
it  be  bounded  by  what  actually  has  occurred. 

From  this  view  of  the  subject  it  would  seem  a  fair  and  logical  infer- 
ence that  the  rich  ought  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  common 
schools  in  the  ratio  of  their  stakes  in  society ;  for  of  what  use  their 
superior  fortunes,  if  the  sons  of  their  neighbors  be  thieves  and  rob- 
bers, marauders  or  murderers?  This  conclusion  is  not  only  fair  in 
logic,  but  also  in  fact;  for  property  is  uniformly  judged  most  secure  and 
insured  for  less  per  cent,  in  the  midst  of  an  orderly  and  moral  society  than 
in  one  of  a  different  character.  But  I  do  not  argue  this  point :  I  only 
name  a  few  of  the  topics  from  which  those  will  argue  in  favor  of  universal 
education  on  the  part  of  the  State,  who  contemplate  the  subject  in  all  its 
bearings  upon  the  commonwealth,  as  the  prime  source  of  public  revenue, 
as  the  palladium  of  national  defence,  and  as  a  great  preservative  of  the 
internal  peace,  safety  and  prosperity  of  the  whole  community. 

The  accurate  reasoner  on  this  great  subject  will  labor  to  show,  that, 
viewed  in  all  its  bearings  upon  the  social  compact,  education  is  not 
only  to  be  universal,  but  to  be  adapted  equally  to  the  head  and  to  the 
heart.  For,  while  cultivated  intellect  necessarily  builds  up  the  agri- 
cultural, manufacturing  and  commercial  interests  of  the  community, 
cultivated  hearts  as  necessarily  preserve  the  peace  and  constitute  the 
safety  and  happiness  of  society.  The  orator,  too,  will  not  fail  to  reason 
from  one  of  the  popular  maxims  in  every  republic — that  the  chief  end 
of  government  is  not  to  preserve  itself,  build  up  its  own  fortoines  and 
aggrandize  itself,  but  to  develop  a  nation's  resources,  direct  its  ener- 
gies, provide  for  its  exigencies  and  protect  it  from  intestine  rivalries 
and  animosities  as  well  as  from  encroachments  on  the  part  of  foreign 
powers;  in  one  sentence,  to  protect  the  people  in  the  full  enjoyment 
of  all  their  rights,  natural  or  conventional.  His  great  and  invincible 
argument  from  this  fundamental  view  and  concession  will  always  be, 
"If  mind  be  any  part  of  a  nation's  wealth  or  resources,  or  if  education 
be  one  of  the  exigencies  of  the  State,  or  if  ignorance  and  vice  are  evils 
from  which  the  people  are  to  be  protected,  then  does  it  not  follow  with 
the  light  of  demonstration  that  the  intellectual  and  moral  improvement 
of  all  the  mind  belonging  to  the  State  is  the  first  concern  of  every 
intelligent,  just  and  patriotic  Government  in  the  world?"  Believe  me, 
%llow-citizens,  that  Government  is  wanting  in'  the  essential  ends  of  its 


254 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


being,  in  the  vital  object  of  its  existence,  wbich  makes  not  the  educa- 
tion of  every  child  born  upon  its  territory  its  primary  concern. 

We  should  not  pause  until  we  have  concentrated  all  the  light  de- 
rived from  the  voluminous  fact — that  intelligence  and  freedom  are  but 
two  names  for  the  same  thing.  An  intelligent  community  will  always 
be  free;  an  ignorant  one,  never.  As  we  advance  education,  as  we 
promote  universal  intelligence,  we  promote  universal  freedom.  If 
free  government,  if  liberty  of  thought,  of  speech  and  of  action,  are 
privileges,  then  it  behooves  all  who  think  so  to  combine  their  efforts 
to  extend  the  blessings  of  education  to  all,  and  to  make  provision  for 
such  a  system  of  mental  and  moral  culture  as  will  insure  all  that  we 
include  in  the  idea  of  a  great  nation — an  intelligent,  virtuous  and 
prosperous  community. 

But  from  these  general  and  fundamental  views  we  must  turn  to  the 
two  points  standing  directly  in  the  line  of  an  incipient  effort  to  awaken 
and  direct  the  energies  of  our  fellow-citizens  in  the  present  crisis. 
The  first  of  these  is,  What  is  the  character  and  what  are  the  outlines 
of  that  system  of  education  which  is  properly  popular  and  common, 
and  which  ought  to  he  commensurate  with  the  geographical  boundaries 
of  every  community  ? 

In  sketching  the  outlines  of  such  a  system,  a  due  regard  must  be 
had  to  what  the  common  wants  of  humanity  are,  in  respect  of  physical, 
intellectual  and  moral  development  and  improvement.  Whatever  is 
not  in  harmony  with  the  human  constitution,  the  position  that  man 
occupies  not  only  in  society,  but  in  the  universe,  his  nature,  relations, 
obligations  and  destiny,  is  not  only  in  itself  inadequate  and  imperfect, 
but  must  be  subject  to  continual  mutation.  Hitherto  a  perfect  system 
has  not  been  introduced  ;  and  hence  the  endless  variety  of  theories  and 
experiments  on  the  part  of  authors  and  teachers.  In  devising  a  suit- 
able system,  the  questions,  What  is  man  f  Where  is  he  ?  and  What  is 
he  destined  for  ?  must  be  clearly  ascertained,  and  then  it  will  be  more 
competent  to  man  to  devise  for  him  a  proper  system  of  education. 
If  to  the  tailor  or  the  cordwainer  it  be  essential  that  he  have  the 
measure  of  thoso  parts  of  the  human  body  he  would  furnish  with  suit- 
able apparel,  as  necessary  is  it  to  the  school-teacher  that  he  should 
have  the  dimensions  of  his  pupil  as  a  sentient,  intellectual  and  moral 
being,  before  he  can  furnish  him  with  an  education  suitable  to  his  nature 
and  in  harmony  with  the  conditions  of  his  existence  and  his  ultimate 
destiny. 

Without  pr  ssuming  now  or  hereafter  to  say  what  would  be  a  perfect 
And  complete  system,  we  may  remark  that  there  are  seven  arts  that 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


255 


human  nature  must  acquire  in  a  judicious  course  of  primary  and  fun- 
•damental  education.  These  seven  arts  are  as  essential  to  education,  as 
society  always  was,  and  is,  and  evermore  shall  be  constituted,  as  food 
and  raiment  are  to  the  human  body  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi. 
These  seven  arts  must  therefore  ever  be  the  basis  of  a  good  system  of 
primary  and  common  school  education.  They  are  as  follows : — 1st.  The 
art  of  thinking;  2d.  The  art  of  speaking;  3d.  The  art  of  reading; 
4th,  The  art  of  singing ;  5th.  The  art  of  writing ;  6th.  The  art  of 
■calculating;  and,  7th.  The  art  of  book-keeping.  These  are  the  seven 
essentials  of  a  primary  school  system;  they  are  fundamental  to  the 
whole  system  of  education — to  a  series  of  schools — primary,  secondary 
and  ultimate,  usually  called  common  schools,  academies  and  colleges. 
For,  be  it  observed,  the  common  school  system  is  not  only  to  be  perfect 
in  itself  for  those  who  shall  never  enter  another  school,  but  also  perfect 
so  far  as  it  goes  with  reference  to  every  other  species  of  school  in  the 
most  civilized  and  highly-improved  community. 

But  I  will  be  asked,  Is  the  system  of  primary  and  common  school 
education  to  consist  only  of  these  seven  arts,  or  of  any  number  of  arts  ? 
Is  there  nothing  worthy  of  the  name  of  science  in  all  this  ?  I  answer, 
These  seven  arts  are,  like  all  other  arts,  useful  or  ornamental,  founded 
on  science.  Hence,  in  acquiring  these  arts  the  following  sciences  will 
necessarily  have  to  be  taught  to  greater  or  less  extent : — orthography, 
orthoepy,  grammar,  arithmetic,  elements  of  geometry,  algebra,  music 
and  elocution.  I  am  aware  that  some  persons  will  be  startled  at  this 
range  of  science  in  common  schools,  especially  those  whose  views  are 
bounded  by  spelling,  reading,  writing  and  ciphering  to  the  end  of  the 
rule-of-three.  But  to  these  I  will  only  say,  first,  that  we  do  not  com- 
prehend the  entire  range  of  those  sciences  as  forming  a  part  of  common 
school  education,  but  merely  hold  that  certain  portions  of  them  are 
essential ;  and,  in  the  second  place,  that  whenever  the  State  sets  about 
finding  teachers  by  founding  normal  schools  to  manufacture  rational 
and  competent  instructors,  she  will  find  that  all  this  and  more  can  be 
taught  in  the  time  usually  spent  in  the  common  schools  now  in  opera- 
tion under  the  monarchical  governments  of  the  Old  World  and  some 
portions  of  our  own  country. 

I  have  not  added  i^e  word  correctly  to  each  of  these  seven  arts.  I 
have  not  said,  indeed,  that  the  art  of  thinking  correctly  is  to  be  taught 
before  the  art  of  speaking  correctly,  though  I  am  of  opinion  that  their 
natural  order  is  in  the  position  in  which  I  have  placed  them.  We 
regard  some  of  these  arts  as  necessarily  facilitating  improvement  in  the 
others,  and  all  of  them  as  existing  on  such  terms  of  intimacy  and 


256 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


friendship  as  will  mutually  aid  advancement  in  all.  It  may  also  be 
objected  that  few  adults  have  learned  to  think  correctly,  and  that  this 
is  rather  the  work  of  a  college  than  of  a  primary  and  incipient  school. 
To  which  I  answer  that  the  reason  that  comparatively  so  few  adults 
ever  learn  to  think  correctly,  is  that  they  never  enjoyed  the  advan- 
tage of  a  good  common  school  education.  It  is  not  often  in  adult  years 
that  men  become  proficients  in  those  branches  of  education  which  have 
been  wholly  neglected  in  youth.  Hence  we  find  hundreds  of  graduates 
issuing  from  respectable  colleges,  who  could  not  spell  correctly  all  the 
monosyllables  in  the  book  of  Proverbs  were  their  lives  staked  upon  it. 
But  in  teaching  youth  to  think  correctly,  I  mean  no  more  than  the 
communication  of  the  simple  art,  which  consists  in  the  habit  of  accurate 
observation,  comparison  and  deduction — an  art,  indeed,  which,  to  be 
satisfactorily  communicated,  demands  assiduous  attention  on  the  part 
of  a  competent  instructor  from  the  very  commencement  of  the  alphabet 
to  the  end  of  the  course  of  primary  instruction. 

In  addition,  however,  to  these  seven  all-important  arts,  and  so  much 
of  the  sciences  as  are  necessary  to  their  acquisition,  there  are  other 
^branches  of  scientific  knowledge  essential  to  a  rational  and  useful  com- 
mon school  course  of  instruction,  viz.  the  geography  of  our  planet,  a 
knowledge  of  material  and  animated  nature,  natural  history,  together 
with  the  elements  of  society,  our  own  social  compact,  constitution  and 
laws,  a  sketch  of  ancient  and  modern  history,  especially  the  history  of 
our  own  country ;  and,  above  all,  the  admirable  science  of  self-know- 
ledge, an  intimate  acquaintance  with  our  sentient,  intellectual  and 
moral  nature,  which  is  to  be  a  portion  of  every  day's  instruction,  from 
the  abecedarian  class  to  the  last  lesson  in  the  elementary  departments. 
All  this  knowledge  may  be  found  in  a  very  few  elementary  books 
which  are  now  constantly  issuing  from  the  press,  with  the  accompanying 
instructions  and  explanations  of  a  properly-qualified  instructor.  "The 
House  I  live  in,"  by  Dr.  Alcott,  contains  a  fund  of  knowledge  on  the 
anatomy  of  the  human  system,  adapted  to  an  infant-school.  This,  with 
"  The  Laws  of  Physical  Health,"  forms  a  school-book  of  incalculable 
importance  to  youth;  for  those  things  ought  to  be  first  and  most 
thoroughly  learned  that  are  most  essential  to  the  preservation  of 
health  and  the  formation  of  proper  habits.  Mr.  Taylor,  of  New  York 
in  his  admirable  work  on  the  District  School,  in  sketching  the  glaring 
defects  of  the  common  school  and  common  education,  very  appositel; 
complains  :-— 

"This  useful  and  intensely  interesting  subject  is  almost  entirely 
neglected  in  our  common  schools.   Not  one  pupil  in  a  thousand  eve. 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


257 


learns  a  single  lesson  in  either  the  mineral,  vegetable  or  animal  king- 
doms. The  young  farmer  learns  nothing  of  the  varieties  of  soil,  its 
nature  and  composite' on,  and  its  peculiar  preparation  for  different 
grains ;  he  obtains  no  knowledge  of  the  nature  and  growth  of  vege- 
tables; or  the  properties  and  influence  of  the  'life-giving  air.'  The 
most  important  information  for  his  business  the  school  does  not  give 
him. 

"  The  little  knowledge  that  he  acquires  of  his  business  he  is  obliged 
to  get  by  ignorant  experience  and  blind  observation.  The  mechanic 
does  not  study  the  nature,  pliability  and  uses  of  the  minerals  and 
metals,  nor  does  he  learn  the  beauty,  strength  and  durability  of  the 
various  timbers.  The  laborer  in  his  experiments  has  no  science  to 
assist  him :  he  is  preparing  nature  to  administer  to  his  necessities, 
without  knowing  her  rules  of  action.  He  knows  nothing — for  his  school 
has  given  him  no  opportunity  to  know — of  his  own  physical  nature,  or 
of  the  properties  of  the  natural  world  around  him. 

''He  cannot,  therefore,  conform  his  life  and  conduct  to  the  relations 
which  exist  between  matter  and  his  physical  nature.  He  has  no  means 
of  foreseeing  the  infringement  of  the  organic  laws.  In  his  school  he 
has  never  learned  the  most  common  and  simple  truths  in  physiology  or 
anatomy.  The  structure  and  uses,  the  layers,  the  mucous  coat,  &c.  of 
the  skin,  the  common  school  student  learns  nothing  of. 

"He  is  not  told  that  the  skin  is  the  seat  of  perspiration,  the  regu- 
lator of  animal  heat,  and  the  seat  of  absorption.  He  does  not  see  the 
sympathy  betw^een  the  skin  and  the  other  organs  of  life,  nor  the  causes 
of  suppressed  perspiration,  (an  action  which  brings  on  the  most  of  our 
disorders,)  nor  the  connection  between  the  skin  and  the  nervous  system.' 
Being  ignorant  of  this  vital  organ,  he  abuses  and  neglects  it.  He  gives 
no  attention  to  suitable  clothing,  to  ventilation,  nor  to  washing  and 
bathing;  for  he  has  no  information  on  these  subjects. 

"He  has  learned  nothing  of  the  structure  and  action  of  the  muscles, 
nor  of  the  degree  and  kind  of  exercise  which  they  require  to  give  them 
strength,  elasticity  and  health.  He  has  no  acquaintance  whatever  with 
anatomy,  and  knows  not  that  the  bones  are  composed  of  animal  and 
"earthy  matter,  and  that  they  are  essential  to  motion  and  to  the  security 
of  the  vital  organs :  he  does  not  study  the  growth  and  decay  of  the 
bones,  nor  perceive  the  advantages  of  their  vitality  and  insensibility^ 
and  their  adaptation  to  contained  parts. 

"Of  the  nature  and  use  of  respiration,  the  structure  of  the  lungs,  the 
necessity  of  pure  air,  and  the  healthy  condition  of  the  digestive  organs, 
the  common  school  pupils  never  hear  or  read  a  word.  They  grow  up 
and  live  entirely  ignorant  of  the  nervous  system,  knowing  nothing  of 
its  functions  and  education — nothing  of  these  great  inlets  of  knowledge 
and  instruments  of  pleasure  and  pain. 

"They  are  not  taught  even  the  causes  of  good  or  bad  health,  nor  the 
physical  consequences  of  immoral  conduct.  Not  one  truth  of  this 
science,  which  shows  that  man  is  'fearfully  and  wonderfully  made,'  is 
taught  in  our  district  schools.  This  need  not  be  so;  for  there  are  no 
U'uths  more  simple  or  pleasing  than  some  of  the  most  important  facts 

17 


258 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


of  phy5iolog}\  There  should  be  a  text-book  on  this  subject  for  our 
common  schools. 

"Although  there  are  'sermons  in  stones,'  thev  are  not  'delivered'  to 
the  common  school  student.  Neither  his  teacher  nor  his  books  speak 
even  of  the  first  principles  of  geology  or  mineralogy.  The  earth,  our 
common  mother — the  womb  and  the  grave  of  every  Hving  object — the 
great  companion  and  benefactor  of  the  farmer,  has,  in  the  country, 
scarcely  a  teacher  to  make  known  her  nature,  her  elements  and  her 
energies.  That  which  the  agriculturist  has  to  labor  with,  and  from 
which  he  obtains  his  'blessings  and  his  bread,'  forms  no  part  of  the 
farmer's  education. 

''  Does  not  the  neglect  of  even  one  department  of  natui'al  history 
show  a  great  deficiency  in  our  common  school  education  ?  But  the 
vegetable  kingdom  is  as  little  attended  to.  Plants,  flowers  and  trees 
find  no  teacher  in  district  schools.  The  places  they  enliven  with  their 
freshness,  sweeten  with  their  fragrance  and  cool  with  their  shade, 
never  speak  of  their  bounty  or  their  beauty,  their  wisdom  or  their 
Author.  Many  of  those  who  spend  their  lives  in  nursing  flowers  and 
cultivating  plants  know  nothing  of  their  structure  or  their  organs, 
nor  even  their  artificial  or  natural  classification.  What  additional 
interest  would  the  farmer  feel,  amidst  the  freedom  and  the  freshness  of 
his  labor,  if  he  could  be  enlightened  with  even  a  faint  ray  from  the 
science  of  botany !  But  it  would  be  a  lonely  and  wandering  ray  that 
would  enter  the  room  of  the  district  schooL" 

The  Bible  as  a  school-book  and  moral  instructor  is  made  a  part  of 
every  day's  education  in  every  good  school  both  in  the  Old  World  and 
in  the  Xew.  A  few  years  have  accomplished  a  truly  marvellous  revolu- 
tion in  public  opinion  on  this  subject.  Ever  since  the  French  Revolution 
— that  era  of  terror,  that  age  of  atheism  and  infidelity,  that  triumph 
of  lawless  despotism  and  licentious  majorities — enlightened  minds  huve 
looked  to  the  Bible  with  more  intense  interest  and  assurance  than 
before,  as  the  palladium  of  all  human  rights — as  the  only  strong  and^ 
safe  guarantee  of  our  social  immunities  and  privileges,  whether  political, 
moral  or  religious.  The  true  philosopher,  the  patriot,  the  statesman 
and  the  philanthropist,  equally  with  the  Christian,  say  that  intellectual 
without  moral  culture  is  a  curse  to  each  and  every  community.  To 
educate  the  head,  and  neglect  the  heart,  is  only  giving  teeth  to  the 
lion,  claws  to  the  tiger,  and  talons  to  the  eagle  to  seize  and  devour 
their  prey.  The  ablest  politicians  and  the  most  profound  philosophers 
of  France,  England  and  America  now  affirm  that  education  in  uni- 
versities, in  high  schools  and  common  schools,  without  the  Bible  and 
moral  training,  is  a  national  calamity  rather  than  a  public  benefac- 
tion. Hence,  in  Prussia,  and  in  most  of  the  German  States,  in  France, 
England  and  America,  there  is  but  one  voice  to  be  heard  on  this  sub- 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


259 


ject.  All  concur,  sectarianism,  with  all  her  brood  and  all  her  rival 
fears  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  all  unite,  in  recommending 
the  Bible  as  a  universal  school-book,  from  the  first  lesson  in  the  reading- 
class  to  the  last  recitation  in  the  college  course. 

I  had  the  pleasure  to  see  even  the  Catholic  Bishop  of  Cincinnati, 
with  all  the  clergy  of  all  denominations — Episcopal,  Presbyterian, 
Baptist  and  Methodist — then  present  at  a  meeting  of  the  College  of 
Teachers  in  that  city,  voting  in  favor  of  my  amendment  of  a  resolution 
to  give  the  Bible  to  every  school  in  the  country,  without  one  sectarian 
or  denominational  note  or  comment ;  and  that,  too,  within  one  year  after 
a  debate  on  Romanism,  growing  out  of  that  cardinal  tenet  of  Protestant- 
ism, viz.  the  Bible,  the  whole  Bible,  and  nothing  but  the  Bible,  as  the 
rule  of  Christian  faith  and  manners.  It  is  now  a  settled  point,  pro- 
claimed from  the  thrones  of  the  Old  World,  and  from  the  heads  of  all 
departments  in  the  New,  that  education  without  the  Bible,  and  without 
moral  training,  is  not  to  be  tolerated  by  any  civilized  community. 

It  is  also  becoming  more  and  more  evident  that,  notwithstanding 
all  our  sectarian  differences,  we  yet  have  something  called  a  common 
Christianity ; — that  there  are  certain  great  fundamental  matters — in- 
deed, every  thing  elementary  in  what  is  properly  called  piety  and 
morality — in  which  all  good  men  of  all  denominations  are  agreed ;  and 
that  these  great  common  principles  and  views  form  a  common  ground 
on  which  all  Christian  people  can  unite,  harmonize  and  co-operate  in 
one  great  system  of  moral  and  Christian  education. 

If  names  truly  great  were  needed  to  illustrate  and  confirm  these 
views,  we  could  give  them  in  superabundance.  I  will  at  present  select 
but  one,  from  one  of  the  highest  places  in  the  Old  World,  and  from  a 
nation  that  has  a  more  ample  experience  of  the  neglect  of  Bible-in- 
struction than  any  other  in  the  civilized  world — Italy,  the  land  of  saints 
and  pilgrims,  only  excepted.  From  the  minister  of  public  instruction 
— from  the  great  philosopher  and  statesman,  Monsieur  Victor  Cousin — 
whose  titles  are,  Peer  of  France,  Councillor  of  State,  Professor  of  Phi- 
losophy, Member  of  the  Institute  and  of  the  Royal  Council  of  Instruction 
— we  quote  a  few  words  out  of  very  many  which  he  has  fitly  spoken  on 
religious  and  moral  culture  : — 

We  have  abundant  proof  that  the  well-being  of  an  individual,  like 
that  of  a  people,  is  nowise  secured  by  extraordinary  intellectual  powers 
or  very  refined  civilization.  The  true  happiness  of  an  individual,  as 
of  a  people,  is  founded  on  strict  morality^  self-government,  humility 
and  moderation ;  on  the  willing  performance  of  all  duties  to  God,  his 
superiors  and  his  neighbors. 

"A  religious  and  moral  education  is  consequently  the -first  want  of  a 


260 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


people.  "Without  this,  every  other  education  is  not  only  without  real 
utility,  but  in  some  respects  dangerous.  If,  on  the  contrary,  religious 
education  has  taken  firm  root,  intellectual  education  will  have  com- 
plete success,  and  ought  on  no  account  to  be  withheld  from  the  people, 
since  God  has  endowed  them  with  all  the  faculties  for  acquiring  it,  and 
since  the  cultivation  of  all  the  powers  of  man  secures  to  him  the  means 
of  reaching  perfection,  and,  through  that,  supreme  happiness.  .  .  . 

"  We  must  lay  the  foundations  of  moral  life-  in  the  souls  of  our 
young  masters,  and  therefore  we  must  place  religious  instruction — 
that  is,  to  speak  distinctly.  Christian  instruction — in  the  first  rank  in 
the  education  of  our  normal  schools.  We  must  teach  our  children 
that  religion  which  civilized  our  fathers — that  religion  whose  liberal 
spirit  prepared,  and  can  alone  sustain,  all  the  great  institutions  of 
modern  times.  ... 

"  The  less  we  desire  our  schools  to  be  ecclesiastical,  the  more  ought 
they  to  be  Christian.  It  necessarily  follows,  that  there  must  be  a 
course  of  special  religious  mstruction  in  our  normal  schools.  Eeligion 
is,  in  my  eyes,  the  best — perhaps  the  only — basis  of  popular  education. 
I  know  something  of  Europe;  and  never  have  I  seen  good  schools 
where  the  spirit  of  Christian  charity  was  wanting.  Primary  instruc- 
tion flourishes  in  three  countries — ^Holland,  Scotland  and  Gerxnany; 
in  all  it  is  profoundly  religious.  .  .  . 

*'No  more  than  grapes  can  be  gathered  from  thorns,  or  figs  from 
thistles,  can  any  thing  good  be  hoped  from  school-masters  who  are 
regardless  of  religion  and  of  morality.  For  this  reason  religious  in- 
struction is  placed  at  the  head  of  all  other  parts  of  education :  its 
object  is  to  implant  in  the  normal  schools  such  a  moral  and  religious 
spirit  as  ought  to  pervade  the  popular  schools.  .  .  . 

"  I  must  confess,  that  in  religious  instruction  I  do  not  confine  myself 
to  any  particular  method;  I  try  by  meditation  to  bring  the  thing 
clearly  before  my  own  mind,  and  then  to  expound  it  intelligibly,  in 
fitting  language,  with  gravity  and  calmness,  with  unction  and  earnest- 
ness, because  I  am  convinced  that  a  clear  exposition  obliges  the  pupils 
to  meditate,  and  excites  interest  and  animation.  Christianity  ought 
to  be  the  basis  of  the  instruction  of  the  people;  we  must  not  flinch 
from  the  open  profession  of  this  maxim ;  it  is  no  less  politic  than  it  is 
honest.  .  .  . 

"  I  am  not  ignorant,  sir,  that  this  advice  will  grate  on  the  ears  of 
many  persons,  and  that  I  shall  be  thought  extremely  divot  at  Paris. 
Yet  it  is  not  from  Rome,  but  from  Berlin,  I  address  you.  The  man 
who  holds  this  language  to  you  is  a  philosopher,  formerly  disliked  and 
even  persecuted  by  the  priesthood ;  but  this  philosopher  has  a  mind 
too  little  aff'ected  by  the  recollection  of  his  own  insults,  and  is  too  well 
acquainted  with  human  nature  and  with  history,  not  to  regard  religion 
as  an  indestructible  power ;  genuine  Christianity  as  a  means  of  civili- 
zation for  the  people,  and  a  necessary  support  for  those  on  whom  society 
imposes  irksome  and  humble  duties  without  the  slightest  prospect  of 
fortune,  without  the  least  gratification  of  self-love." 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


261 


The  second  item  of  our  address  demands  at  leas',  an  equal  share  of 
your  attention.  The  question,  the  great  question,  before  this  Convention, 
and  in  the  wishes  of  very  many  in  Eastern  and  Western  Virginia,  is 
yet  to  be  discussed.  Having  sketched  a  rude  outline  of  the  essential 
elements  of  a  proper  system  of  primary  and  common  school  education, 
the  next  and  all-absorbing  question  is,  How  shall  such  a  system  he 
established  and  made  commensurate  with  the  wants  of  the  whole  com- 
munity ?  We  are  not,  indeed,  left  wholly  to  imagine  how  such  a 
system  might  be  introduced  and  consummated,  nor  to  argue  from 
a  priori  and  abstract  reasonings  its  practicability.  Other  states  and 
nations  have  gone  before  us,  and  not  only  taught  us  the  golden  theory 
that  the  great  end  of  all  human  government  is  to  teach  men  to  govern 
themselves,  and  that  therefore  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Government  to 
provide  a  system  of  national  education,  and  to  place  it  under  a  very 
strict  and  rigid  supervision, — we  say,  they  have  not  only  expounded 
to  us  the  sage  theory,  but  have  actually  exemplified  it  by  a  variety  of 
successful  experiments. 

Saxony,  the  cradle  of  liberty,  because  the  cradle  of  Protestantism, 
first  conceived  the  theory,  but  Prussia  first  developed  and  put  it  in  full 
operation.  It  was  under  that  rather  paternal  than  monarchical  Govern- 
ment that  the  world  first  saw  the  entire  youth  of  a  whole  nation  at 
school — three  millions  of  children  well  educated  during  eight  years — 
the  whole  expense  being  paid  by  about  five  millions  of  adults.  Prussia 
will  soon  exhibit  to  the  world  a  grand  but  rare  spectacle — a  whole 
nation  of  fifteen  millions  strong,  every  individual  comparatively  well 
educated.  For  half  a  century  she  has  been  trying  many  experiments, 
maturing  and  perfecting  a  grand  scheme  of  popular  education.  Ad- 
vancing from  one  improvement  to  another,  in  a  long  series  of  experi- 
ments, she  has  now  arrived  at  such  an  enviable  eminence  as  to  attract 
the  attention  and  command  the  veneration  of  the  civilized  world. 

She,  however,  had  her  feeble  infancy  and  childhood  in  these  bene- 
volent and  patriotic  efforts  before  she  reached  her  manhood  prime. 
We  also  must  have  ours.  When,  however,  we  begin  profiting  at  hei 
expense  and  by  her  experience,  and  by  that  of  other  nations,  especially 
by  the  enterprise  of  our  sister  States,  we  may  expect  to  advance  more 
rapidly  than  any  of  them. 

It  must  be  frankly  admitted  that  we  have  some  difficulties  peculiarly 
our  own — difficulties  unknown  to  those  States  and  nations  that  have 
led  the  way  in  public  instruction.  We  have  a  large  territory,  much 
of  it  mountainous,  a  sparse  population,  farms  large,  roads  bad,  streams 
unbridged,  no  districts,  without  any  metes  or  boundaries  or  divisions 


262 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


other  than  those  irregular,  disproportionate  and  misshapen  things 
called  counties,  of  all  sizes  and  figures,  varying  from  twenty  freeholds 
to  territories  equal  in  size  to  ancient  Greece  and  sundry  other  re- 
nowned kingdoms  of  former  times. 

Other  nations  and  States  have  various  subdivisions  of  territory 
favorable  to  a  district  or  common  school  system.  Prussia  has  her 
Gemeinden,  her  Kreis,  her  Eegierungen  and  her  Provinz ;  France  has 
her  Communes,  Cantons,  Arrondissements  and  Departements ;  England 
has  her  Parishes,  Townships,  Counties ;  but  Virginia  knows  nothing 
less  than  a  county. 

In  order  to  any  system  of  common  schools  worthy  of  public  patron- 
age, a  survey  and  distribution  of  counties  into  some  sort  of  districts, 
either  according  to  territory  or  population,  or  a  mixture  of  both,  would 
be  an  indispensable  preliminary.  "We  take  the  world  in  some  respects 
as  we  find  it ;  but,  really,  I  have  long  thought  that  a  new  survey  of  all 
the  Southern  and  some  of  the  Middle  States,  after  the  manner  of  Ohio, 
Michigan  and  certain  other  new  States,  would  be  the  shorter  and  cheaper 
way  of  placing  school  and  other  public  matters  on  a  rational,  convenient 
and  economical  basis.  We  would  save  more  in  one  single  census  than 
would  pay  the  whole  expense,  and  would  thus  lay  a  permanent  found- 
ation for  various  important  improvements. 

But  another  difficulty  in  Virginia,  it  is  alleged,  is  found  in  the  fact 
that  the  aristocracy  are  more  disposed  to  patronize  colleges  and  one 
great  Eastern  university,  than  to .  extend  education  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  Perhaps,  indeed,  there  may  be  some 
foundation  for  this  imputation  of  this  exclnsiveness  of  feeling.  Well, 
as  two  wrongs  cannot  make  one  right,  we  must  be  cautious  that  we  do 
not  set  up  a  rival  monopoly  of  common  schools  against  colleges.  In  the 
sacred  and  benevolent  cause  of  education  we  are  not  allowed  to  have 
any  castes  or  parties ;  we  are  neither  aristocrats  nor  democrats ;  we 
do  not  plead  for  the  rich  or  for  the  poor,  but  for  the  people,  the  whole 
people,  and  nothing  but  the  people.  Such  is  my  theory.  I  am  for 
rendering  to  all  their  dues.  I  would  not  rob  the  poor  for  the  rich, 
nor  would  I  filch  from  the  rich  to  benefit  the  poor.  We  must  have 
oommon  schools,  normal  schools  and  colleges.  The  whole  wants  of 
society  must  be  met. 

All  persons  have  not  exactly  the  same  physical  or  the  same  intel- 
lectual appetites  and  tastes.  Nature  suits  them  all.  So  must  we  have 
3ommon  schools  suited  to  the  common  wants  of  all ;  but  should  there 
be  some  who  have  larger  appetites  and  peculiar  varieties  of  tastes, 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


263 


we  must  have  high  schools  and  colleges  for  them,  as  well  as  common 
schools  for  the  others. 

But,  my  fellow-citizens,  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  imagine  that  we 
want  colleges  for  the  rich  and  common  schools  for  the  poor.  Political 
demagogues  may  say  so,  and  perhaps  they  may  have  no  more  sense  than 
to  think  so.  But  we  neither  think  nor  say  so.  We  want  colleges  for 
those  who  by  nature's  moulding  and  formation  have  more  appetite, 
taste  and  capacity  than  the  common  standard;  and  we  want  common 
schools  for  all.  We  must  satisfy  the  common  wants  of  all,  and  the 
peculiar  wants  of  the  few.  But  this  commonalty  and  this  minority 
are  not  the  rich  nor  the  poor.  The  rich  are  not  the  monopolists  of 
genius,  talent  or  capacity ;  nor  are  the  poor  necessarily  the  monopolists 
of  sterile  minds  and  humble  capacity.  Let  us  not,  then,  act  as  though 
God  had  given  all  mind,  genius  and  wealth  to  one  class  and  withheld 
them  from  the  other.    We  plead  for  an  ample  supply  for  all. 

There  are  many  of  us  in  the  West  who  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing 
short  of  a  wise  and  just  provision  for  all.  We  will  not  allow  that  it  is 
either  just  or  honorable  that  Eastern  Virginia  should  have  all  the  uni- 
versity and  college  powers,  and  that  Western  Virginia  should  have 
only  common  schools.  Shall  we  of  the  West  be  satisfied  that  the 
Legislature  of  Virginia  shall  bestow  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars  on  one  Eastern  university  and  put  us  off  with  an  annual  pit- 
tance for  common  schools  ?  Let  it  only  do  half  as  much  for  two  or 
three  Western  colleges  as  it  has  done  for  an  Eastern  one,  and  then  we 
of  the  West  will  begin  to  think  that  we  are  not  regarded  as  step- 
children. Let  it  give  us  our  full  share  of  the  literary  fund,  and,  with 
some  hope  of  success,  we  shall  endeavor  to  provide  for  our  own  wants, 
and  repay  our  Eastern  brethren  not  with  empty  thanks  only,  but  with 
a  class  of  citizens  more  worthy  of  their  brotherhood  and  esteem. 

We  ask  for  colleges,  not  because  the  rich  want  them — not  because  a 
few  only  have  taste,  inclination  or  means  of  possessing  themselves  of 
their  advantages — but  because  all  the  community  need  them  as  much 
as  they  need  common  schools ;  for  without  them  no  country  has  ever 
had,  and  no  country  can  ever  have,  qualified  teachers.  We  can  have 
no  good  common  schools  without  good  teachers ;  for  it  is  now  a  canonical 
maxim  in  France  and  Prussia,  almost  as  evident  and  current  as  the 
golden  rule,  that,  "as  is  the  master,  so  is  the  school."  An  ill-educated 
and  immoral  teacher  is  a  pest  rather  than  a  blessing  to  any  community. 
I  wonder  not,  then,  that  Prussia  and  other  States  which  have  paid 
much  attention  to  common  schools  have  found  it  indispensable  to  esta- 
blish normal  schools  or  colleges  for  the  education  of  school-teachers. 


264 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


The  system  requires  it.  If  the  whole  State  were  divided  into  school- 
districts,  and  had  school-houses  erected  and  public  libraries  in  them 
all,  without  a  proper  supply  of  accomplished  teachers  it  were  compara- 
tively labor  and  expense  in  vain.  We  must  have  colleges  or  normal 
schools  to  supply  teachers;  and,  therefore,  in  pleading  the  cause  of 
universal  education,  we  must  not  oppose  colleges  and  universities — the 
only  means  now  extant  of  supplying  ourselves  with  teachers. 

New  York  now  wants  one  thousand  teachers  every  year.  Ten  thou- 
sand is  her  present  supply.  Of  these,  some  thousand  annually  leave 
the  business  by  death,  emigration  and  change  of  profession.  She 
requires  ten  colleges  to  supply  her  institutions.  How  shall  we  sup- 
ply ours  ? 

We  must  have  a  supply  of  teachers  in  view,  whatever  plan  we  may 
adopt.  The  more  respectable  the  qualifications  we  require  in  our 
teachers,  and  the  greater  the  remuneration  we  give  them,  the  greater 
the  benefit  to  the  whole  community.  Colleges  and  common  schools 
are  reciprocally  advantageous  to  each  other.  True,  we  want  hundreds 
of  common  schools  for  every  college.  There  ought  to  be,  however,  no 
rivalry,  no  exclusiveness,  no  monopoly  in  the  views,  feelings  or  actions 
of  our  fellow-citizens  on  this  subject.  Universities  and  colleges  are  to 
common  schools  what  oceans  and  seats  are  to  lakes,  rivers,  pools  and 
springs  of  water.  If  there  were  no  oceans  and  seas,  we  should  have  no 
lesser  collections  of  water.  The  sun  and  the  winds  carry  from  our 
oceans  a  constant  supply  to  all  the  lakes,  rivers  and  fountains  of  the 
country. 

We  blame  not  the  aristocracy  of  the  East  nor  the  memory  of  Thomas 
JefiPerson  for  erecting  and  liberally  endowing  one  great  Eastern  uni- 
versity, nor  for  founding  other  colleges  in  that  quarter :  we  only  blame 
them  for  not  granting  similar  favors  to  the  West,  and  good  common 
schools  to  the  whole  country. 

We  have  a  fund,  indeed,  annually  accumulating,  which,  under  a 
proper  and  wise  administration,  together  with  some  other  aids  in  the 
way  of  legislation,  and  perhaps  some  additional  taxation,  might  be 
made  available  to  the  introduction  of  at  least  an  incipient  system  of 
common  schools.  But  there  is  a  singular  apathy — to  use  no  harsher 
name — on  this  whole  subject.  I  know  not  why  it  is,  that  the  con- 
vention which  revised  and  amended  the  Constitution  of  Virginia 
refused  to  admit  into  it  a  single  provision  expressive  of  the  necessity 
of  any  legislative  action  on  the  subject  of  education.  I  had,  indeed, 
the  honor  of  offering  the  only  resolution  on  that  subject,  which  appears 
on  the  Jo'Tnal  of  that  distinguished  body.    In  anticipation  of  the 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


265 


demands  of  this  community,  and  believing  it  would  be  an  additional 
impulse  to  future  legislation  on  the  subject,  if  not  a  formal  demand  for 
it,  I  anxiously  desired  to  have  it  recognised  as  a  national  object  in  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land.  I  therefore  offered  the  following  resolution, 
as  reported  on  said  Journal,  page  181 : — 

"  Whereas  republican  institutions  and  the  blessings  of  free  govern- 
ment originated  in,  and  must  always  depend  upon,  the  intelligence, 
virtue  and  patriotism  of  the  community ;  and  whereas  neither  intelli- 
gence nor  virtue  can  be  maintained  or  promoted  in  any  community 
without  education,  it  shall  always  be  the  duty  of  the  Legislature  of 
this  Commonwealth  to  patronize  and  encourage  such  a  system  of  edu- 
cation, or  such  common  schools  and  seminaries  of  learning,  as  will,  in 
their  wisdom,  be  deemed  to  be  most  conducive  to  secure  to  the  youth 
of  this  Commonwealth  such  an  education  as  may  most  promote  the 
public  good." 

Judge,  feUow-citizens,  of  my  disappointment  and  mortification  to  see 
a  resolution,  every  way  honorable  (as  I  supposed)  to  the  Old  Dominion, 
and  replete  with  blessings  to  the  State,  nailed  to  the  table  by  a  mere 
parliamentary  manoeuvre — by  those,  too,  who  had  not  courage  to  vote 
against  it  or  formatty  to  oppose  it.  In  this  way,  however,  it  was  vir- 
tually negatived ;  and  so  it  came  to  pass  that  Virginia,  once  distin- 
guished for  her  profound  and  eminent  statesmen  and  eloquent  orators, 
has  sent  her  Magna  Charta  to  the  world  without  the  recognition  of 
education  at  aU — without  one  word  upon  the  subject,  as  though  it  were 
no  concern  of  the  State. 

In  providing  against  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  a  great  and  suc- 
cessful effort  on  the  part  of  this  convention  and  its  friends,  it  is  essen- 
tial to  our  success  that  we  have  all  the  difficulties  in  our  eye.  This 
apathy  on  the  part  of  legislators  is  supported  by  a  more  fatal  apathy 
on  the  part  of  a  multitude  of  the  people.  Since  the  days  of  common 
schools  till  now— since  the  project  of  getting  them  up  was  fii^st  named 
— this  apathy  on  the  part  of  the  great  mass  of  the  uneducated  (not 
wholly  confined  to  them  either)  has  generally,  even  after  a  system  was 
provided  by  law,  necessitated  compulsory  measures  to  require  some 
parents  even  to  send  their  children  to  school. 

In  examining  the  old  statutes  on  the  subject  of  public  education  in 
the  European  families,  we  find  in  some  of  the  German  States  statutes 
enforcing  what  in  our  vernacular  is  called  ^'school  obligation,'' — i.e. 
the  obligation  of  sending  children  to  school.  In  the  Hanoverian  domi- 
nions, provisions  were  made  on  this  subject  so  long  ago  as  1681 ;  in 
Saxe-Grotha,  as  far  back  as  1642 ;  in  Prussia,  in  1769 ;  in  New  England, 


266 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


early  in  the  last  century ;  and  by  acts  of  the  Scotch  Parliament,  they 
are  found  as  far  back  as  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century — at  least 
fifty  years  before  the  Protestant  Reformation.  These  facts  are  very 
pertinently  arrayed  by  Mrs.  Austin,  of  New  York,  in  her  translation 
of  Monsieur  Cousin's  Eeport  on  the  State  of  Public  Instruction  in 
Prussia,  in  proof  that  the  legal  obligation  to  educate  children  is  no 
modern  invention,  and  not  peculiar  to  what  some  call  the  military  and 
despotic  Government  of  Prussia. 

But  it  is  obvious  to  all  that  we  want  common  schools  for  the  com- 
mon wants;  and  the  question  is,  How  shall  we  get  them?  -We  do 
not  want  poor  schools  for  poor  scholars,  or  gratuitous  instruction 
for  paupers ;  we  want  schools  for  all  at  the  expense  of  all.  Theory 
might  have  taught  what  experience  has  everywhere  proved — that  few 
of  the  worthy  poor,  who  most  deserve  education,  will  accept  it  under 
such  humiliating  conditions  as  it  must  be  tendered  on  any  plan  hitherto 
attempted  of  having  two  classes  of  pupils  in  the  same  school — one  class 
educated  at  the  public  expense,  and  another  at  their  own.  Some,  in- 
deed, who  are  sufficiently  able  to  educate  their  own  children,  will,  from 
innate  meanness,  accept  of  the  poor-fund ;  but  the  really  indigent  and 
honorable  poor  will,  in  very  many  cases,  do  without  education  altogether 
rather  than  acknowledge  their  abject  poverty,  or  afterwards  lie  under 
what  they  consider  the  opprobrium  of  having  been  charity-scholars. 

To  avoid  all  this  is  one  of  the  objects  of  common  schools ;  and  that 
common  schools  can  be  introduced  in  Western  Virginia  without  any  or 
or  at  least  with  very  little  additional  expense  to  the  richer  classes,  or 
to  the  whole  community,  I  am  confident  can  be  made  apparent  to  all. 
But,  in  order  to  this,  we  must  go  to  work  not  only  energetically,  but 
systematically.  We  must  not  wait  till  all  the  East  and  the  West  agree 
on  one  system.  This  would  be  equivalent  to  postponing  indefinitely 
the  matter  altogether. 

Our  brethren  of  the  East  have  difficulties — great  difficulties — that 
lie  not  in  our  way.  They  have  two  sorts  of  population,  of  great 
political  disparity.  We  are  not  so  unfortunate.  Common  schools  and 
aristocracy  are  not  homogeneous.  A  patrician  will  not  have  a  ple- 
beian system  of  education.  It  would  humiliate  his  son  to  learn 
out  of  the  same  grammar,  under  the  same  teacher  and  in  the  same 
school-room  with  the  son  of  a  plebeian  !  We  of  the  West  are  generally 
too  poor — that  is,  too  democratical — for  such  notions.  Poverty  and 
humility  have  some  little  homogeneity  between  them,  though  we  find 
them  occa^sionally  divorced.  Were  we  richer,  we  might  perhaps  be  a 
little  more  aristocratical  than  we  are;  for,  after  all,  there  is  no 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


267 


political  aristocracy  but  that  which,  first,  middle  or  last,  stands  upon 
gold.  This  is  the  real  sovereign  of  America ;  and  the  nobility  are 
those  who  have  most  of  it.  Hence  the  easy  transition  from  democracy 
to  aristocracy.  I  have  known  a  lottery-ticket,  luckily  bought,  or  a 
good  trip  to  New  Orleans  or  to  Cuba,  convert  a  flaming  democrat  into 
a  spruce,  well-starched,  decent  little  aristocrat  of  full  five  feet  stature. 
It  is,  however,  problematical  whether  aristocracy  ever  did  thrive  in  a 
region  so  high  and  rough  as  ours.  It  is  rather  indigenous  to  extended 
plains,  great  cities  and  level  countries;  and,  being  an  exotic  on  our 
calcareous  hiUs,  grows  slowly,  and  is,  upon  the  whole,  of  a  sickly  ap- 
pearance. We,  therefore,  in  the  great  aggregate  of  our  population, 
would  be  glad  to  send  our  children  to  the  same  good,  common  school, 
and  would  have  no  patrician  scrupulosity  of  conscience  in  permitting 
them  to  read  the  same  primer  or  Greek  Testament  with  those  of  mere 
plebeian  honors,  whose  good  fortune  it  might  be,  perchance,  to  be 
placed  under  the  same  teacher. 

iigain,  our  plebeian  farms  are  smaller,  and  therefore  our  sons  and 
daughters  would  not  have  to  walk  from  the  centre  of  a  thousand-acre 
parallelogram  to  see  the  domicile  of  a  near  neighbor,  or  to  explore  a 
school-house  situate  in  the  middle  of  three  or  four  such  plantations, 
with  not  more  than  a  dozen  elect  pupils  assembled  in  the  sunniest  days 
of  the  year.  The  propinquity  of  less  patrician  inheritances  is  our 
happier  lot ;  and,  therefore,  not  merely  equality  of  fortune  but  propin- 
quity of  residence  are  signs  in  our  zodiac  favorable  to  a  cordial  co- 
operation in  the  introduction  of  a  common  school  system.  A  simulta- 
neous, well-concerted,  vigorous  and  persevering  eff"ort  on  our  part  is 
all  that  is  necessary  to  the  success  of  this  great  enterprise. 

Still  the  question  recurs.  How  is  the  system  to  be  introduced? 
Without  further  delay,  I  shall  then  frankly  suggest,  with  great  de- 
ference to  the  opinions  of  others,  my  views  of  the  ways  and  means  by 
which  common  schools  may  be  established  in  Western  Virginia. 

1st.-  Public  lecturers  could  be  obtained,  who  would,  at  several  points 
in  each  county,  lecture  at  full  length  upon  the  whole  subject  of  common 
schools  and  primary  instruction,  pointing  out  clearly  the  intellectual 
and  moral  wants  of  the  community,  the  nature  and  objects  of  a  system 
of  common  education,  developing  its  numerous  advantages  to  society, 
political,  moral  and  economical,  and  urging  its  claims  upon  all  humane 
and  benevolent  persons.  This,  together  with  the  labors  of  the  period- 
ical press,  would  enlighten  the  people  on  their  great  interests  in  sucli 
n  system. 

2d.  In  the  second  place,  petitions  can  be  got  up,  and  addresses  to  tho 


268 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


legislature,  praying  for  a  fair  distribution  of  the  annual  avails  of  the 
Literary  Fund  to  all  Western  Virginia,  or  to  such  ranges  of  counties 
and  districts  in  it  as  may  agree  in  one  system  of  operations,  after 
having  done  proportionally  as  much  for  the  colleges  of  Western  Vir- 
ginia as  for  those  of  the  East. 

3d.  Power  also  may  be  obtained  from  the  Assembly  for  every  county 
in  a  given  district,  or  even  for  a  single  county  by  itself,  by  and  with 
the  consent  of  a  majority  of  the  voters  in  such  county,  or  district  of 
counties,  to  levy  an  ad  valorem  property-tax,  to  be  added  to  the  annual 
dividend  of  the  Literary  Fund  from  the  State,  for  the  purpose  of 
creating  a  common  school  fund  for  the  aforesaid  district ;  to  which  also 
voluntary  subscriptions  from  the  more  wealthy  and  benevolent  may 
be  added. 

4th.  The  counties  can  and  should  be  surveyed  into  school  districts 
five  or  six  miles  square,  or  of  such  other  dimensions  as  will  be  most 
equitable  and  convenient  for  all  the  population.  In  the  centre  of  each 
of  these  districts  one  good  school-house  should  be  erected,  and  one 
good  teacher  engaged  at  the  public  expense.  These  districts  ought  to 
be  arranged  with  regard  to  the  sparseness  or  density  of  the  population, 
including  not  less  than  fifty  nor  more  than  one  hundred  families  in  one 
district.  In  this  district  school  all  the  pupils  should  be  placed  on 
an  equal  footing,  so  far  as  equal  rights  are  involved.  There  should  be 
neither  rich  nor  poor  scholar  known  in  the  district  school.  They  should 
be  all  district  pupils,  in  a  district  school  and  under  a  district  teacher. 
This  should  be  the  sum  of  all  the  distinctions,  titles  and  honors  in 
their  charter. 

5th.  School  committees  and  a  treasurer,  men  of  probity  and  respon- 
sibility, should  be  elected  or  otherwise  appointed  in  each  district,  who 
should  obtain  competent  instructors  and  strictly  and  faithfully  super- 
vise the  schools. 

Here  are  five  practicable  means,  which,  whenever  any  county  or 
number  of  counties  in  Virginia  pleases,  can  be  adopted  and  made  very 
efficient,  to  establish  and  sustain  common  schools  in  a  county  or  in  a 
large  district. 

I  am  a  practical  man,  and  advocate  practical  schemes.  When  we 
cannot  accomplish  all  we  want  at  once,  we  must  do  what  we  can.  We 
must  begin  and  persevere,  and  we  shall  not  fail  to  consummate  our 
wishes.  That  this  will  cost  us  little  or  nothing  more  than  the  present 
invidious,  selfish  and  impotent  system,  can  be  easily  demonstrated. 
For  example,  suppose  that  there  are  only  fifty  families  in  one  school 
distr^'^t,  the  least  we  have  contemplated,  none  of  them  probably  more 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


269 


than  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  and  a  half  miles  froin  a  centre  school- 
house.  Suppose  that  these  fifty  freeholds  should  have  a  school-tax 
levied  upon  them,  averaging  five  or  six  dollars  each :  can  not  any  one 
see  that  this  sum,  with  the  addition  of  only  fifty  dollars  from  the 
Literary  Fund,  would  constitute  an  annuity  equal  to  the  necessary 
expenditures  of  that  district  for  a  good  common  school  ?  Here  would 
be  an  annuity  of  from  three  hundred  to  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
per  annum,  a  sum  adequate  to  secure  a  respectable  teacher  in  most 
districts  in  Western  Virginia.  And  although  this  be  a  less  average 
sum  than  any  head  of  a  family,  with  a  freehold  of  fifty  acres,  should 
ordinarily  pay  for  the  education  of  his  own  children,  under  such  a 
system  as  we  have  projected  it  would  be  amply  sufficient  to  educate 
all  the  children,  rich  and  poor,  within  said  district,  for  as  many  years 
as  may  be  necessary  to  the  attainment  of  a  good  common  school  edu- 
cation. 

Fellow-citizens,  I  have  doubtless  exhausted  your  patience, — unlesa 
you  have  an  unusual  share  of  that  article ;  still  I  feel  as  though  I  had 
hardly  touched  the  subject,  and  regretting,  as  I  do,  the  adverse  cir- 
cumstances which  have  forbidden  me  the  pleasure  of  participating  in 
your  counsels,  I  could  not  do  less  than  give  a  general  sketch  of  my 
views  on  the  whole  premises  which  I  supposed  were  directly  to  come 
before  you. 

The  subject  of  common  schools  and  common  education  has  long 
been  regarded  by  me  as  one  of  paramount  importance  to  the  patriot, 
the  philanthropist  and  the  Christian.  "When  we  consider  that  at  least 
nineteen-twentieths  of  the  whole  population  obtain  from  common  schools 
all  the  scholastic  education  they  ever  obtain,  and  that  most  of  our 
public  functionaries — our  legislators,  judges,  magistrates  and  leading 
men — there  receive  the  first  elements  of  thought,  their  rudimental 
views  and  conceptions  of  men  and  things,  of  how  much  importance  it 
is  to  the  world  that  we  have  not  only  a  sufficient  number  of  them, 
but  that  we  have  them  under  the  best  possible  intellectual  and  mora) 
discipline ! 

What  a  melancholy  thought  that,  in  the  great,  ancient,  venerable  and 
opulent  Commonwealth  of  Virginia,  there  is  one  county  possessing 
more  than  twenty-one  hundred  adults  that  cannot  read  !*  What  a 
waste — what  a  dreary  waste — of  uncultivated  intellect !  What  a  loss 
to  the  present  and  to  future  times !  What  a  loss  of  intellectual  and 
moral  pleasure  to  those  unfortunate,  untaught  and  uneducated  men  and 


*  Shenandoah  county,  as  the  last  census  indicates. 


270 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


women  !  What  sort  of  mothers  and  fathers  for  another  generation  ? 
How  much  superior  to  the  four  hundred  thousand  uneducated  negroes 
east  of  the  Blue  Eidge  ?  Tell  it  not  at  Mecca,  publish  it  not  among 
the  wild  men  of  the  forest,  that  in  the  civilized  and  Christianized  State 
of  Virginia  there  are  in  a  single  county  twenty-one  hundred  persons 
of  mature  age  and  reason  who  can  neither  read  nor  write !  Yet  they 
must  vote,  and  their  illiterate  vote  would,  in  our  government,  out- 
weigh the  vote  of  two  thousand  and  ninety-nine  Solomons,  could  they 
be  found.  Is  this  rational?  Is  this  right?  Is  this  an  oracle  of 
wisdom  or  of  folly  ?  If  we  must  have  universal  suffrage,  let  us  have 
universal  education.  I  would  limit  the  one  by  the  other.  Till  I  shall 
have  another  sort  of  head,  and  until  we  have  another  sort  of  world 
than  this,  I  cannot  consent  to  think  that  it  is  good,  or  reasonable,  or 
fair,  or  honorable  that  the  vote  of  a  Franklin,  a  Jefferson,  a  Madison, 
or  a  Washington,  should  be  neutralized  by  that  of  one  who  never  knew 
the  letters  that  compose  his  own  name,  or  read  one  verse  of  the  Bible 
in  any  language  spoken  by  the  many-tongued  tribes  of  men !  The 
right  of  suffrage  in  the  hands  of  such  voters,  uneducated  in  morals 
and  literature,  is  like  a  razor  in  an  infant's  hand,  or  a  flambeau  in  the 
hands  of  a  drunkard  in  a  magazine  of  gunpowder.  I  care  not  for 
measuring  or  counting  votes  by  cash,  whether  in  the  form  of  land,  or 
gold,  or  bank-notes,  or  sheep,  or  cattle,  or  asses.  The  poor  man's  vote 
may  be  as  good  as  that  of  Monsieur  Girard  or  that  of  Baron  Roth- 
schild; but  that  ignorance  should  neutralize  intelligence,  or  that  two 
thousand  uneducated  persons  should  decide  the  election  of  a  State  or 
the  fate  of  a  nation,  is,  to  my  mind,  no  less  preposterous  than  the 
custom  of  naturalizing  certain  foreigners  who  swear  to  support  a  Con- 
stitution not  one  word  of  which  they  have  ever  heard  or  ever  read. 

On  whose  heads,  may  I  ask,  rest  the  shame  and  the  guilt  of  those 
untaught  thousands  of  adults  in  Western  Virginia,  who  cannot  read  the 
Saviour's  name,  nor  one  line  of  the  gospel  of  eternal  life !  Some  must 
be  to  blame.  Their  parents,"  you  say.  But  perhaps  they  were  left 
orphans,  or  their  parents  had  not  such  a  legacy  to  transmit  to  them :  for 
I  contend  that  a  moral  and  virtuous  parent  will  always  in  our  country 
either  teach  his  children,  or  have  them  taught,  to  read,  provided  always 
he  can  read  himself.  The  State,  then,  is  to  blame ;  that  is,  the  com- 
munity is  to  blame.  But  that  community  consists  of  individuals ;  and 
hence  the  blame  is  to  be  distributed  amongst  them.  Well,  then,  fellow- 
citizens,  let  us  endeavor  to  clear  ourselves  of  this  manifold  evil.  Let 
us  all  discharge  our  relative  duties  to  the  State,  and  we  shall  soon 
h'^ve  an  intelligent,  virtuous  and  happy  community. 


ON  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


271 


The  scheme  I  propose  is  practicable,  and  you  can  make  it  popular. 
In  other  countries,  the  few  that  opposed  have  often  been  among  the  first 
to  partake  of  its  blessings  and  to  sound  the  praises  of  the  system.  Let 
us  enter  upon  the  labor,  persuaded  that  it  is  a  good  and  necessary  one ; 
let  us  commence,  in  the  assurance  that  it  is  perfectly  practicable ;  let 
us  put  forth  our  energies  in  the  confidence  of  ultimate  success ;  let  us 
take  "  a  long  pull,  a  strong  pull  and  a  pull  all  together,"  and  we  shall 
gain  for  ourselves,  our  country  and  posterity,  richer  blessings,  political 
and  religious,  than  ever  followed  the  blood-earned  victories  of  the 
Alexanders,  the  Caesars  or  the  Napoleons  of  the  earth.  Their  reward 
was  the  wild  huzzas  of  maddened  multitudes — ours  will  be  the  approval 
of  conscience,  the  smiles  of  Heaven,  and  the  thanks  of  a  grateful,  vir- 
tuous and  happy  posterity. 


ADDRESS. 


THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  MEMORY  AND  OF  COM- 
MEMORATIVE INSTITUTIONS. 

TO  THE 

UNION  LITERARY  SOCIETY,  WASHINGTON  COLLEGE,  1841. 


Mr.  President, 

And  Gentlemen,  members  of  the  Union  Literary  Society : — 

An  incident  occurred  on  the  lOth  of  November  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1808,  which  has  occasioned  our  meeting  together  this  evening. 
That  incident  is  of  some  interest  both  to  you  and  me,  else  we  had  not 
assembled  in  commemoration  of  it.  It  was  the  day  of  the  nativity  of 
your  literary  institution — a  day  in  which  the  founders  of  your  asso- 
ciation resolved  to  prepare  themselves  more  thoroughly  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  social  state,  by  placing  themselves  in  a  new  relation  to  one 
another,  and  solemnly  agreeing  to  discharge  to  one  another  certain 
social  duties  and  obligations  with  a  special  reference  to  their  mutual 
improvement.  They  very  naturally  imagined  that  they  could  create  a 
miniature  world,  in  which,  on  a  limited  scale,  they  would  have  the  great 
world  of  mankind  represented  in  all  those  points  affecting  their  literary 
and  moral  improvement.  They  discovered  in  themselves  certain  com- 
mon wants  and  desires,  as  well  as  certain  individual  aptitudes  and 
powers  of  supplying  those  wants  and  of  gratifying  those  desires;  and, 
in  order  to  this,  they  agreed  to  meet  on  a  certain  day  in  every  week, 
and  to  come  with  all  the  available  means  of  improving  one  another, 
and  of  being  improved — by  comparing  their  respective  views,  and 
calling  forth  their  individual  energies  in  discussing  such  questions  as 
naturally  tended  to  the  development  and  cultivation  of  their  intellect- 
ual and  moral  powers,  and  thus  fitting  themselves  for  advantageously 
axiting  their  part  on  the  great  theatre  of  the  world. 

You,  their  successors,  approving  of  these  objects  of  their  association, 
and  of  the  principles  and  motives  which  influenced  them  thus  to  act, 

272 


THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  MEMORY,  ETC. 


273 


iiave  incorporated  yourselves  with  them  as  component  members  of  the 
same  institution,  and,  in  pursuance  of  the  very  laudable  objects  of 
your  association,  have  met  this  evening  to  receive  an  anniversary 
address  from  one  who  cannot  but  feel  himself  both  honored  and  happy 
in  being  invited  to  further  the  wise  and  benevolent  ends  of  your  insti- 
tution. 

To  me,  gentlemen,  it  is  frequently  no  easy  task  to  select  a  subject 
pertinent  to  the  occasion.  During  the  last  three  months — the  busiest 
in  my  life — the  subject  of  commemorative  institutions  has  occurred  to 
my  mind  as  one  of  some  importance ;  and  presuming  it  to  be  as  ap- 
posite to  the  present  occasion  as  any  I  could  think  of,  I  decided  to 
offer  you  a  few  practical  thoughts  on  the  Philosophy  of  Memory 
AND  OF  Commemorative  Institutions. 

Preparatory  to  this,  however,  it  is  expedient  that  we  very  briefly 
glance  at  the  faculty  of  memory  itself,  as  a  prerequisite  to  the  compre- 
hension of  the  philosophy  of  commemorative  institutions.  But,  gentle- 
men, what  can  we  say  of  memory  that  has  not  been  already  said,  and 
better  said  than  we  can  say  it,  by  some  of  the  great  masters  of  mental 
philosophy,  such  as  Bacon,  Locke,  Beid,  Watts,  Stewart,  Brown,  or 
Combe?  We  shall  not  attempt  to  say  what  they  have  said,  in  the  way 
of  developing  the  abstract  nature  or  peculiar  attributes  of  any  faculty, 
instinctive  or  acquired,  denominated  Memory.  With  us,  memory  is 
contemplated  merely  as  a  monumental  tablet,  not  as  an  organ  nor  as 
an  active  power.  Becollection,  indeed,  is  a  faculty,  an  active  power 
of  reading  what  has  been  written  and  inscribed  on  the  tablet  of  memory. 
Memory  is  as  passive  as  the  marble  tables  on  which  the  finger  of  God 
inscribed  the  ten  everlasting  precepts,  while  recollection  is  as  active  as 
the  pulse  of  life  in  reading  the  inscriptions  on  those  mysterious  and 
incomprehensible  tables. 

It  is,  indeed,  agreed  by  the  ancients  and  the  moderns  that,  of  all  the 
faculties  or  capacities  of  improvement  bestowed  on  man,  either  asso- 
ciated with,  or  supplementary  to,  reason,  memory  is  first  in  rank,  if  not 
in  development.  The  powers  usually  styled  perception,  memory,  reflec- 
tion— or,  if  any  one  prefer  the  new  nomenclature  to  the  old,  the  per- 
ceptive and  reflective  powers — are  the  eyes,  and  ears,  and  hands  of  the 
soul ;  without  which  its  very  existence  were  unknown  to  itself. 

Instead,  then,  of  descanting  upon  themes  so  trite  as  the  usual  dis- 
quisitions upon  this  noblest  of  our  intellectual  powers,  permit  me  to 
invite  your  attention  to  it  as  one  of  the  most  sensible  and  incontrovert- 
ible demonstrations  of  the  immateriality,  if  not  immortality,  of  the 
humar  soul. 

18 


274 


THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  MEMORY. 


To  locate  this  power  is  nowadays  regarded  as  wholly  impossible 
The  new  philosophy  avers  that,  though  it  has  a  name,  it  is  without  a 
habitation.  Gall,  Spurzheim,  and  Combe,  the  illustrious  trio  of  the 
new  school,  can  find  for  it  no  organ  at  all;  and  the  metaphysicians 
of  the  old  school  could  never  find  a  single  cavern  for  it  within  all 
the  enclosures  of  head  or  heart.  In  their  sublimated  and  ethereal 
science,  it  is  a  faculty  of  the  soul — an  abstract  essence,  which  the 
most  exquisite  forceps  ever  invented  by  imagination  could  not  seize 
or  hold  up  to  the  eye  of  the  mind  for  the  millionth  part  of  ?. 
second. 

If  material  it  be,  it  is  matter  borrowed  from  another  sphere.  It  is 
some  of  the  mould  or  clay  of  heaven — of  a  peculiar  unearthy  type 
and  temper.  It  is  spiritual  matter — a  substratum  so  ethereal  and 
divine  as  to  elude  the  intellectual  grasp  and  comprehension  of  a  new 
Aristotle — seventy  times  more  ideal  and  refined  than  the  celebrated 
author  of  the  Ten  Predicaments. 

Upon  its  tablet  it  is,  however,  agreed  there  can  be  written  not  only 
all  the  words  of  a  living  or  a  dead  language,  but  those  of  many  living 
and  dead  languages,  together  with  as  many  volumes  of  science  and 
images  of  persons,  places,  events,  facts  and  documents  of  individual 
experience  as  would  busily  occupy  the  oldest  antediluvian  sage  during 
his  whole  life  of  a  thousand  years  to  read  or  recall.  Gentlemen,  can 
any  of  you  deny  the  fact,  or,  affirming  it,  can  you  explain  it?  Can 
you  show  from  any  earthly  material,  analogy  or  fact,  how  it  is  possible 
to  engrave  or  write  over  a  billion  or  a  quadrillion  of  times  the  same 
substance  and  still  preserve  the  distinct  clear  legibility  of  every  letter 
and  point?  Take  the  phrenological  sinuosities,  folds  and  convolutions 
of  any  organ  of  the  brain,  each  having  its  own  book-keeper  with  his 
celestial  patent  for  short-hand  abbreviations,  and  ask  how  he  can 
write  a  million  of  pages  upon  them,  or  upon  the  ends  and  points  of 
those  intellectual  horns,  blunted  only  by  the  bony  case  which  envelops 
them.  Or  take  the  fine  fluids  of  a  Voltaire  or  an  Epicurus,  so  subtle 
and  imperceptible  that  the  very  nerves  of  sensation  along  which  they 
roll  their  gentle  current  of  animal  life  cannot  detect  them;  and  sup- 
pose the  soul  to  embark  upon  these  tides  of  spiritual  life  all  its  dis- 
coveries: how  could  such  a  navy  bear  within  its  bosom  the  immense 
accumulation  stowed  away  for  years  in  the  warehouses  of  Memory? 
Would  not  the  smallest  of  Memory's  craft,  so  often  stranded  on  the 
numerous  bars  of  such  a  river,  be  likely  to  fail  of  performing  their 
regular  trips  at  the  call  of  other  powers  constantly  waiting  upon  their 
urrival  to  put  themselves  in  motion!    Bidiculous  and  preposterous 


AND  OF  COMMEMORATIVE  INSTITUTIONS. 


275 


though  such  visions  and  hallucinations  be,  there  have  not  been  want- 
ing men  of  such  a  peculiar  organization  as  not  only  to  cherish  within 
their  own  bosoms  such  idealities,  but  to  seek  to  propagate  them  in 
the  world. 

It  has,  indeed,  also  been  affirmed  that  memory  is  not  exclusively 
an  attribute  of  mind ;  because  creatures  destitute  of  mind  possess  it, 
and,  in  reference  to  sensible  objects,  in  some  cases  in  a  degree  superioi 
to  man. 

It  is  admitted  that  as  respects  ideas  and  impressions  received  through 
sensation  and  perception,  as  well  as  in  matters  of  instinctive  knowledge, 
some  animals,  such  as  the  elephant,  horse,  dog,  &c.,  possess  the 
faculty  of  memory  in  a  very  liberal  degree.  But  what  does  the  fact 
of  animal  memory  prove  ?  Does  it  prove  that  terrestrial  matter  thinks, 
remembers,  feels,  or  that  irrational  animals  have  that  peculiar  faculty 
c'alled  mind  in  man  ?  Or  does  it  only  prove  a  proposition  which  all 
nature  attests  ? — viz.  that  wherever  there  is  organization  there  is  life, 
either  animal  or  vegetable ;  and  wherever  there  is  animal  organization 
and  animation  there  is  a  portion,  or  at  least  some  of  the  properties,  of 
the  great  Universal  Mind.  This  is  demonstrably  a  true  proposition. 
Mind  is  printed  on  paper,  as  well  as  possessed  by  him  that  writes ; 
mind  is  impressed  on  all  the  works  of  the  Creator,  animate  or  in- 
animate ;  but  in  some  of  its  modifications  it  is  in,  as  well  as  upon,  the 
animated  creation  of  God.  There  is  just  such  a  portion  of  intelligence 
communicated  to  every  creature,  according  to  its  organization,  such 
a  measure  of  instinctive  knowledge,  wisdom  and  memory,  as  fits  it 
for  its  exact  position  in  creation,  that  it  may  fulfil  the  benevolent 
designs  of  the  Creator.  With  one  of  our  best-reasoning  poets  we  majf 
say  : — 

"Far  as  creation's  ample  range  extends, 
The  scale  of  sensual,  mental  power  ascends. 
Mark  how  it  mounts  to  man's  imperial  race 
From  the  green  myriads  in  the  peopled  grass ; 
What  modes  of  sight  betwixt  each  wide  extreme — 
The  mole's  dim  curtain,  and  the  lynx's  beam. 
Of  smell,  the  headlong  lioness  between. 
And  hound,  sagacious  on  the  tainted  green. 
Of  hearing,  from  the  life  that  fills  the  flood, 
To  that  which  warbles  through  the  vernal  wood. 
The  spider's  touch,  how  exquisitely  fine. 
Feels  at  each  thread,  and  lives  along  the  line ! 
To  the  nice  bee  what  sense  so  subtly  true 
From  poisonous  herbs  extracts  the  healing  dew  ? 
How  instinct  varies  in  the  grovelling  swine, 
Compared,*  half-reasoning  elephant,  with  thine '. 


276 


THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  MEMOEY 


'Twixt  that  and  reason,  what  a  nice  barrier, 
Forever  separate,  yet  forever  near  1 
Remembrance  and  reflection,  how  allied ! 
What  thin  partitions  sense  from  thought  divide ! 
And  middle  natures,  how  they  long  to  join, 
Yet  never  pass  the  insuperable  line ! 
Without  this  just  gradation,  could  they  be 
Subjected  these  to  those,  or  all  to  thee? 
The  powers  of  all  subdued  to  thee  alone, 
Is  not  thy  reason  all  these  powers  in  One?" 

Thus,  the  memory  of  man,  compared  with  that  of  the  most  gifted  of  the 
merely  instinctive  tribes,  is  as  the  solar  beam  of  nature's  noonday-sun 
compared  with  the  feeble  ray  of  evening's  glow-worm. 

They  are,  indeed,  essentially  different  powers — as  different  as  in- 
stinct and  reason — as  the  phosphorescent  light  of  rotten  wood  and 
the  bright  glow  of  the  most  radiant  gem  that  beams  upon  a  monarch's 
crown. 

Let  us  not,  however,  gentlemen,  lose  ourselves  or  our  subject  in  the 
curious  labyrinth  of  fanciful  speculations.  The  palpable  fact  is  before 
us.  The  tablet  of  human  memory  is  neither  a  tablet  of  brass,  of  stone 
or  of  flesh ;  it  has  neither  length,  breadth  nor  thickness ;  it  has  neither 
solidity  nor  gravity :  yet  are  inscribed  on  it  not  only  the  words  of 
many  languages,  but  the  history  of  nations,  their  origin,  progress 
and  fall.  The  actions  of  their  kings  and  their  princes,  their  heroes 
and  their  statesmen,  their  philosophers  and  their  sages,  their  orators 
and  their  poets  —  with  all  their  arts  of  war  and  of  peace — are  re- 
corded not  only  on  the  same  mysterious  and  unearthy  substratum, 
but  are  repeated  many  quadrillions  of  times,  and  yet  are  clearly  legible 
and  unambiguous. 

The  art  of  reading  these  monuments  and  inscriptions  of  the  past  is 
as  mysterious  and  inexplicable  as  the  art  of  writing  upon  the  same 
substance  and  upon  the  same  lines,  already  written  over  so  unspeak- 
ably often,  the  scenes  and  the  transactions,  the  thoughts,  and  the 
emotions,  of  the  present.  Who  of  the  prosing  materialists,  so  pro- 
foundly read  in  the  secret  operations  of  nature,  can  explain  to  us,  on 
their  own  philosophy,  that  imponderable,  intactable,  immeasurable, 
invisible  point,  or  line,  or  substance,  on  which  can  be  written,  and  from 
which  can  be  read,  so  many  millions  of  ideas  and  impressions  ?  With 
what  curious  magnifying  microscope  shall  its  dimensions  or  its  location 
be  ascertained  ?  If  it  be  a  lonely  pilgrim,  wandering  from  organ  to 
organ — having  neither  sympathy,  homopathy  nor  antipathy  in  common 
with  flesh,  blood  or  bones — who  can  describe  its  most  peculiar  y  -'-r- 


AND  OF  COMMEMORATIVE  INSTITUTIONS. 


277 


bonality,  or  draw  out  the  lineaments  of  its  singular  physiognomy,  that 
we  may  distinguish  and  honor  it  with  appropriate  regards  ? 

It  is  found  in  the  heart,  and  yet  is  no  part  of  it.  Its  presence  or  its 
absence  affects  not  in  the  least  its  dimensions  or  its  gravity.  What  a 
new  and  sublime  chapter  in  intellectual  chemistry  will  the  development 
of  this  singular  fact  afford ! — the  exposition  of  the  reason  why  one  head 
in  the  balance,  without  a  single  idea,  and  destitute  of  life,  will  weigh 
just  as  much  as  one  of  the  same  dimensions,  density  and  solidity, 
having  within  it  life,  and,  in  legible  characters,  imprinted  a  hundred  or 
a  thousand  volumes.  Who  can  survey  that  curious  point,  or  line,  or 
surface  on  which  may  be  engraven  the  history  of  a  world  and  the 
experiences  of  an  eternity — itself,  too,  subject  to  impressions  from  every 
sense  and  from  every  thing,  real  and  imaginary,  commanded  by  some- 
thing called  attention,  and  controlled  by  something  called  volition  f 

Where  now  the  materialist,  the  skeptic,  the  atheist  ?  Let  them 
expatiate*  on  matter,  solid,  fluid,  gaseous,  aeriform ;  let  them  bring 
their  intactable  crucibles,  their  hypothetical  laboratories,  their  impon- 
derable agencies,  and  distil  the  quintessence  of  that  substratum  on 
which  are  legibly  inscribed  all  that  is  written  upon  the  tomes  of  an 
Alexandrian  Library;  let  them  demonstrate  the  peculiar  attributes, 
essential  and  accidental,  that  belong  to  that  nameless  substance,  more 
durable  than  marble  or  brass,  and  yet  of  so  delicate  a  texture  and  so 
fine  a  surface  as  to  receive  the  most  gentle  touch  of  the  softest  pencil 
in  Fancy's  pallet  when  portraying  upon  it  the  phantoms  of  some  ima- 
ginative scene. 

I  presume  not  to  speculate  on  a  subject  so  incomprehensible.  I  only 
affirm  the  conviction  that  a  more  instructive  exemplification  of  the 
infinite  superiority  of  mind  to  all  earthly  matter,  and  a  more  soul- 
subduing  demonstration  of  the  fact  that  there  is  a  spirit  in  man 
composed  of  no  earthly  elements,  cannot,  in  my  humble  opinion,  be 
afforded,  than  are  deducible  from  the  philosophy  of  memory,  and  the 
art  of  recollecting  or  reading  off  whatever  may  have  been  fairly  in- 
scribed upon  it. 

But  when  the  whole  philosophy  of  memory  and  of  commemorative 
institutions  becomes  the  theme  of  contemplation,  we  are  obliged  to 
inquire  after  the  eui  bono  f  the  benevolent  designs  of  the  Great  Author 
of  all  good  in  those  manifestations  of  his  bountifulness  to  man.  And, 
in  the  first  place,  our  attention  is  called  to  the  use  of  memory  itself, 
before  we  consider  the  character  and  object  of  her  commemorative 
rites. 

It  requires  but  a  slight  power  of  abstraction  to  perceive  that  man,. 


278 


THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  MEMORY 


though  possessing  every  other  attribute  and  capacity  that  belongs  to 
his  nature,  wanting  only  the  single  power  we  call  memory ,  must  have 
continued  as  he  was  born — a  perfect  infant  in  knowledge — a  speechless, 
idealess,  thoughtless  biped,  deriving  neither  intelligence,  impulse  nor 
motive  from  a  single  incident,  sensation  or  reflection  in  his  whole 
antecedent  existence.  The  universe,  in  all  its  developments  of  wisdom, 
power  and  goodness,  in  all  its  demonstrations  of  riches,  beauty  and 
magnificence,  as  well  as  the  soul  within  him,  would  be  to  him  one 
universal  and  perpetual  carte  blanche — an  indistinguishable  mass  of 
being,  without  a  single  manifestation  of  design  indicative  of  its  great 
and  glorious  Author.  Destitute,  as  the  animal  man  is,  of  that  measure 
of  instinct  belonging  to  inferior  creatures,  without  memory,  we  may 
safely  affirm,  he  could  not  live  at  all.  Eating  and  drinking  would  be 
to  him  as  great  a  mystery  every  hour  as  it  was  when  fiist  he  appeared 
upon  the  stage  of  life.  It  is,  then,  an  essential  attribute  of  the  human 
soul — of  the  being  designated  man — without  which,  neither'  the  past, 
the  present  nor  the  future  would  be  known,  appreciated  or  enjoyed. 

But  to  delineate  even  the  outlines  of  its  designs  in  the  development 
of  the  human  soul  and  in  the  formation  of  human  character,  it  is 
requisite  that  we  briefly  advert  to  one  or  two  of  its  primary  functions. 

It  as  certainly  causes  the  soul,  or  mind,  to  grow  in  stature,  in  all  its 
dimensions,  as  the  atmosphere  we  inhale  and  the  food  we  eat  contribute 
to  the  growth  of  the  body.  There  is  as  certainly  a  spiritual  system 
with  which  the  human  soul  is  homogeneous,  as  there  is  a  material 
system  with  which  the  body  sympathizes.  Each  element  in  man 
seeks  its  kindred  system,  and  as  naturally  tends  to  it  as  the  atoms 
of  raaterial  nature  seek  their  kindred  and  common  centres.  It  is 
requisite,  therefore,  that  the  mind  have  powers  of  assimilation  and 
accretion  as  well  as  the  body.  The  body  is  dastined  to  grow,  and  for 
this  purpose  it  has  its  apparatus  of  separating  from  external  and  sur- 
rounding elements  whatever  is  congenial  with  its  peculiar  organization. 
It  has  the  power  of  gradually  assimilating  such  elements,  and  finally 
of  incorporating  them  with  itself.  Just  so  the  inward  man,  and  the 
spiritual  system  with  which  it  is  kindred.  It  communes  with  mind 
and  all  its  manifestations  in  sensible  nature;  and  for  this  purpose  it 
needs  and  is  provided  with  an  appropriate  apparatus  for  secerning 
from  inert  matter  the  indications  of  reason,  adaptation  and  design — 
of  assimilating  these  and  of  incorporating  them  with  itself,  and  thus 
of  increasing  its  stature,  its  capacities  and  its  vigor. 

Who  does  not  perceive,  when  the  question  is  presented  to  him,  that 
if  the  body,  by  its  Creator,  has  been  endowed  with  that  marvelloub 


AND  OF  COMMEMORATIVE  INSTITUTIONS.  279 

power  of  abstracting  from  all  the  elements  around  it  such  particles  as 
it  can  assimilate  to  itself  and  incorporate  with  the  different  departments 
of  its  own  organization,  to  its  great  enlargement  and  corroboration, 
there  can  be  no  reason  why  the  soul  should  not  have  the  same  powers 
and  capacities  of  assimilating  to  itself  whatever  is  homogeneous  in  the 
mental  and  moral  elements,  in  the  midst  of  which  it  has  its  being,  and 
of  so  incorporating  them  with  itself  as  to  promote  its  own  growth  and 
vigor.  This  is  the  first  and  main  use  of  reason  and  recollection.  By 
means  of  this  species  of  rumination  with  which  the  mind  is  furnished, 
under  the  names  of  memory  and  reflection,  the  human  soul  secerns  and 
detaches  from  material  nature  all  its  earthly  feculency  and  gross  in- 
gredients, and  attaches  to  itself  the  reason,  argument- and  design  with 
which  the  great  unseen  and  eternal  Spirit  holds  an  unobtrusive  and 
perpetual  communion  with  its  kindred  offspring  within  us.  Memory 
and  reflection  are  measurably  to  the  soul  what  the  powers  of  digestion 
are  to  the  body.  That  portion  of  both  the  corporeal  and  the  mental 
repast,  which  does  not  amalgamate  with  the  system,  is,  by  a  wise  and 
benevolent  provision  of  nature,  carried  out  of  it.  The  analogy  is  more 
exact  than  at  first  thought  would  have  been  presumed.  The  fact  is, 
the  soul  grows  in  stature  and  in  vigor,  by  the  provisions  which  per- 
ception, through  sensation,  acquires,  and  memory  retains ;  and  which 
reflection,  aided  by  imagination,  and  those  powers  of  abstracting  and 
generalizing,  converts  into  the  very  pabulum  and  stimulus  of  its 
healthful  and  vigorous  advancement.  By  the  harmonious  and  com- 
bined action  of  perception,  memory,  reason  and  reflection,  the  mind 
acquires,  treasures  up  and  separates  to  its  own  use  so  much  of  every 
kindred  principle  as  is  favorable  to  its  growth  and  enlargement ;  and 
when  disencumbered  from  the  imperfect  machiner}^  of  its  terrestrial 
tenement,  its  growth  will  be  eternally  cumulative  and  progressive. 

When  we  see  the  amateur  touch  with  exquisite  sensibility  and 
almost  instinctive  sagacity  the  strings  of  the  harp,  and  "wake  to 
ecstasy-  the  living  lyre,'  when  we  hear  an  accomplished  reader  perform 
fifteen  hundred  enunciations  in  a  minute,  w^ithout  the  consciousness  of 
an  effort,  and  when  we  enumerate  the  ten  thousand  acts  that  conspire 
in  the  movements  of  a  single  habit,  what  striking  demonstrations  have 
we  of  the  avails  of  memory  in  the  development  and  growth  of  the 
human  soul ! 

These  indications  of  the  influence  and  power  of  memory  on  the  acts 
and  habits  of  the  outward  man  are  but  a  mere  exponent  of  its  more 
mysterious  and  wonderful  power  over  the  whole  intellectual  and  moral 
man,  in  the  development  and  perfection  of  all  its  powers.    They  are  all 


280 


THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  MEMORY 


as  dependent  upon  it  for  maturity  and  perfection  as  are  the  members 
v:>f  the  human  body  upon  the  organs  of  digestion  and  accretion. 

But  there  is  another  and  a  still  more  important  function  which 
memory  performs  to  the  whole  man — body,  soul  and  spirit.  By  it  we 
not  only  commune  with  the  present  and  the  past,  but  by  its  instru- 
mentality we  acquire  both  impulse  and  motive  for  future  action.  It 
holds  up  to  our  feet  the  torches  of  past  observation  and  experience,  and 
throws  upon  our  path  the  concentrated  light  of  bygone  years ;  thereby 
furnishing  us  from  its  rich  and  varied  treasures  those  arguments  and 
motives  which  constitute  the  very  elements  of  wisdom  and  prudence. 
Without  the  faculty  of  memory,  how  barren  the  incidents  of  the  past 
to  afford  either  counsel  or  comfort  to  man !  Without  it,  the  age  of  a 
Methuselah  were  lived  in  vain,  so  far  as  intellectual  or  moral  improve- 
ment is  concerned.  It  is  a  gift  which  rescues  from  oblivion  the  expe- 
rience of  the  past,  and  which  converts  into  the  currency  of  every 
moment  the  wealth  acquired  through  years  of  labor  and  sorrow. 

It  also  furnishes  us  with  the  experience  of  others  for  our  still  fur- 
ther improvement.  The  illustrious  dead,  whose  talents  and  whose 
virtues  afford  so  much  instruction  and  encouragement  to  the  living — 
our  beloved  ancestors  and  relatives  that  have  left  our  world — are 
entombed  in  memory's  sacred  urn,  over  which  is  inscribed  all  that 
endeared  them  to  the  living.  Though  dead,  they  yet  live  in  our 
admiration  and  affection,  and  often  exert  a  salutary  influence  upon  our 
conduct.  They  have,  too,  a  sort  of  indefinite  immortality  in  the  esteem 
and  affections  of  the  living  in  virtue  of  that  power  which  memory 
sways  over  the  desolations  of  the  grave.  It  is  just  at  this  point  that  the 
philosophy  of  commemorative  institutions  rises  above  our  horizon. 

To  aid  memory  in  her  pious  and  benevolent  efforts  to  profit  from  the 
example  of  the  great  and  the  good  who  have  honored  our  nature  and 
blessed  our  world,  man  has  erected  other  monuments,  and  inscribed  on 
other  tablets  than  those  of  the  head  or  the  heart,  the  names,  the  deeds 
and  the  excellencies  of  those  who  deserve  an  immortality  in  the  rei  ollec- 
tions  of  the  living.  Nowhere  heaves  the  grassy  turf  or  rises  the  let- 
tered stone,  indicative  of  departed  worth,  that  an  appeal  is  not  made  to 
the  passing  stranger  to  pause  and  inquire  after  the  humble  tenant  that 
lies  beneath.  It  is  an  appeal  to  the  living  to  remember  the  dead.  It 
is  a  device  and  an  effort  to  snatch  from  oblivion  those  whose  names  or 
whose  deeds  can  contribute  any  thing  to  the  happiness  of  the  world. 

The  great  and  the  noble  have  had  recourse  to  monuments  of  costlier 
construction  and  of  a  more  enduring  architecture.  From  the  family 
vault  up  to  the  ^roud  pyramids  of  Egyptian  kings,  through  all  the 


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281 


intermediate  mausoleums  of  human  pride  and  human  folly,  we  read 
the  same  lesson  and  learn  the  same  moral.  All  wish  to  live  in  the 
affection  and  admiration  of  posterity.  True,  indeed,  is  it  that  often 
those  magnificent  tombs  owe  their  origin  and  their  melancholy  splen- 
dors more  to  the  pride  and  ambition  of  the  living  than  to  the  virtues 
or  the  wishes  of  the  dead.  Still,  it  is  a  petition  on  the  part  of  the 
humble  tenant  within,  or  of  the  constructors  of  the  monumental  pile, 
for  a  place  in  memory's  faithful  register — a  desire  to  extort  from  every 
visitant  a  tribute  of  respect  for  something  supposed  to  be  worthy  of 
the  regard,  if  not  of  the  admiration,  of  mankind.  Some,  indeed,  of 
these  proud  and  stately  cenotaphs  have  inscribed  upon  them,  or  asso- 
ciate in  our  recollections,  the  memory  of  deeds  of  tyranny,  misrule  and 
cruelty,  that  awaken  in  our  souls  a  just  contempt  for  those  whose 
ashes  are  enshrined  within.  These,  indeed,  are  not  without  an  advan- 
tage to  the  living.  As  beacons  over  the  rocks  which  mariners  are 
taught  to  shun,  these  marble  biographies  in  epitome  indicate  to  the 
living  the  rocks  and  shoals  on  which  the  lofty  sons  of  earth  have  ship- 
wrecked their  fortunes  and  engulfed  themselves  in  ruin. 

But,  when  we  stand  before  the  monumental  pillar  which  a  nation's 
gratitude  or  a  people's  admiration  has  erected  in  commemoration  of 
departed  philanthropy  and  great  public  worth,  and  when  the  mind 
reverts  to  those  generous  and  noble  deeds  which  embalm  in  kindred 
hearts  the  memory  of  the  illustrious  dead,  what  deep  emotions  and 
melancholy  pleasures  arise  within  us  and  struggle  for  utterance ! 
Could  the  sons  of  science,  of  poetry  and  philosophy  find  the  grave 
of  Homer,  of  Socrates,  of  Plato  or  Archimedes,  or  stand  at  the  tomb 
of  Bacon,  of  Locke,  of  Newton,  of  Shakspeare  or  of  Milton — those 
"  plenipotentiaries  of  intellect  and  giants  of  the  soul" — what  awe  and 
reverence  for  intellectual  greatness  would  possess  their  minds  in  the 
remembrance  of  the  mighty  triumphs  and  splendid  trophies  of  their 
illustrious  and  wonderful  genius  ! 

Or,  could  the  saint  who  spends  his  years  in  Bible  studies  find  the 
cave  of  Machpelah,  where  repose  the  ashes  of  the  more  illustrious 
Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  or,  in  traversing  the  plains  of  Moab,  dis- 
cover the  tomb  of  Moses,  or  find  along  the  banks  of  the  Tiber  where 
rests  the  head  of  Paul,  or,  in  visiting  Jerusalem,  ascertain  with  cer- 
tainty the  sepulchre  of  David,  the  tombs  of  departed  prophets,  saints 
and  martyrs,  what  unspeakably  solemn  and  sublime  thoughts  would 
spring  up  within  him,  and  bewail  the  impotence  and  imperfection  of 
human  language ! 

It  i3  when  we  stand  within  the  precincts  of  those  sacred  spots  ol 


282 


THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  MEMO 


earth  where  repose  in  her  fond  embrace  the  mortal  remains  of  those 
we  dearly  love  or  greatly  admire^  that  the  philosophy  of  commemora- 
tive institutions  arises  most  clearly  to  our  view  and  opens  its  sacred 
treasures  to  our  consideration. 

But,  as  the  sons  of  the  inductive  philosophy  always  begin  with  his- 
tory, advance  to  classification  and  end  with  deduction,  we  are  obliged 
to  glance  for  a  moment  at  the  history  of  commemorative  institutions 
in  order  to  a  mere  glimpse  of  their  true  philosophy. 

Suffice  it,  then,  to  say  that  nature,  religion  and  society  have  each 
their  commemorative  rites — in  the  form  of  eras,  anniversaries,  or  sym- 
bolic institutions.  To  say  nothing  of  the  developments  of  astronomy 
in  the  kindred  worlds  and  systems  around  us,  the  animal,  vegetable 
and  mineral  kingdoms  of  our  own  globe  present  an  irrefragable  host 
of  witnesses  in  attestation  of  the  truth  that  nature  herself  leads  the 
way  in  originating  both  the  fact  and  the  meaning  of  commemorative 
institutions.  Not  to  appeal  to  the  eras  or  the  facts  of  the  first  and 
second  dentition  in  the  infancy  and  childhood  of  man,  the  distinct  and 
well-marked  periods  of' infancy,  puberty  and  old  age,  with  all  their 
peculiar  phenomena ;  not  to  appeal  to  the  teeth  of  the  horse  or  the 
horns  of  the  ox — those  intelligible  witnesses  of  the  number  of  their 
years ;  not  to  enumerate  the  growths  of  the  trees  marked  in  the  circles 
of  their  wood — we  may  at  once  appeal  to  mother  earth  herself  and  her 
ten  thousand  hills  and  mountains,  diluvial  and  volcanic,  her  deep,  allu- 
vial valleys,  her  mineral  and  fossil  proofs,  stereotyped  in  her  innume- 
rable petrifactions,  by  means  of  which  she  teaches  us  of  former  genera- 
tions, and  registers  the  genera  and  species  of  animal  and  vegetable 
creations,  with  the  various  epocha  of  their  past  existence.  Thus 
nature  perpetuates  the  memory  of  her  wonderful  achievements,  and 
erects  the  monuments  of  the  great  eras,  incidents  and  cycles  of  her 
wonderful  history.  On  the  tops  of  her  loftiest  mountains  she  records 
the  fact  of  at  least  one  universal  deluge,  and  in  her  volcanic  excava- 
tions develops  not  only  the  wondrous  power  of  those  hidden  and  mys- 
terious fires  that  are  continually  excavating  channels  for  receding 
oceans,  and  thus  still  more  enlarging  and  enriching  the  earth  for  the 
increasing  wants  of  man,  but  also  afibrds  us  specimens  of  the  untold 
treasures  which  G-od  has  concealed  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth  for  the 
comforts  and  conveniences  of  generations  yet  unborn. 

But  from  the  monumental  and  commemorative  rites  of  dame  Nature 
we  turn  to  those  of  religion.  These  naturally  classify  themselves  under 
three  heads — the  Patriarchal,  Jewish  and  Christian.  As  persons  and 
events  multiplied  in  the  world,  commemorative  institutions  kept  pace 


AND  OF  COMMEMORATIVE  INSTITUTIONS. 


283 


with  them.  But  we  can  only  select  one  or  two  of  these,  as  a  fair  speci- 
men of  this  class  of  monumental  records. 

And  to  begin  with  the  first : — The  oldest  commemorative  institution 
in  the  world  is  that  which  records  the  voluminous  fact  that  nature — 
that  familiar,  indefinable  and  inappreciable  something,  admired  by  all 
and  worshipped  by  a  few — is  herself  an  effect,  and  not  a  primary  cause. 
It  is  in  this  sublime  and  philosophic  way  that  the  man  of  true  science 
views  that  primeval  solemnization  of  time  called  ''the  Sabbath,''  the 
first  and  one  of  the  most  significant  and  important  of  all  patriarchal 
institutions.  Most  modern  philosophers,  though  Baconians  in  every 
thing  else,  are  Platonists  and  Aristoteleians  here.  They  assume,  because 
their  philosophic  wand  is  too  short  to  reach  up  to  the  first  Sabbath — 
they  assume,  I  say,  that  nature  is  an  effect;  and  then  gravely  ask  in 
their  a  posteriori  arguments,  ''  Can  there  be  an  effect  without  a  caused' 
Prior  to  the  era  of  facts  and  deductions,  in  the  age  of  hypotheses  and 
speculation,  before  men  had  learned  the  true  art  of  reasoning,  this  was 
an  astounding  question,  which  brought  every  deist  and  thefist  to  his 
knees. 

That  nature  is  an  effect,  is  not  to  be  gathered  from  analogy,  from 
abstract  reasonings,  or  from  any  data  in  all  the  premises  over  which 
philosophy  has  legitimate  sway.  The  transcendent  fact  that  nature 
has  a  Creator — that  matter  is  the  offspring  of  a  spirit — a  fact  which  is 
yet  doubted  by  multitudes,  and  denied  by  many  called  philosophers — 
(rather  philosophists) —  is  a  fact,  however,  which  is  the  corner-stone  of 
the  very  temple  of  reason,  of  piety  and  morality — a  fact  which,  to  be 
clearly  perceived  and  realized,  seizes  the  soul  with  the  grasp  of  Omni- 
potence, inspires  it  with  the  sentiment  of  the  sublime,  and  causes  it 
to  thrill  with  the  elementary  emotions  of  every  principle  of  piety  and 
humanity  that  elevates,  adorns  and  glorifies  man. 

Heaven  left  not  this  fact,  the  basis  of  a  thousand  volumes,  to  be 
gathered  from  abstract  reasonings,  vitiated  traditions,  ingenious  ana- 
logies or  plausible  conjectures,  but  from  a  monumental  institution^ 
which  was  as  universal  as  the  annals  of  time,  as  the  birth  of  nations, 
and  as  the  languages  spoken  by  mortals.  An  institution,  too,  which 
notwithstanding  its  demand  not  only  of  the  seventh  part  of  all  time,  but 
of  the  seventh  day  in  uninterrupted  succession,  was  celebrated  from  the 
creation  to  the  deluge,  during  the  deluge,  and  after  the  deluge  till  the 
giving  of  the  law ;  and  which,  when  transcribed  by  the  finger  of  God 
from  the  tablets  of  memory  to  the  tables  of  marble,  begins  with  the 
very  word  ''  remember,"  the  only  word  which  is  legitimately  inscribed 
in  every  land  and  language  upon  every  sort  of  monumental  record. 


284 


THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  MEMORY 


natural,  religious,  moral  or  political.  The  humblest  pillar  that  rises 
in  honor  of  the  dead  has  either  "in  memory  of"  inscribed  in  fact  or 
by  circumstances  upon  its  front ;  and  so  reads  the  fourth  precept  of 
the  everlasting  ten — "Remember  that  in  six  days  God  created  the 
heavens  and  the  earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  on 
the  seventh :  wherefore,  remember  the  seventh  day,  to  sanctify  and 
hallow  it." 

The  inductive  philosopher,  finding  the  civilized  world  from  time 
immemorial  observing  the  Sabbath  and  counting  time  by  sevens,  sets 
himself  to  inquire  into  the  cause  of  this  mysterious  division  of  time. 
He  first  looks  to  nature,  then  to  art,  and  finally  to  history,  to  find  for 
it  a  reasonable  cause.  Nature  has  divided  time  into  days,  months  and 
years,  but  she  proceeds  no  further.  Art  has  divided  it  into  hours  and 
minutes  and  moments,  but  there  she  stops.  Modern  history  refers 
him  to  the  ancient.  He  finds  in  Homer,  in  Hesiod,  in  Callimachus 
and  others,  traces  of  the  weekly  observance  and  consecration  of  time. 
He  hears  Josephus  say,  "  There  is  no  city,  Grecian  or  barbarian — 
there  is  no  nation — which  does  not  rest  on  the  Sabbath."  He  shuts 
all  the  volumes  of  human  history ;  he  presumes  not  to  explain  the  fact 
upon  hypothesis  or  by  abstract  reasonings.  He  opens  the  Bible,  he 
turns  his  ears  to  the  Sabbath  and  hears  a  supernal  voice  from  the 
remotest  age  proclaiming  that  nature  is  not  self-existent  and  eternal — 
that  time  began — that  there  was  a  first  day  and  a  seventh  day — that 
nature  is  a  work,  the  work  of  an  almighty,  supernatural  hand — that 
the  awful  stillness  of  eternity  was  first  broken  by  an  almighty  fiat 
that  impregnated  dark  inanity  with  all  the  primeval  elements  of  light 
and  life  and  beauty. 

Here  he  finds  a  sufficient  reason  for  the  universality  and  solemnity 
of  the  Sabbath,  and  also  for  the  sacred  and  mystic  import  of  the 
number  seven^  which  is  found  in  all  antiquity,  in  all  the  rudimental 
nations  of  the  earth.  Here  first,  and  here  alone,  he  ascertains  the 
momentous  fact  that  nature  is  an  eff'ect,  the  work  of  an  almighty 
hand;  and  from  that  moment  he  improves  his  style  by  forever  re- 
pudiating from  his  speech  the  silly,  infidel  and  preposterous  phrase, 
"  the  works  of  nature" 

Now,  as  we  are  acting  the  part  of  the  inductive  philosopher,  we 
shall  select  two  or  three  more  commemorative  institutions,  from  which 
to  deduce  the  philosophy  of  this  much-neglected,  though  most  inte^ 
resting  and  important,  department  of  divine  and  human  science.  We 
shall  take  a  second  from  religion  and  from  the  highest  antiquity. 

Sacrifice  is  '>lso  as  old  as  the  Fall,  and  as  universal  as  the  huniac 


AND  OF  COMMEMORATIVE  INSTITUTIONS. 


285 


race.  It  consists  in  putting  to  death  an  unoffending  victim  in  ex- 
piation of  the  sin  of  him  who  offers  it  to  an  offended  Divinity.  What, 
then,  does  it  commemorate?  That  man  through  sin  became  subject  to 
death.  It  commemorates  this  fact  in  all  its  ten  thousand  smoking 
altars  and  in  all  their  numberless  bleeding  victims.  Such  was  its 
retrospective  and  prospective  character ;  for,  like  the  Sabbath  and  all 
other  religious  and  symbolic  institutions,  sacrifice  had  a  prospective  as 
well  as  a  retrospective  aspect ;  and  therefore  intimated  the  momentous 
and  soul-subduing  fact,  that  if  man  lives  again  in  another  and  a  better 
world,  he  shall  live  there  in  virtue  of  the  substituted  death  of  an  inno- 
cent and  unoffending  victim. 

But  the  whole  ground  of  commemorative  institutions  requires  that 
we  have  a  specimen  of  a  mixed  character  between  the  religious  and 
political ;  and  such  a  one  may  be  found  in  the  phenomena  of  language 
itself,  oral  and  written. 

If  sacrifice  be  commemorative  of  the  fall  of  man,  oral  language,  in 
its  most  simple  form,  may  be  regarded  as  commemorative  of  the  fact 
of  a  previous  state  of  primeval  innocence,  when  Qod  and  man  held 
society  together  and  communed  face  to  face.  The  existence  of  human 
language  is  as  inexplicable  as  it  is  inconceivable  on  any  other  hypo- 
thesis. 

All  things  begin  in  miracle  and  end  in  nature :  in  other  words,  all 
things  are  supernatural  and  divine  in  their  origin ;  and  that  which  we 
call  nature  indicates  only  their  mode  of  continuous  existence.  Thus, 
not  only  did  the  Christian  religion,  the  Jewish  and  the  Patriarchal, 
begin  in  miracle,  but  nature  and  society  also  began  in  miracle. 

The  first  man,  in  every  point  of  view,  was  a  miracle.  He  never  was 
an  infant.  Unlike  every  other  child,  compos  eomporis,  he  never  learned 
his  mother-tongue.  Unfortunately,  his  mother  was  dumb;  she  was 
made  without  a  tongue.  Every  son  of  man  speaks  whatever  lingo 
was  first  spoken  to  him ;  but,  mother-earth  having  no  tongue,  Adam 
was  compelled  to  learn  his  Father's  tongue.  He  had  no  other  lan- 
guage than  that  of  God ;  and,  therefore,  as  every  human  being  speaks 
the  language  first  spoken  to  him,  Adam  spoke  a  dialect  pronounced 
by  God  himself.  In  this  summary,  direct  and  incontrovertible  way,  we 
establish  the  fact  that  oral  language  is  of  divine  origin;  and  thus  it  is 
a  monumental  pledge  that  God  spoke  to  the  first  man  before  he  spoke 
to  God  or  to  any  kindred  being.  When  any  one  finds  a  human  being 
that  speaks  a  language  he  never  heard,  then,  but  not  till  then,  he  may 
Ret  out  to  prove  that-  human  language  is  of  human  origin. 

But,  while  the  commemorative  institution — human  language — is  irv 


286 


THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  MEMORY 


our  horizon,  we  may  find  inscribed  on  this  monument  an  argument  for 
ihe  divinity  of  the  Bible  and  a  further  illustration  of  the  genius  of  com- 
memorative institutions. 

That  argument  is  found  in  the  dislocated  languages  and  dialects  of 
«arth.  These  all  proclaim  to  the  discriminating  ear  that  some  preter- 
natural circumstance  or  calamity  has  happened  to  man  that  has  fallen 
on  no  other  creature.  So  far  as  the  language  of  the  passions  and  the 
appetites  is  common  to  man  with  the  inferior  animals,  he  ought  to  re- 
semble them  in  this,  that  as  every  species  has  one  uniform  language, 
in  whatever  clime  or  latitude  it  is  found,  so  should  he  have  but  one. 
The  horse,  the  cow,  the  sheep,  the  goat,  with  every  thing  that  moves 
upon  the  earth  or  wings  its  way  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  has  each  but 
one  language  and  but  one  speech.  Assemble  them  from  the  remotest 
islands  and  continents,  and  they  perfectly  understand  one  another; 
but  man,  ^'the  lord  of  the  fowl  and  the  brute,"  ferried  over  a  river  or 
carried  over  a  mountain,  finds  not  so  much  communion  often  with  his 
own  species  as  with  the  horse  on  which  he  rides  or  with  the  dog  that 
waits  upon  his  steps.  On  account  of  this,  and  sometimes  for  no  better 
reason, 

'<  Lands  intersected  by  a  narrow  frith  abhor  each  other  ; 
Mountains  interposed  make  enemies  of  nations 
Who  had  else,  like  kindred  drops,  been  mingled  into  one." 

This  is  a  monument  of  that  melancholy  fact  that  mankind,  soon  after 
the  deluge,  again  rebelled  against  God,  and,  in  contravention  of  his 
governmental  arrangements  for  the  settlement  of  the  whole  earth  and 
its  equitable  distribution,  resolved  on  building  a  city  and  a  tower  as 
the  centre  of  one  great  empire. 

The  many-tongued  nations  of  the  earth,  with  their  three  thousand 
dialects,  constitute  an  awful  monument  of  the  fact  that  our  fathers  at 
Babel' united  in  one  great  rebellious  effort  against  the  Divine  govern- 
ment ;  for,  until  then,  "  the  earth  was  all  of  one  language  and  of  one 
speech." 

But  for  this,  gentlemen,  your  heads  had  never  ached  with  the  gib- 
berish of  Greece  or  Eome ;  you  had  never  consumed  the  midnight  oil 
in  making  sense  out  of  the  Barbara  celarent,  Darii  ferioque  prioris,  or 
wasted  the  bloom  of  youth  in  learning  the  interminable  idioms  and 
jargons  of  nations  dead  and  alive.  Instead  of  this  rough  discipline  of 
the  soul,  you  had  found  the  discoveries  of  all  ages  and  the  experience 
of  all  mankind — the  genius  of  poetry,  oratory,  eloquence,  science,  and 
of  all  arts,  useful  and  ornamental — in  your  own  vernacular,  enriched 
with  all  the  varied  improvements  and  beautiful  embellishments  of  neat 


AND  OF  COMMEMORATIVE  INSTITUTIONS. 


287 


six  thousand  years.  What  a  finished  medium  of  converse — what  a 
perfect  instrument  of  though^ — what  a  translucent  envelope  of  the  soul 
—  what  an  exquisitely-refined  vehicle  of  the  passions  and  feelings  of 
the  heart — would  human  speech  have  been,  if  all  the  labors  of  all  the 
mighty  spirits — the  Mercuries,  the  Demosthenes,  the  Ciceros  and  the 
Apollos  of  Chaldea,  Egypt,  Arabia,  Greece,  Rome,  Germany,  France 
and  England — had  been  spent  on  one  language  and  on  one  universal 
medium  of  thought  and  feeling  !  But,  alas  !  the  bankrupt  fortunes  of 
our  parents'  follies  are  the  inevitable  portion  of  the  meagre  inheritance 
of  fallen  man. 

The  Jewish  passover  and  the  anniversary  of  our  national  birth  are 
the  only  two  political  commemorative  institutions  which  we  shall  add  to 
the  induction  of  monumental  rites.  The  passover  has  been  annually 
celebrated  by  one  nation  for  the  long  period  of  three  thousand  three 
hundred  and  thirty-two  years,  commemorative  of  a  great  national  deliver- 
ance from  an  oppressive  and  cruel  bondage.  It  always  reminds  the  Jew 
that  his  ancestors  were  once  enslaved  by  Egyptian  masters,  and  ground 
down  to  the  dust  under  a  most  unrighteous  and  relentless  tyranny, 
divested  of  every  right  dear  to  the  human  heart — even  of  the  right 
of  petition.  God,  however,  in  due  time,  heard  the  voice  of  their  afilic- 
tion.  The  cry  of  their  sufi'ering,  the  groanings  of  their  oppression, 
entered  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  hosts.  The  era  of  his  vengeance  ar- 
rived :  he  arose  in  the  majesty  of  his  wrath,  and  poured  out  the  fierce 
vials  of  his  indignation  upon  the  blood-stained  throne  and  the  wicked 
administration  of  the  Pharaohs.  He  slew  the  first-born  of  mar.  and 
beast  throughout  all  the  land  of  Egypt. 

The  blood  of  a  lamb,  sprinkled  upon  the  doors  of  the  Israelites  by  the 
commandment  of  jibraham's  God,  was  the  means  of  redemption,  the 
signal  of  deliverance,  while  the  angel  of  destruction  was  executing 
vengeance  on  the  doomed  people.  That  messenger  of  death  passed 
over  every  house  besprinkled  with  blood;  and  thus  the  whole  nation 
was  saved  without  the  loss  of  a  man,  and  emancipated  from  a  long 
and  ruthless  despotism.  The  Jews,  by  an  oracle  of  God,  set  apart  the 
fourteenth  day  of  the  first  month  of  their  new  era  as  the  day  for  eating 
a  lamb,  with  peculiar  rites,  indicative  of  this  great  national  deliverance. 
Not  a  single  year  has  passed  in  the  history  of  that  people  without  a 
solemn  domestic  commemoration  of  that  most  memorable  event. 

We  too,  residents  of  this  New  World,  and  citizens  of  these  United 
States,  have,  as  we  imagine,  been  delivered  from  a  very  hard  colonial 
bondage  to  English  tax-masters.  After  years  of  unavailing  remon- 
Btrance  with  and  humble  petitioning  to  the  mother-country  and  its  the? 


THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  MEMORY 


illiberal  and  cliurlish  Government  for  a  redress  of  their  wrongs,  our 
patriotic  and  venerable  forefathers  felt  themselves  justified  before  heaven 
and  earth  in  making  a  grand  appeal  to  the  whole  family  of  man,  and 
in  declaring  themselves  independent  of  the  mother-country  and  claiming 
rank  as  a  nation  amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth.  This  event  hap- 
pened on  the  ever-memorable  fourth  day  of  July,  1776. 

That  was  the  birthday  of  our  nation — the  era  of  our  existence  as  a 
sovereign  and  independent  people.  In  conformity  to  this  law  of  society, 
or  this  commemorative  principle  in  our  constitution,  we  have  voluntarily 
set  apart  this  most  interesting  of  all  the  days  of  the  year  to  every  lover 
of  his  country  and  Government,  as  sacred  to  the  memory  of  that  event. 
The  annual  return  of  that  day  does,  therefore,  necessarily  recall  to  our 
remembrance  the  incidents  of  this  memorable  epoch,  and  opens  afresh 
in  our  hearts  those  sympathies  and  antipathies  which  prompted  and 
animated  our  fathers  to  achieve  for  us  so  rich  an  inheritance,  and  for 
themselves  a  fame  and  a  glory  commensurate  with  all  the  days  of  our 
national  existence  and  prosperity. 

May  we  not  now  perceive  the  true  philosophy  of  commemorative 
institutions  ?  Are  they  not  designed  to  recall  past  events  in  their  most 
lively  forms,  for  the  sake  of  producing  or  reproducing  those  states  of 
mind  and  modes  of  feeling  homogeneous  with  the  events  which  they 
record?  They  are  a  device  for  raising  from  the  dead  and  for  giving  an 
immortality  to  persons,  facts  and  events  which  have  in  them  a  charac- 
ter and  a  design  intimately  and  strongly  affecting  some  deep  and  plea- 
surable emotion  of  our  nature — some  vital  interest  or  affection  of  the 
heart. 

They  are  therefore  an  irresistible  evidence  of  the  truth  and  supposed 
importance  of  the  events  which  they  commemorate — a  species  of  his- 
toric evidence  of  the  highest  character,  and  as  far  removed  from  the 
imputation  of  fraud  or  fiction  as  is  any  species  of  evidence  extrinsic  of 
that  of  the  five  senses.  The  history  of  the  world,  ancient  and  modern, 
as  far  back  as  all  authentic  tradition  reaches,  furnishes  not,  I  fearlessly 
assert,  one  instance  of  a  monumental  institution  established  in  com- 
memoration of  a  fiction.  There  have  ever  been,  as  there  now  are, 
certain  principles  and  passions  in  the  human  constitution  and  in 
human  society  that  peremptorily  forbid  the  accomplishment  of  such 
an  effort  to  impose  on  the  faith  or  credulity  of  mankind. 

We  judge  of  human  nature  from  the  bamples  which  we  have  seen. 
We  make  the  present  race  always  represent  the  past,  and  sometimes 
the  future.  Think  you,  gentlemen,  that  ten  thousand  dollars,  or  their 
vflue  in  labor,  could  be  now  raised  in  any  city,  county,  state  or  nation 


AND  OF  COMMEMORATIVE  INSTITUTIONS. 


289 


in  the  civilized  world,  to  build  a  column,  raise  a  pyramid  or  erect  a 
triumphal  arch  in  honor  of  a  person  who  never  lived,  or  of  a  military 
or  any  other  triumph  which  was  never  achieved  ?  It  is  impossible  :  the 
constitution  of  human  society,  the  passions  and  principles  of  human 
action,  conspire  with  every  man's  experience  and  observation  to  pre- 
clude such  an  assumption. 

Nay,  even  of  events  that  have  transpired  at  a  given  time,  not  so 
much  as  the  date  of  their  occurrence  can  be  pushed  back  or  forward 
a  single  day  or  month.  As  the  American  people  could  not  now  be 
induced  to  change  the  anniversary  of  their  national  birth  to  the  4th  of 
June  or  the  14th  of  July,  or  you,  gentlemen,  the  anniversary  of  the 
organization  of  your  literary  society  from  the  10th  of  November  to 
the  10th  of  May,  so  the  Jew  could  not  change  his  passover  from  the 
14th  of  Nisan  to  the  14th  of  Tizri,  or  his  Pentecost  from  the  5th  of  the 
third  month  to  the  5th  of  the  seventh,  or  the  Christian  his  Anno  Domini 
to  the  Mohammedan  Hegira,  or  his  Lord's  day  to  the  Sabbath  of  the 
Jew.  If,  then,  the  refined  ingenuity  or  the  polished  fraud  of  the  pre- 
sent day  could  not  change  even  the  time  of  observance  of  any  com- 
memorative institution,  literary,  political  or  religious,  I  ask,  How  could 
they  introduce  a  new  observance  in  pretended  confirmation  of  that 
which  never  happened?  Such  a  thing  is  now,  always  was  and  ever- 
more shall  be  impossible  to  any  man  or  set  of  men  whatever.  Nay,  aL 
history  gives  no  instance  of  the  kind.  The  history  of  all  nations, 
languages  and  of  all  antiquity  may  be  challenged  for  an  instance  of 
any  commemorative  institution  got  up  at  the  time  or  near  the  time  of 
any  alleged  sensible  fact  or  event  that  has  been  proved  or  can  be  proved 
not  to  have  happened.  On  the  contrary,  they  are  all  incontrovertibly 
certain  and  demonstrable.  Commemorative  institutions  are,  therefore, 
a  species  of  historical  evidence  of  incorruptible  integrity,  of  the  highest 
certainty  and  authority,  and  wholly  beyond  the  imputation  of  fraud 
or  fiction. 

Now,  although  the  true  and  proper  design  of  commemorative  rites,  as 
has  been  alleged,  is  .the  revival  of  those  ideas  and  impressions,  the  re- 
production of  those  feelings  and  emotions,  which  were  the  native  off- 
spring of  those  facts  and  events  at  the  moment  of  their  occurrence  in 
the  minds  of  those  who  understandinp;lv  witnessed  and  attended  them, 
— I  say,  although  this  be  their  true  philosophy,  the  reason  and  cause  of 
their  existence,  still,  as  this  design  is  dependent  upon  the  truth  and  cer- 
tainty of  the  events  attested  in  those  rites,  they  must  be  regarded  aa 
affording  incontestable  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  facts  themselves;  and 
therefore  the  testimony  which  they  afford  in  proof  of  the  certainty  of 

19 


290 


THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  MEMORY. 


great  and  interesting  occurrences  is  equally  important  to  mankind  witl 
the  design  or  philosophy  which  gave  them  birth.  The  resurrection, 
for  example,  of  the  Founder  of  the  Christian  faith  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  is  first  made  certain  by  the  existence  of  its  commemorative 
rite,  and  then  a  corresponding  class  of  grateful  and  joyful  emotions 
spontaneously  arise  in  the  mind  of  every  one  who  fully  apprehends  and 
believes  the  fact  attested  by  the  consecration  of  a  day  to  its  memory. 

Thus,  gentlemen,  as  the  Jews  spent  forty  years  in  the  w^ilderness 
while  making  a  three  or  four  days'  journey  from  Egypt  to  Palestine, 
I  have  by  a  very  circuitous  route  arrived  at  a  point  which  might  have 
been  attained  in  a  very  few  sentences.  But,  as  we  do  not  in  excur- 
sions for  pleasure  always  choose  the  shortest  route,  nor  in  making  canals 
for  the  irrigation  of  a  country  or  for  the  transportation  of  its  produce 
prefer  the  most  direct  course,  so  have  I  led  you  in  a  very  circuitous 
path  to  a  point  which  might  have  been  approached  in  a  much  more 
direct  and  immediate  way. 

In  conclusion,  permit  me,  gentlemen,  to  express  the  desire  that  your 
society  may  continue  to  make  the  date  of  its  organization  still  more  and 
more  worthy  of  remembrance;  and  that  by  the  high  and  useful  attain- 
ments of  its  members,  the  wide  and  extended  sphere  of  public  usefulness 
to  which  they  aspire,  and  to  which  you  shall  attain,  its  anniversaries  for 
many  years  to  come  may  be  celebrated,  not  only  with  such  honors  as 
these,  but  with  the  heartfelt  assurance  of  the  many  great  and  enduring 
advantages  your  association  shall  have  conferred  upon  its  members, 
and  upon  that  community  in  which  you  design  to  employ  your  culti- 
vated powers,  in  prosecuting  the  high  ends  of  your  existence,  and  in 
promoting  the  intelligence  and  virtue,  the  prosperity  and  happiness,  of 
your  country  and  the  human  race. 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


WHEELING,  VA.,  1864. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — 

We  have  selected  for  this  occasion,  connected,  as  it  is,  with  the  ereo- 
I  tion  of  a  temple  for  Christian  worship,  the  subject  of  Colleges.  Colleges 
I  and  churches  go  hand  in  hand  in  the  progress  of  Christian  civilization. 
Indeed,  the  number  of  colleges  and  churches  in  any  community  is 
the  index  and  exponent  of  its  Christian  civilization  and  advance- 
ment. There  is,  it  appears,  designedly  or  undesignedly,  some  sort  of 
a  connection  or  relationship  between  them.  The  oldest  college  found 
in  the  annals  of  the  world  is  thus  associated.  Seven  hundred  years 
before  the  Christian  era  there  was  a  college  in  Jerusalem,  intimately 
associated  with  religion.  A  prophetess  made  it  her  abode,  in  connec- 
tion with  other  eminent  personages.  But  we  presume  not  to  say  what 
were  its  peculiarities  or  distinguishing  characteristics.  "Schools  for 
the  Prophets"  there  were  in  the  days  of  the  kings  of  Israel.  Indeed, 
in  the  latitude  of  this  word  prophets,  nothing  is  specific,  save  that 
they  were  teachers  of  the  people,  and,  in  some  way,  connected  with  the 
teaching  of  religion. 

But,  as  we  can  learn  little  from  these  colleges,  we  shall  say  little  of 
them,  and  request  your  attention  to  those  institutions  called  colleges 
amongst  ourselves,  and  in  the  history,  progress  and  philosophy  of 
which  we  and  our  contemporaries  are  better  informed  and  incompa- 
rably more  interested. 

Colleges  and  schools  of  every  rank  are,  or  ought  to  be,  founded  on 
3ome  great  principle  in  human  nature  and  in  human  society.  They  are 
presumed  to  have  been,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  founded  on  a  sound 
philosophy  of  man,  in  all  his  relations  to  society  and  the  universe. 
Bence,  the  first  question  to  be  satisfactorily  settled  is.  What  is  man  f 
Lord,  what  is  man?  The  greatest  mystery  to  man  is  often  man  him- 
lelf.  It  is  yet  with  myriads  of  our  race  a  litigated  question,  Is  he  a 
nere  animated  particle  of  this  earth — a  purely  physical  and  animal 
)eing?    If  he  be  so,  then  his  education  or  development  should  be 

291 


292 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


purely  physical,  differing  little  from  that  of  a  horse,  a  dog  or  an  ox. 
These  are  gregarious  animals,  and,  therefore,  social  in  their  nature. 
And,  having  been  created  for  the  use  of  man,  they  are  only  susceptible 
of  such  an  education  as  fits  them  for  his  use  and  service.  Apart  from 
their  relation  to  man,  they  need  no  education  for  themselves.  They, 
indeed,  according  to  those  who  deny  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible,  are 
superior  to  man  in  this  respect, — that  they  have  in  themselves  an 
instinctive  and  infallible  law,  that  safely  conducts  them  through  life, 
and  with  reference  to  their  whole  destiny.  The  gross  materialists  and 
skeptics,  of  all  schools,  degrade  themselves  below  these  animals,  in 
denying  the  Bible.  Man  has  not  instinct  sufficient  to  choose  or  to 
refuse  food  or  medicine.  But  the  brute  creation  have  an  infallible 
instinct,  adequate  to  all  that  is  necessary  to  their  whole  destiny. 
They  are,  moreover,  as  we  have  just  remarked,  susceptible  of  receiving 
such  an  education  and  training  as  amply  fits  them  for  the  service  of 
man.  We  have  schools  and  teachers  for  them.  The  graduates  in  the 
schools  of  dogs,  oxen  and  horses  are  much  more  valuable  than  unedu- 
cated and  untrained  dogs,  oxen  or  horses.  A  well-educated  ox,  ass, 
horse  or  dog  will  command  a  much  greater  price,  because  much  more 
valuable  to  man.  If  man,  then,  were  a  mere  animal,  his  education,  of 
course,  should  differ  little  from  that  of  the  dog,  the  horse  or  the  ox. 
And,  indeed,  with  shame  be  it  spoken,  we  occasionally  find  some  in 
human  form  not  even  so  well  educated  as  their  dogs,  oxen  and  horses. 

But  is  man  himself  a  mere  case  of  well-assorted  instruments,  with 
locomotive  power?  A  mere  beast  of  burden?  A  purely  carnal 
machine?  If  so,  in  what  consists  his  superiority  to  the  beasts  that 
perish?  Is  it  that  he  is  a  biped,  and  more  sagacious  than  the  beasts  of 
the  field — more  imitative  than  a  monkey  or  an  ape  ?  Then,  indeed,  his 
education  is  a  very  simple  affair,  and  soon  consummated.  But  who  so 
contemplates  man  ?  Shall  we  admit  such  a  fallen  creature  into  the 
circles  of  humanity?  We  need  not  argue  such  a  question  in  the 
nineteenth  century  and  in  the  presence  of  American  citizens. 

We  venture  to  assume,  in  your  presence,  that  man  was  not  origin- 
ally a  sensitive-plant,  detached  from  its  stem  by  the  balmy  Zephyrus, 
breathing  on  Flora,  metamorphosing  its  roots  into  limbs  and  its  branches 
into  arms,  and  then  sending  him  adrift  in  quest  of  new  adventures. 

Nor  shall  we  poetically  imagine  that  blind  dame  Nature  tried  her 
youthful  hand  on  the  Crustacea  of  old  ocean  and  Terra,  produced  a 
lobster  and  graduated  it  up  to  man.  We  will  rather  acquiesce  with 
Moses,  in  his  record  of  the  six  days'  operations  of  the  Self-Existent 
Jehovah,  whose  omnipotent  volition  spread  out  the  heavens  like  a 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


293 


curtain,  and  founded  the  earth  upon  nothing  extraneous  of  his  own  fiat  ; 
guided  by  nothing  but  his  own  wisdom  and  benevolence;  radiating 
from  himself  countless  systems  of  suns  and  planets  moving  in  the 
boundless  fields  of  space,  and  in  the  infinite  harmonies  of  his  own 
unbounded  goodness.  Such  an  origin  is  infinitely  more  honorable  to 
man  than  would  be  all  the  fictions  of  all  the  poets  of  six  thousand 
years.  Here,  then,  we  fix  our  Jacob-staff,  in  commencing  the  survey 
of  the  grand  plantation  of  our  common  humanity. 

Lord,  what  is  man  ?  Thine  own  offspring,  reared  out  of  the  dust  of 
earth,  inspired  with  a  portion  of  thine  own  spirit,  and  endowed  with  an 
intellectual  and  a  moral  as  well  as  with  an  animal  nature.  Man,  then, 
is,  in  one  sense,  a  triune  personality.  In  his  constitution,  like  that  of 
the  Temple,  there  is  an  outer  court,  a  holy  place  and  a  most  holy.  Such 
is  his  specific  and  essential  constitution  and  embodiment.  In  the  more 
plain  and  less  figurative  style  of  an  apostle,  he  has  a  body,  a  soul  and 
a  spirit.  No  two  of  these  are  identical.  His  body  is  an  animal 
body  of  the  most  admirable  structure  and  the  most  exquisite  finish  and 
adornings.  It  is  a  splendid  edifice,  a  beautiful  building  of  God,  an 
exquisite  habitation  for  an  ethereal  guest  called  the  soul,  or  animal 
life,  which  is  itself  but  the  envelope  of  a  spirit  that  communes  with  the 
finite  and  the  infinite  in  the  universe. 

Greeks,  Eomans,  Anglicans  and  Americans,  have  three  distinct  names 
for  the  three  constituents  of  the  triune  man.  The  Greeks  had  their  soma, 
their  pseuchee  and  their  pneuma.  The  Eomans  had  their  corpus, 
their  anima  and  their  spiritus.  The  English  have  their  body,  their 
soul  and  their  spirit.  No  two  of  these  three  are  identical,  or  equivalent, 
either  in  Greek,  Roman  or  English.  In  the  freedom  or  licentiousness 
of  our  language,  we  often  confound  the  soul  and  the  spirit.  But  this 
is  as  ungrammatical  as  it  is  unphilosophical.  In  the  New  Testament 
the  word  pinmma  occurs  some  three  hundred  and  eighty  times,  and  is 
never  once  translated  soul — always  spirit  or  ghost.  The  word  pseuchee 
occurs  one  hundred  and  fifty  times,  and  is  never  once  translated 
spirit,  but  always  soul  or  life.  The  horse  and  the  dog — indeed,  every 
creature  possessing  life,  from  the  mammoth  to  the  veriest  animalcule — 
has  an  anima,  a  soul  or  a  life,  but  not  one  of  these  has  a  pneuma, 
a  spirit  or  a  guest.  This  word  is  always  used  when  speaking  of  the 
Holy  Spirit — sometimes  Holy  Guest  or  Ghost.  Physicology  and  pneu- 
matology  are,  and  ought  to  be,  distinct  sciences. 

From  these  data  we  ascend  gradatim  to  the  conception  of  the  dignity 
and  glory  of  man.  Man  is  not  a  mere  vegetable,  a  mere  animal,  nor 
even  a  mere  intellectual  being.    In  his  present  condition  he  is  truly 


294 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


an  animal,  an  intellectual  and  a  moral  being,  and,  consequently,  lie  is  a 
microcosm,  an  epitome  of  the  universe,  having  within  himself  the  ele- 
ments of  the  earth  and  of  the  heavens — something  in  common  with  God, 
with  angels,  and  with  the  brutes  that  perish.  There  is  therefore  a 
divinity  stirring  within  him ;  for  as  humanity  and  divinity  were  united, 
not  mixed,  but  embodied  in  one  personality,  in  the  person  of  Adam  the 
second,  so  by  the  Divine  Spirit  shall  our  ransomed  humanity  be  changed 
into  the  image  and  likeness  of  the  glorified  Adam,  who  is  equally  the 
son  of  Adam  and  the  Son  of  G-od,  and  constituted  an  heir  of  the  whole 
empire  of  creation. 

Such  being  the  true  data  of  man,  we  have  made  some  progress  in 
eliminating  the  true  theory  of  his  education  or  development.  We  have 
neither  amplified  the  field  nor  exaggerated  the  nature  of  the  soil  to  be 
cultivated  by  all  the  sciences  of  the  schools,  and  by  all  the  arts  of  the 
highest  Christian  civilization. 

Man  is  not  merely  his  own  body,  his  own  soul,  or  his  own  spirit. 
These  three  comprehend  neither  more  nor  less  than  the  legitimate 
meaning  of  the  great  pronominal  7,  myself.  The  pronoun  /  is  purely 
a  personal  pronoun,  indicative  of  all  that  constitutes  the  thinking,  feel- 
ing, willing,  acting  personality,  and  not  any  one  portion  of  it.  True, 
indeed,  grammarians  give  it  gender,  number  and  case.  But  in  this 
they  philosophically  err.  /  has  no  gender,  number  or  case.  Other 
words,  such  as  me  and  mine,  have  been  associated  with  it,  and  substi- 
tuted for  it,  in  certain  relations,  after  the  example  of  the  Greeks  and 
the  Eomans.  But  /,  as  well  as  ego,  and  all  its  ancient  and  venerable 
ancestry,  only  indicate  the  perplexity  of  grammarians  in  attempting  to 
subject  this  singular-plural  and  plural-singular  to  grammatical  and 
philosophical  proprieties.  All  our  august  personages  betake  themselves 
for  refuge  to  the  plural  ue.  Hence  kings,  potentates  and  all  sovereigns 
shelter  their  majesties  under  a  singular-plural,  and  say,  we  enact,  ordain 
and  establish. 

The  grandeur  of  the  fact  is  this,  that  God,  after  whose  image  man 
was  created,  is  singular  and  plural;  singular  in  one  inefi'able  nature, 
and  plural  in  three  personalities — all  of  which  is  adumbrated  in  man's 
three  natures  in  one  personality.  His  spirit,  soul  and  body  are,  there- 
fore, three  distinct  entities,  constituting  one  thinking,  willing,  acting, 
sublime  personality,  the  brightest  image  of  that  Divinity  whose  awful 
jiat  gave  birth  and  being  to  this  stupendous  universe. 

Grammar  and  philosophy  have  no  greater  difficulty  to  compromise 
than  in  this  case.  The  reason  is  obvious :  grammar  is  arbitrary  and 
tyrj^nnical,  while  philosophy  is  rational  and  consistent.    I  is,  therefore, 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


295 


'.n  our  language,  a  mere  representative  of  one  personality — of  one  body, 
soul  and  spirit,  acting  in  one  corporation,  constituting  one  substantive 
pronoun  and  one  human  person. 

This  human  person,  this  pronominal  /,  may  live,  and  move,  and  have 
its  proper  being  and  individuality  in  ten  bodies  during  seventy  years. 
Still,  it  is  the  same  person  inhabiting  ten  different  houses.  It  may  in 
some  of  these  houses  lose  a  room  and  some  of  its  furniture — an  arm  or 
a  limb,  for  example,  or  both  arms  and  limbs — and  yet  the  personal 
identity,  and  the  consciousness  of  this  thinking,  willing,  acting  I  my- 
self, remain  immutably  the  same. 

But  there  is,  most  happily,  another  fact.  This  spirit,  or  inner  man, 
while  residing  in  one  house  of  two  stories,  is  not  necessarily  one  immu- 
table character.  It  is  impressible  and  transformable  by  intellectual, 
moral  and  spiritual  considerations,  arguments  or  motives.  Hen*  ''  a 
new  spirit,  or  tenant,  is  conceivable  and  possible  in  an  old  house. 

It  is,  indeed,  propounded  as  a  scriptural  fact.  But  it  is  new  only  in 
its  character,  not  in  its  essence.  The  spirit  of  a  man  is  a  positive  entity, 
and  not  a  mere  mode  of  being — a  new  temper  or  a  new  feeling ;  more 
or  less,  indeed,  depending  upon,  and  affording  impressions  ab  extra— 
by  its  associations  with  other  persons  and  their  respective  characters. 
Thus,  even  in  one  and  the  same  body,  a  pure,  holy  and  happy  spirit 
may  become  a  very  monster  in  all  that  defiles  and  degrades  human 
nature.  And  hence  the  value  and  importance  of  a  rational  and  moral 
education,  and  of  proper  teachers  and  associates,  since  as  the  twig  is 
bent  the  tree's  inclined." 

Thus  we  are  led  to  conceive  of  the  proper  elements  that  enter  into 
the  constituency  of  a  philosophical,  rational  and  moral  education. 

A  school  is  well  defined  to  be  ''any  establishment  in  which,  persons 
are  instructed  in  arts,  science,  languages,  or  in  any  species  of  learning ; 
and  occasionally  it  merely  indicates  the  pupils  assembled  for  instruction." 
It  may  be  a  family  school,  an  infant  school,  a  common  school,  an  aca- 
demy, a  college,  or  a  university.  But,  of  whatever  character  its  subjects 
or  its  objects,  its  aim  should  be  the  physical,  the  intellectual,  the  moral 
and  the  religious  development  and  culture  of  the  pupils  that  compose  it. 
Such  are  the  views  now  generally  entertained  by  all  writers  of  reputa- 
tion, in  the  Old  World  and  in  the  New.  Such,  certainly,  are  our  views, 
long  since  reported,  frequently  repeated,  and  now  reiterated  in  the  full 
assurance  of  understanding,  as  truly  in  harmony  with  the  wants  of 
human  nature  and  of  human  society. 

There  are  in  this  view  of  the  subject  two  capital  ideas.  The  first  is 
develop'nent,  the  second  is  culture.    The  first  supposes  that  in  a  human 


296 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


being  there  are  certain  organs,  powers  or  capacities,  that  may  be  ex- 
panded, developed  and  corroborated  to  a  certain  maximum  or  extent, 
whicb  will  give  to  the  subject  the  entire  use  of  himself  in  respect  to 
himself  and  to  his  species. 

1.  Physical  education  takes  under  its  special  surveillance  and  in- 
struction the  physical  constitution,  in  all  its  characteristics,  and  sets 
about  the  scientific  development  and  corroboration  of  all  its  organs, 
especially  its  head,  heart,  lungs,  stomach  and  viscera,  essential  to  vital 
action,  good  health  and  growth.  It  directs  the  character  and  the  extent 
of  the  self-denial  and  physical  exercise  essential  to  these  ends,  with  the 
necessary  attention  to  food  and  raiment. 

2.  Intellectual  education,  after  giving  an  analysis  of  the  intellectual 
powers — perception,  memory,  reflection,  reason,  imagination,  abstrac- 
tion— proceeds  to  the  exercise  and  employment  of  them  in  the  acqui- 
eition  and  communication  of  knowledge,  including  grammar,  logic, 
rhetoric,  oratory,  taste,  discussion  and  debate. 

3.  Moral  culture  is  not  the  mere  study  of  moral  science.  It  begins 
with  an  analysis  of  the  moral  powers — the  conscience,  the  affections,  *-he 
passions,  and  the  continual  exercise  of  them  in  all  the  relations  of  life — 
in  truthfulness,  justice,  honor,  benevolence,  humanity  and  mercy. 

4.  Religious  development.  Man  being  the  subject  of  religious  and 
moral  obligations,  he  must  be  made  to  perceive,  realize  and  acknow- 
ledge these  obligations  in  every  step  of  his  progress  in  all  the  relations 
of  life.  The  only  text-book  for  this  study  and  science  is  the  Bible.  It 
is,  therefore,  and  ought  of  right  to  be,  more  or  less  the  study  of  every 
day  in  every  seminary  of  learning.  It  is  the  only  proper  text-book  for 
these  most  essential  and  important  of  all  the  sciences  and  studies  of  life. 
Its  Author  is  also  the  Author  of  man.  He  who  formed  the  human  eye 
formed  it  for  the  light  of  the  sun,  or  formed  the  light  of  the  sun  with 
a  reference  to  it.  He  who  formed  the  sun  and  the  human  eye  for  each 
other,  so  far  as  vision  is  concerned,  formed,  in  like  manner,  both 
the  Bible  and  man.  But  the  Bible  came  into  being  after  man  lost 
Paradise  and  had  fallen  into  a  preternatural  state,  and  therefore  it  is  as 
admirably  adapted  to  man,  as  he  now  is,  as  the  laws  of  nature  were  to 
man  as  he  was  at  the  beginning. 

The  Bible  is,  therefore,  the  only  infallible  text-book  of  the  true  science 
of  man.  No  mere  man,  nor  all  humanity,  could  have  been  the  author 
of  it.  None  but  the  Author  and  Creator  of  man  could  furnish  the  text- 
book of  man  in  all  his  relations  to  matter  and  spirit ;  to  things  past, 
present  and  to  come.  Without  it  no  man  ever  was,  is  now,  or  will 
hereafter  be  educated.    Mankind  in  all  ages,  and  under  all  circum- 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


297 


stances,  have  felt  and  acknowledged,  in  word  and  deed,  the  indispen- 
sable need  of  religion  in  order  both  to  education  and  to  nationality. 
Hence  the  mythologies  of  the  barbarous  tribes  of  earth  in  all  the  eras 
of  humanity.  Gods,  altars,  priests,  sacrifices  and  worship,  are  both  as 
ancient  and  universal  as  human  kind.  There  cannot  be  found  in  uni- 
versal history  a  people  without  something  called  religion.  A  man 
without  reason  is  not  a  man,  though  he  may  wear  the  outward  form 
and  livery  of  man ;  and  reason  without  religion  is  both  halt  and  blind, 
although  it  may  be,  by  the  simpleton,  presumed  to  be  perfect  and  com- 
plete. 

In  all  nations,  as  well  as  in  our  own,  there  is  a  by  law  established 
religion.  "  What  ?"  say  some  American  citizens :  have  we  a  hy  law  esta- 
blished religion?"  Yes,  fellow-citizens,  we  have  a  by  law  established 
religion.  I  do  not  affirm  that  we  have  a  hy  law  established  Jewish, 
Christian  or  Pagan  religion,  in  the  specific  terms  of  a  Jewish,  a 
Christian,  a  Roman  or  an  English  hierarchy.  Still,  we  have  a  by  law 
established  religion;  not,  indeed,  in  any  specific  form  of  worship,  but  in 
the  rights  of  conscience,  in  the  administration  of  oaths,  or  appeals  to 
God,  on  the  part  of  all  the  organs  of  civil  government,  from  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  down  to  a  common  magistrate,  and  in  the 
administration  of  oaths  to  all  witnesses,  according  to  the  conscience. 
In  these  we  have  a  solemn  recognition  of  the  being  and  perfections  of 
God,  of  a  day  of  judgment,  of  future  and  eternal  rewards  and  punish- 
ments. We  have,  moreover,  a  still  more  specific  recognition,  though 
not  an  exclusive  recognition,  of  the  Christian  religion,  in  the  observance 
of  the  ordinances  of  Christian  worship,  in  the  cessation  of  all  secular 
and  legal  business  on  the  "Christian  Sabbath,"  or  Lord's  day,  in  the 
recognition  of  every  citizen's  right  to  exemption  from  all  civil  inter- 
ference on  that  day,  and  in  a  perfect  freedom  to  worship  God  according 
to  the  dictates  of  every  citizen's  own  conscience. 

Indeed,  we  might  go  further,  and  affirm  that  the  Christian  religion, 
but  no  sectarian  form  of  it,  is  by  law  established  and  recognized  in  the 
institution  of  marriage,  in  the  inhibitions  of  bigamy,  adultery,  forni- 
cation and  incest.  The  Jew  and  the  Gentile  are  alike  protected  in  the 
practice  and  enjoyment  of  all  the  religious  dictates  of  their  consciences 
towards  God,  without  any  interference  or  infraction  of  these  rights  and 
dictates  of  conscience  on  the  part  of  their  fellow-citizens.  This  is  a 
very  broad  and  rational  provision  in  behalf  of  religion — of  all  religious 
faith  and  worship.  No  Jew  nor  Greek,  no  Romanist  nor  Protestant, 
(jan  in  reason  or  in  justice  demur  at  our  national  religious  ordinances 


298 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


and  constitutional  provisions  on  the  subject  of  religion  in  general,  or  of 
any  special  form  of  religion  in  particular. 

Eeligion,  in  its  essence  and  spirit,  can  never  be  compulsory,  as  in  the 
Papal  States  and  territories;  but  it  can,  and  of  political  right  and  immu- 
nity ought  to,  be  left  to  the  free  choice  and  spontaneous  action  of  every 
human  being.  And  such  is  its  exact  position  in  these  United  States; 
and  it  is  as  it  ought  to  be,  the  pre-eminent  source  and  fountain  of  all 
our  national  prosperity,  dignity,  honor  and  happiness.  And  may  it 
ever  be  the  boast  and  the  glory  of  our  common  country  that  every 
citizen,  and  even  every  alien,  may  freely  worship  Almighty  God  ac- 
cording to  the  last  and  the  best  dictate  of  his  reason,  his  conscience 
and  his  affections !  We  regard  this  not  as  an  act  of  mercy,  but  as  an 
act  of  justice,  not  to  ourselves  only,  but  to  our  species — to  our  common 
humanity. 

As  Cowper  sung  of  England's  mercy,  so  say  we  of  American  justice — 

"Spread  it,  then,  and  let  it  circulate 
Through  every  vein  of  all  your  empire, 
That  where"  American  "power  is  felt. 
Mankind  shall  feel"  her  Justice,  too. 

The  genius  and  spirit  of  our  national  institutions,  it  is  fairly  pie- 
sumed,  and  as  all  our  experience  demonstrates,  must  more  or  less  per- 
vade, indeed,  permeate,  all  the  institutions  of  our  country,  whether  reli- 
gious, moral  or  educational.  We  need  in  this  case  no  legislative  act  of 
conformity.  It  is  a  law  of  our  species — an  order,  a  decree  of  Heaven. 
A  theology  necessarily  terminates  in  a  theocracy  ;  a  christology,  in  a 
christocracy ;  an  oligarchy,  in  an  absolute  monarchy ;  a  universal  free- 
dom of  speech  and  action,  in  a  fierce  or  in  a  tame  democracy.  There  is  a 
centre  in  every  circle,  and  a  central  idea  in  every  system  in  heaven  and 
on  earth.  All  the  rest  are  either  chemical  or  philosophical,  intellectual 
or  moral,  religious  or  political,  conglomeration.  The  central  idea  gives 
character,  form  and  spirit  to  every  system,  whether  ontological  or  deon- 
tological,  material  or  spiritual. 

Absolutism  pervading  the  state,  it  will  pervade  the  church,  the 
synagogue,  the  school  and  the  family.  Democracy  pervading  the 
£tate,  it  will  pervade  every  human,  and  sometimes  every  Divine, 
institution  in  it.  Hence  a  political  despotism  terminates  in  Paganism 
or  Popery.  Is  there  a  Jupiter  Tonans  in  the  state  ?  There  will  be 
a  Pope — a  spiritual  Jupiter  Tonans — in  the  church.  Is  there  an 
aristocracy  in  the  state  ?  There  will  be  an  aristocracy  in  the  church. 
Is  there  democracy  in  the  state  ?  There  will  be  democracy  in  the 
ch'^rch.    Is  there  anarchy  in  the  state  ?    There  will  be  anarchy  in 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


299 


the  church.  Hence  Protestantism  and  Liberty  are  like  the  Siamese 
twins — united  in  life  and  united  in  death. 

A  papacy  is  an  exotic  in  a  land  of  Protestantism,  and  can  never 
thrive  in  such  a  soil.    It,  therefore,  largely  imports  guano. 

Protestantism,  under  an  absolute  despotism,  if  permitted  to  live  at 
all,  lives  only  in  a  hot-bed.  Thus,  in  America,  we  have,  as  yet,  com- 
mon schools ;  but  how  long  -we  shall  have  them,  is  already  a  question 
mooted  by  foreign  Eomanists.  Odious  they,  indeed,  are,  and  always 
have  been,  to  the  taste  of  the  whole  Roman  See;  yet  every  true 
American  citizen  regards  them  as  the  palladium  of  our  free  government 
and  the  true  nurse  and  cradle  of  both  civil  and  ecclesiastic  liberty. 
Without  them,  indeed,  we  would  have  either  a  tyrannical  oligarchy,  an 
absolute  autocracy,  or  a  fierce  democracy,  in  both  church  and  state. 

All  the  centres  in  the  universe,  like  our  sun,  are  both  attractive 
and  radiating.  Moons  are  only  reflectors.  In  all  Papal  countries,  the 
Pope  is  symbolically  the  sun ;  the  king  is  only  the  moon.  There  was, 
indeed,  one  Joshua,  a  Hebrew,  who  bade  both  sun  and  moon  to  stand 
still,  and  they  immediately  obeyed  him.  We  once  had  an  American 
Joshua,  who  bade  the  politico-ecclesiastic  sun  and  moon  to  stand 
still,  and  they,  too,  obeyed  him.  But  our  Joshua  sleeps  in  Mount 
Vernon,  and  all  the  thunders  of  earth  cannot  wake  him.  He  has,  in- 
deed, no  successor, — ^because  Grod  creates  nothing  in  vain.  We  shall, 
therefore,  cherish  the  hope  that  we  may  never  need  another.  But 
should  we,  by  neglect  of  duty,  apostatize  from  our  religious  and  political 
faith,  and  superinduce  a  second  reign  of  darkness,  ignorance  and  terror,, 
we  might  then  need  another  Joshua.  I  fear  that  in  that  case  our 
prayers  would  not  be  heard.  For  should  we,  or  our  children,  for  so 
many  benefits  received,  crouch  to  such  arrogance,  and  meanly  and  un- 
gratefully sacrifice  these  principles  and  birthrights  for  a  mess  of  pottage,, 
at  the  shrine  of  ignorance,  superstition  and  despotism — 

"  And,  for  so  many  benefits  received, 
Turn  recreant  to  God,  ingrate,  and  false," 

our  country  might  expect  from  heaven  a  second  Alaric  rather  than  a 
second  Washington. 

Would  we,  then,  have  our  posterity  to  escape  such  a  calamity  and 
mortification,  let  us  ever  plead  the  cause,  and  be  the  efficient  aiders 
and  abettors,  not  only  of  universal  education,  but  of  a  universal  edu- 
cation founded  on  the  Bible,  the  charter  of  all  earthly  blessings,  as 
-veil  as  of  eternal  life  to  man. 

No  man  ever  saw  himself,  ever  knew  himself,  who  has  not  stood 


300 


ADDRESS  OX  COLLEGES. 


before  this  mirror.  It  is  as  much  a  revelation  of  man  to  himself,  as  of 
God  to  man.  ■  A  man  who  has  never  heard  God  speak  to  his  soul  is 
not  only  ignorant  of  his  proper  self,  but  also  of  his  own  species.  He 
alone  can  be  a  true  philanthropist  who  contempjates  himself  in  all  his 
relations  to  the  universe,  as  developed  in  the  Holy  Bible.  He  must 
listen  to  the  angelic  anthem  sung  when  Adam  rose  out  of  dust  at  the 
bidding  of  the  Almighty.  He  must  hear  the  morning  stars  sing  the 
song  of  creation,  when,  in  one  grand  concert,  all  the  sons  of  God 
shouted  for  joy,  especially  when  light  from  darkness  issued,  and  man 
from  earth  arose,  the  diapason  of  earth's  first  anthem  pealing  through 
heaven's  imperial  dome.  With  these  seraphic  echoes  and  emotions  in 
our  souls,  let  us  listen  to  the  wail  of  suffering  humanity,  under  the 
heartless,  remorseless  tyranny  of  ignorance  and  superstition  which 
would  debar  even  the  Book  of  Life  from  the  schools  of  childhood,  youth 
and  manhood,  as  if  it  designed  to  make  man  the  tame  and  easy  prey 
-of  a  foul  and  mercenary  man-worship. 

But  while  we  hold  in  superlative  importance  to  our  country  and  the 
church  the  common  school,  the  Sunday-school,  the  infant-school — and, 
after  these,  the  academies  and  colleges  of  our  country — the  grave 
question  rises.  How  are  these  schools  to  be  supplied  with  teachers  f 
We  at  once  answer,  just  as  the  little  springs  and  rivulets  in  our 
fields  and  gardens,  the  creeks,  the  rivers,  the  lakes  and  the  ocas, 
are  supplied  with  water.  They  are,  one  and  all,  supplied  by  the  great 
oceans  of  earth. 

The  sun,  that  great  fountain  of  all  heaven's  temporal  blessings  to 
man,  plays  off  his  artillery  of  calorific  rays  upon  the  waves  of  the  wide- 
spread ocean  of  earth,  giving  life,  activity  and  wings  to  its  invisible 
particles,  uplifting  them  towards  heaven,  and  placing  them  in  the 
swaddling-bands  of  the  atmosphere.  They  are  nursed  into  fog;  then, 
misting  along  the  mountain -tops,  they  launch  into  the  bosom  of  some 
congenial  realm  of  air,  and,  coalescing,  form  large  companies  or  schools 
of  clouds.  Soon  a  war  of  elements  begins.  The  electric  spark  gleams 
into  life,  coruscating  amidst  these  vapors,  until,  condensed  by  a  change 
of  temperature,  in  the  strife  of  elements,  they  fall  upon  the  fields  and 
gardens,  pouring  their  contents  into  the  veins  and  arteries  of  earth. 
Hence  the  springs,  the  brooks  and  the  rivers  of  earth  are  supplied  ; 
thus  replenishing  all  nature  with  its  water  of  life,  which  makes  the 
hills  and  valleys  glad,  Carmel  and  Sharon  to  rejoice,  the  wilderness  and 
the  solitary  place  to  rejoice  and  blossom  in  the  fulness  of  their  joy. 
And  all  this  in  answer  to  the  cries  of  earth,  parched  and  dry,  invoking 
in  poetic  strains — 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


301 


"Come,  gentle  Spring!  Ethereal  mildness,  come! 
And  from  the  bosom  of , yon  dropping  cloud, 
While  music  wakes  around,  veil'd  in  a  shower 
Of  shadowing  roses,  on  our  plains  descend!" 

Thus  the  oceans  and  seas  furnish  every  drop  that  irrigates  our 
fields  and  gardens,  cools  the  air,  and  warms  our  hearts  with  food  and 
gladness.  Such,  analogically,  are  our  colleges — our  great  seminaries 
and  fountains  of  learning.  They  are  the  sources  whence  issue  the 
science  and  the  literature,  the  professors  and  the  teachers,  that  create 
the  academies,  the  schools  and  the  seminaries  of  every  grade,  furnish- 
ing teachers  for  all  the  schools  in  Christendom. 

But  A,  B  and  C  respond,  We  are  teachers,  male  and  female  teachers, 
and  we  never  were  within  the  walls  of  a  college.  True;  often,  alas! 
too  true. 

And  whence  derived  you  your  learning  and  science  ?  From  books. 
And  whence  the  books  ?  Originally,  doubtless,  from  those  who  were 
nurtured  and  cherished  in  colleges.  Colleges  furnish  the  garniture 
and  the  means  by  which  you,  male  and  female  teachers,  were  your- 
selves furnished  and  fitted  for  the  work.  As  well  assume  that  the 
early  and  the  iatter  rain,  "the  green-growing  showers"  that  fall  on 
your  fields,  and  the  diamond  dew-drops  that  bespangle  the  flower-buds 
of  your  gardens,  originated  not  in  the  ocean,  but  in  the  balmy  breezes 
that  bear  them  from  the  lakes  or  rivers  or  seas  of  the  earth.  Or  as 
well  assume  that  the  calorific  rays  that  create  the  heat  of  summer 
originate  not  in  the  sun,  but  are  radiated  from  the  earth. 

Men,  and  not  brick  and  mortar,  make  colleges,  and  these  colleges 
make  men.  These  men  make  books,  and  these  books  make  the  living 
world  in  which  we  individually  live,  and  move,  and  have  our  being. 
How  all-important,  then,  that  our  colleges  should  understand  and  teach 
the  true  philosophy  of  man !  They  create  the  men  that  furnish  the 
teachers  of  men — the  men  that  fill  the  pulpit,  the  legislative  halls,  the 
senators,  the  judges  and  the  governors  of  the  earth.  Do  we  expect  to 
fill  these  high  stations  by  merely  voting  or  praying  for  men  ?  Or  shall 
we  choose  empirics,  charlatans,  mountebanks,  and  every  pretender  to 
eminent  claims  upon  the  suffrages  of  the  people  ?  Forbid  it,  reason, 
conscience,  and  Heaven ! 

But,  as  radical  and  most  fundamental  of  all,  we  must  have  the  true 
theory  of  education — a  theory  grounded  in  the  true  philosophy  of 
man — before  we  can  devise  any  system  of  public  or  private  education 
m  harmony  with  the  genius  of  humanity  and  the  wants  of  society. 
And  here,  again,  we  call  attention  to  the  importance  of  having  the  true- 


302 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


science  or  theory  of  man  before  we  can  devise  a  system  of  instruction 
in  accordance  with  the  wants  of  the  individual  and  of  society.  It  has 
become  a  trite  saying,  that  the  whole  man — body,  soul  and  spirit — 
must  be  developed  and  educated  up  to  the  entire  capacity  of  his  nature, 
and  with  especial  reference  to  his  present,  future  and  eternal  destiny. 

And  at  this  stand-point  we  must  congratulate  ourselves  that  we 
live  not  merely  in  an  age  of  progress,  but  that  we  have  progressed  so 
far  as  to  ascertain,  from  the  analytic  and  synthetic  science  of  the  past 
and  the  present  age,  that  man  has  a  purely  physical,  a  purely  intel- 
lectual and  a  purely  moral  nature,  in  his  own  proper  personality. 
And  also  that  these  three  are  of  necessity  to  be  subjects  of  man's  edu- 
cation from  the  cradle  to  the  grave.  Of  these  now  conceded  points, 
we  shall  not  speak  particularly.  Nor  need  we  dilate  upon  the  physical 
department  of  our  constitution,  nor,  indeed,  upon  the  intellectual. 
Light,  no  doubt,  has  greatly  increased,  even  beyond  our  practice,  upon 
the?e  two  departments  of  human  culture  and  of  the  human  constitu- 
tion. The  third,  usually  called  the  moral,  is,  by  some,  made  to  in- 
clude the  religious  nature  and  constitution  of  man.  We  cannot  dissect 
the  inward  as  we  do  the  outward  man.  The  inner  man  is  not  made 
of  materials  separable  and  distributable,  as  are  the  bones,  the  muscles, 
the  arteries  and  the  veins  of  the  outer  man.  Nor  can  we  separate  the 
constituents  of  the  intellectual  man.  We  can,  indeed,  learnedly  speak 
of  perception,  reason,  judgment,  memory,  imagination;  but  we  cannot 
separate  and  discriminate  the  lines  within  which  they  operate  and  co- 
operate. And  still  more  subtle  the  moral  man,  and  too  remote  from  all 
personal  analysis.  Indeed,  the  phrase  or  term  moral  constitution*' 
is  more  current  and  popular  than  appreciable  by  most  thinkers  and 
speakers — two  classes  of  men  very  dissimilar  in  certain  attributes  of 
character. 

Moral,  moral  action,  moral  evidence,  moral  sense,  &c.,  show  how 
vague  and  indefinite  the  term  has  become.  We  have,  in  our  diction- 
aries, columns  of  definitions  of  this  term  and  all  its  family,  derived 
from  the  Koman  mos,  moris, — a  custom.  Morals,  with  the  Romans, 
formerly  indicated  the  customs,  or  the  established  usages,  of  society, 
good  and  bad.  But  we  choose  to  define  it  more  legally  and  evangelic- 
ally, from  the  second  table,  or  what  has,  in  Christendom,  been  called 
"  the  moral  law" — the  ten  commandments. 

But  this  is  somewhat  indefinite,  because  the  ten  precepts  contain 
alike  the  elements  of  religion  and  morality.  The  last  six  are,  however, 
Bcripturally,  philosophically  and  formally,  the  moral  law.  Hence  our 
■duties  to  man,  to  each  and  every  individual,  is  the  true,  the  legal  and 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


3u3 


the  evangelical  import  of  the  term.  The  moral  sense  or  conscience 
is  that  power  which,  when  properly  educated,  dictates  and  appreciates 
the  character  of  actions,  as  they  affect  and  bear  upon  the  persons,  the 
property  and  the  character  of  our  neighbors  and  fellow-citizens.  Re- 
ligion sanctions  these,  but  religion  properly  indicates  our  duties  to  God. 
Hence  the  law  of  the  ten  commandments  is  the  summary  outline  of  all 
our  duties  to  God  and  to  our  fellow-man. 

We,  therefore,  prefer  to  use  the  word  moral,  in  reference  to  our 
proper  theme,  as  indicative  of  our  relations  to  God  and  man,  merely 
because  the  term  in  refermce  to  education  is  so  used ;  and  especially  as 
the  authority  that  sanctions  the  purely  moral  code  must  be  regarded 
33  alike  sanctioning  all  the  principles  of  religion  and  morality. 

By  moral  culture  or  education,  we,  therefore,  include  the  proper 
development  and  direction  of  our  moral  constitution,  both  as  respects 
our  duties  to  God  and  to  man.  Bo^h  are  not  only  within  the  legitimate 
precincts  of  moral  education,  but  indispensable  elements  of  it ;  for  all 
that  sanctions  the  six  precepts  of  the  moral  code  is  contained  and 
found  in  the  four  precepts  of  the  religious  code,  and  of  these  the  first 
precept  is  the  only  one  in  its  nature  and  relation  absolutely  religious. 
Hence,  the  greatest  philosopher  that  ever  lived  said  that  all  religion 
and  all  morality  are  contained  in  two  precepts — purely,  abstractly  and 
philosophically  sublime  and  explicit.  The  authority  that  sanctions 
both  is  asserted  and  clearly  stated  in  the  sublime  preamble,  ''I  AM 
THE  Lord  thy  God  :"  therefore^  This  is  a  nonesuch  therefore. 
It  has  no  parallel  in  all  the  tomes  of  earth.  Without  the  recogn'tion 
of  its  preamble  or  premises,  neither  religion  nor  morality  can  be 
studied,  taught  or  learned.  Hence  our  grand  corollary — that  moral 
culture,  or  moral  education,  cannot  be  communicated  or  received  except 
upon  and  after  the  admission  and  acknowledgment  of  this  superlatively 
sublime  and  ineffably  grand  oracle.  Without  it,  you  may  create  a 
popular  gentleman,  or  a  fashionable  philosopher,  at  the  meridian  of 
London,  Paris  or  Washington.  But  without  it,  you  cannot  create  a 
man,  in  all  the  nobility,  moral  grandeur  and  sublimity  of  his  origin, 
relations  and  destiny  in  God's  universe.  A  college  or  a  school,  there- 
fore, adapted  to  the  genius  of  human  nature — to  man  as  he  is,  and 
as  he  must  hereafter  be — cannot  be  found  in  Chi'istendom,  in  the 
absence  of  a  moral  education  founded  upon  the  Bible,  and  the  Bible 
alone,  without  the  admixture  of  human  speculations,  or  of  science 
mlsely  so  called. 

But,  essential  as  religion  is,  both  to  the  school  and  to  the  state,  the 
preternatural  and  unfortunate  condition  of  Christendom  is  such  as  to 


304 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


inhibit  the  introduction  of  any  form  of  Christianity  into  colleges  and 
seminaries  of  learning.  And  the  masses  of  religionists  of  every  school 
are  so  sensitive  on  this  subject  as  to  prefer  a  college  or  a  school  wholly 
disconnected  with  any  form  of  religious  instruction,  unless  it  should 
happen  to  be  of  their  own  peculiar  type.  Many  prefer  to  banish  the 
Bible  from  the  college  or  the  school,  rather  than  to  jeopard  the  spiritual 
fortunes  -of  a  child  or  a  ward  through  the  gloss  or  the  theory  of  a 
teacher,  that  might  possibly  conflict  with  that  class  of  opinions  which 
they  have  already  pronounced  to  be  orthodox  and  Divine.  The  con- 
sequence is,  that  we  must  either  have  no  college  with  the  Bible 
in  it  as  a  text-book,  or  as  many  colleges  as  there  are  sects  in  any 
given  state  or  territory.  Either  of  these  is  a  misfortune  not  easily 
to  be  exaggerated.  The  question  of  this  age  is.  How  is  this  difficulty 
to  be  met  and  overcome  ? 

That  it  should  be  met  and  overcome,  no  reflecting  mind  can  reason- 
ably doubt.  A  bald  infidelity  or  a  gross  polytheism  must  be  the  ne- 
cessary consequence,  in  the  absence  of  Bible  studies.  The  Greek  and 
Roman  classics,  and  the  Pantheon,  are  essential  constituents  of  a  college 
education.  Not  only  the  infidel  Gibbon  and  Hume,  but  the  West- 
minster Review,  and  many  similar  infidel  works,  are  placed  on  the 
shelves  of  college  libraries,  and  largely  read  by  many  of  the  students 
of  every  institution.  And  what  antidote  have  we  for  all  this  poison, 
made  pleasant  and  agreeable  by  all  the  associations  of  a  brilliant  style 
and  a  luxuriant  imagery  ?  None  whatever,  in  college  studies,  if  the 
Bible  and  its  evidences  are  excluded. 

To  substitute  for  it  the  cold  and  lifeless  formulae  of  a  metaphysical 
creed,  the  shade  of  departed  truth,  or  the  cut-and-dry  question  and 
answer  of  some  quaint  spectacle-bestridden  orthodoxy,  is  not  Peter 
robbing  Paul,  nor  Paul  Peter,  but  some  cynical  Diogenes  torturing  both. 
What  a  compliment  to  the  towering  genius  of  our  American  youth,  to 
put  into  their  hands  the  yet  litigated  opinions  of  the  hoary  rabbis  of 
far-distant  centuries,  compelling  them,  ferule  in  hand,  to  take  sides  with 
those  holding  the  dogmata  of  one  school  against  those  holding  the  dog- 
mata of  another  !  Such  is,  indeed,  the  fact  in  Romandom,  and  in  some 
portions  too  of  our  American  Protestantdom.  And  shall  we  of  the 
second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  citizens  of  these  United  States, 
countenance,  aid  and  comfort  such  an  irrational,  discourteous  and  in- 
tolerant despotism  over  the  minds  of  our  own  ofi'spring  ? 

There  is  but  one  sovereign  remedy  for  these  educational  difficulties 
and  embarrassments.  We  Protestants  have  a  Bible,  as  well  as  a 
literature;  and  that  Bible,  as  well  as  the  Greek  and  Roman  Bible, 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


305 


.tates  certain  prominent  Christian  facts,  precepts  and  promises,  so 
plainly^;  so  perspicuously  and  so  fully  that  all  Christendom  admits 
them.  These  facts,  so  fundamental,  are,  in  the  judgment  of  all,  the 
capital  items  of  the  whole  Christian  institution.  They,  moreover, 
contain  all  in  them  that  enters  into  the  remedial  system,  and  are  the 
foundation  of  all  Christian  faith,  hope  and  love.  They  are  not  only 
catholic  in  fact,  but  in  import.  All  Christian  ordinances  are  founded 
on  them,  and  ordained  to  perpetuate  them.  These,  with  the  moral 
evidences  which  sustain  them,  are  so  evident  that  no  Christian  de- 
nomination doubts  or  denies  them.  They,  therefore,  are  -common 
property,  and,  without  any  factitious  aid,  are  competent  to  man's 
redemption.  They  are — 1st.  That  Christ  died  for  our  sins ;  2d.  That 
he  was  buried ;  and,  3d.  That  he  rose  again  from  the  dead  and  ascended 
into  heaven.  Some  make  of  the  last  two  distinct  facts.  But  whether 
ascension  is  to  be  regarded  as  distinct  from  his  resurrection,  or  as  only 
exegetical  of  it,  it  matters  not,  so  far  as  faith,  hope  and  charity  are 
concerned.  Every  man  that  believes  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins  and 
rose  again  for  our  justification,  so  far  as  his  faith  is  concerned,  is  said 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  be  saved. 

Since,  then,  these  facts  are  admitted  by  every  denomination  of 
Christians,  they  may,  with  great  propriety,  in  all  their  evidence  and 
moral  grandeur,  be  taught  in  every  school  and  college  in  Christendom; 
and  that,  too,  without  any  censure  or  exception  taken  by  any  Christian 
denomination,  Greek,  Roman  or  Protestant.  That  this  can  be  dene,  is 
demonstrated  by  actual  experiment  on  our  part,  and  with  the  consent 
and  concurrence  of  every  denomination  in  our  country.  Further  than 
this,  public  instruction,  ex  cathedra,  in  Christianity,  is  neither  desirables 
nor  expedient  during  a  collegiate  course  of  learning. 

The  evidences  of  natural  and  revealed  religion,  by  Paley  and  others, 
being  already  in  use  in  almost  every  college  in  the  Union,  form  a  happy 
succedaneum  in  all  respects  but  one ;  and  this  is,  the  daily  reading  of 
the  inspired  writings  themselves,  in  the  audience  of  the  whole  instit^a- 
tion,  with  appropriate  thanksgivings  and  invocations. 

Even  our  legislative  assemblies,  and  both  houses  of  Congress,  in  their 
united  wisdom,  deem  it  expedient  to  have  some  form  of  religious 
worship  daily  dispensed.  True,  it  degenerates  into  a  form,  and,  too 
otten,  into  an  unmeaning  ceremony.  Were  I  a  member  of  any  one  of 
thS§^~branches-ef  our  Government,  I  would  certaifily  urge  the  gi  eat 
propriety  of  prefacing  these  prayers  by  the  reading  of  at  lea^jt  olj 
'  chapter  previous  to  these  intercessions  and  thanksgivings.  It  won!?, 
I  conceive,  greath/  lend  to  smooth  the  troubled  waters  of  legislati  ve 


306 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


strife,  could  our  lawmakers  hear  God  speak  to  them  before  their  oratoi 
addresses  him. 

But  there  are  other  reasons  why  the  Holy  Scriptures  should  be 
read,  daily  and  publicly  read,  in  every  school,  from  the  nursery  up 
to  the  university.  The  literature  of  the  Bible  is  the  most  sublime 
literature  in  all  the  libraries  of  earth.  Its  history,  too,  is  the  only 
authentic  history  in  the  world  of  almost  half  its  existence.  The  Jewish 
people  and  institutions  antedate  all  the  literature  of  Greece  and  Eome, 
those  two  great  fountains  of  European  and  American  literature.  More 
than  half  the  years  of  the  world  had  passed  into  eternity  before  Hesiod 
or  Homer  sung,  or  Plato,  Socrates  or  Aristotle  reasoned  on  the  works 
and  ways  of  God  or  man.  The  Jewish  Scriptures  were  finished  before 
Aristotle,  Socrates  or  Plato  was  born;  and  David  sung  in  Hebrew 
verse  before  Hesiod  or  Homer  saw  the  light  of  day. 

The  biography  and  the  autobiography  of  Bible  saints — the  achieve- 
ments of  its  heroes — the  wisdom  of  its  sages — the  sublimity  of  its  bards 
— the  eloquence  of  its  orators — and  the  rational  and  heaven -inspired 
purity  of  its  saints  and  martyrs,  have  commanded,  and  will,  to  the 
last  generation  of  men,  command,  the  admiration  and  the  homage  of 
the  world.  The  Book  of  God  spans  the  whole  arch  of  time,  emblazoned 
with  its  momentous  deeds ;  and,  leaning  on  an  eternity  past,  it  reposes 
upon  an  eternity  to  come.  It  is  the  only  book  of  life,  and  the  only 
charter  of  an  immortality  to  come.  And  shall  man,  whose  grand  epic 
it  is,  withhold  it  from  his  fellow-man,  or  exclude  it  from  the  nurseries, 
the  schools  and  the  colleges  in  which  are  educated  the  generation  most 
dear  to  us  of  all  the  generations  of  men — our  sons  and  daughters,  for 
whom  we  wish  to  live,  and  for  whom  we  would  dare  to  die  ?  Forbid  it, 
reason,  conscience,  and  every  tender  sympathy  of  our  hearts ! 

We  make  no  apology  to  any  Christian  people,  and  still  less  to  those 
at  whose  instigation  and  at  whose  behest  we  now  appear  before  you. 
for  thus  uniting  the  Bible  and  the  college.  We  only  wish  to  wed  the 
college  and  the  Bible  in  the  holy  bands  of  a  more  indissoluble  matri- 
mony than  any  ever  celebrated  by  priest  or  'squire  on  the  waters  of 
the  Mississippi.  It  is  the  charter  of  all  our  charters,  the  school  of 
all  our  wisdom,  the  alpha  and  the  omega  of  all  the  sciences  and  the 
knowledges  of  man  as  he  was,  as  he  is  and  as  he  shall  hereafter  and 
forever  be. 

The  learned  professions  of  all  civilized  communities  are  the  bene- 
factions of  our  colleges.  For  their  endowment  and  support,  we  receive 
i)i  return,  as  items  of  profit,  all  the  wisdom  and  eloquence  that  fill  the 
legislative  halls,  the  courts  of  justice,  the  synagogues  and  temples  of 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


307 


religion  and  virtue;  all  who  learnedly  minister  to  our  wants  and 
wishes  in  literature,  in  science,  in  physics  and  metaphysics,  in  the 
elegant  and  useful  arts  of  our  age  and  country.  They  furnish  us  not 
only  with  lawyers,  physicians,  ministers  of  religion,  teachers  of  all  the 
sciences  and  arts  of  the  living  age,  but,  directly  or  indirectly,  they  are 
the  fountains  of  all  the  discoveries  and  improvements  in  our  country 
and  in  the  present  civilized  world. 

I  know  no  earthly  subject,  no  political  question,  so  full  of  elo- 
quence, so  prolific  in  argument,  and  so  powerful  in  its  claims  upon  the^ 
patronage,  the  support,  the  liberality,  of  the  age  and  "of  a  civilized 
^people,  as  these  great  fountains  of  civilization  and  blessings  to  our- 
selves, to  our  children  and  to  the  human  race.  All  that  lies  between 
barbarism  and  the  highest  civilization,  all  that  distinguishes  the  rude 
American  Indian  and  the  most  polished  citizen,  the  barbarian  and  the 
Christian,  has  been  achieved  by  the  learning,  the  science,  the  arts,  the 
religion  and  the  morals  which  colleges  have  nourished,  cherished  and 
imparted  to  the  world. 

And  yet,  how  strange  it  is,  that  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  colleges 
in  these  United  States,  but  one  has  a  chair  for  Sacred  History  and 
Bible  Literature !  Of  these  one  hundred  and  twenty,  one  has  been  in 
existence  two  hundred  and  eighteen  years.  Yes :  Harvard  University, 
in  Massachusetts,  was  erected  two  hundred  and  eighteen  years  ago; 
William  and  Mary,  in  Virginia,  and  Yale  College,  in  Connecticut,  be- 
fore the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  clergy,  too,  were  the  prime  movers  in  getting  up  these  institu- 
tions. The  thirteen  colleges  of  New  England  annually  graduate  some 
five  hundred  students ;  not  one  of  whom,  during  his  whole  collegiate 
course,  ever  heard,  in  college,  a  series  of  lectures  on  Bible  history, 
Bible  facts  and  Bible  institutions. 

The  Congregationalists  and  Presbyterians  have  been  most  active, 
most  liberal  and  most  enterprising  in  erecting  colleges  as  well  as  theo- 
logical schools.  These  denominations  have,  less  or  more,  the  control 
of  full  one-half  the  colleges  in  America.  Methodists  and  Baptists  have 
each  but  thirteen  colleges.  Episcopalians  have  only  eight,  and  Eomanists 
eleven.  Yet,  I  repeat  it,  in  all  these  there  has  never  been  delivered  a 
course  of  lectures  on  the  Pentateuch  or  the  four  Grospels.  The  acts  of 
the  Greeks  and -of  the  Eomans  are  read  and  expounded  with  much 
learning  and  eloquence;  but  the  acts  of  Jehovah,  the  acts  of  Jesus 
Christ  and  the  acts  of  prophets  and  apostles  have  not  been  publicly 
read  or  developed  in  any  one  of  them. 

The  Pantheon,  the  hero  gods  and  goddesses — their  ain  .ars  and  in- 


308 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


trigues,  their  lusts  and  passions,  their  broils  and  battles — ^have  beer 
read,  studied,  lectured  upon  to  satiety  in  most  of  these  hundred  and 
twenty  colleges,  as  though  they  had  been  consecrated  to  Jupiter  To- 
nans,  to  Mars,  to  Bacchus,  to  Venus  and  the  harlotry  of  Pagan  worship 
and  Pagan  lusts  and  passions. 

Yet  we  are  a  Christian  people,  of  professedly  noble,  humane  and 
philanthropic  impulses — glorying  in  our  Christian  civilization,  our 
exquisite  taste,  our  good  morals,  our  sound  discretion  and. our  bene- 
volent impulses.  Why  is  it,  then,  that  the  Bible  is,  if  not  by  statute, 
yet,  in  fact,  thus  proscribed  the  halls  of  literature  and  science  ? 

The  only  apology  is,  that  we  fear  the  misdirection  of  the  judgment, 
the  conscience  and  the  destiny  of  our  children,  by  what  is  called  sec- 
tarian or  partisan  influences;  and,  therefore,  we  must  have  sectarian 
institutions  of  learning,  a  catechism  of  doctrines  ready  made,  or  made 
to  order,  for  the  conscience  and  the  affections  of  our  sons  and  wards. 
Yet,  strange  to  tell,  in  all  the  annals  of  conversion  reported  in  the 
current  century,  I  have  not  had  the  good  fortune  to  find  in  any  journal 
or  record  that  one  single  person  was  either  converted  or  sanctified  by 
memorizing  any  catechism,  heterodox  or  orthodox,  throughout  all  the 
states  and  territories  in  our  modern  Christendom,  European  and  Ame- 
rican. 

But  we  assume  that  if  these  formulas  of  speculative  theology  do  not 
convert  any  one,  they  may  save  some  from  being  entangled  in  the 
meshes  of  a  false  faith,  a  false  doctrine  or  a  false  philosophy.  This  is 
a  very  questionable  assumption;  but,  when  granted,  what  does  it 
mean  ?  That  mere  ecclesiastic  or  magisterial  authority  alone,  and  not 
reason  or  investigation,  is  of  any  value  or  importance  in  giving  direc- 
tion to  the  understanding,  the  conscience  and  the  heart  of  saint  or 
sinner. 

In  physics  or  in  metaphysics,  in  philosophy  or  in  science,  there  was 
no  progress — no  perceptible  or  valuable  progress — for  many  centuries ; 
during,  indeed,  the  entire  reign  of  the  Aristoteleian  philosophy  and  the 
tyranny  of  the  mere  logical  and  catechetical  learning.  Answers 
printed  or  written,  for  stereotyped  questions,  propounded  in  seminaries 
of  learning — I  care  not  what  the  subject  or  the  science — never  made  a 
thinker,  a  scholar,  a  philosopher,  or  a  great  man,  much  less  a  saint  or 
an  heir  of  immortality. 

It  is  observation,  comparison  and  deduction  that  make  the  man,  the 
philosopher,  the  Christian.  It  is  faith  in  the  mysterious  and  sublime 
facts  attested  by  prophets  and  apostles,  obedience  to  supernatural  and 
divine  precepts,  well  authenticated,  and  a  rational  and  well-grounded 


ADDRESS  ON  COLLEGES. 


309 


tiope  in  promises  guaranteed  and  sustained  by  the  divine  veracity,  that 
constitute  a  Christian. 

And  do  we  need  such  auxiliaries  to  secure  the  special  rights  of  our 
creeds  and  our  denominations?  So  think  the  Romanists.  We  may 
not,  indeed,  go  the  length  of  the  Cenobites  and  the  Sarabites.  We 
may  not  have  the  Benedictines,  the  Bernardines  and  Franciscans ;  but 
we  may  have  the  same  mystic  personages,  under  names  quite  as  sacred 
and  quite  as  superstitious,  too,  and  not  less  offensive  to  humanity  and 
good  taste  than  the  Jesuits  or  the  Dominicans,  with  their  Inquisition 
and  its  auto  dafe. 

But  we  are  Republicans  and  Protestants.  Then  let  us  act  in  har- 
mony with  the  oracle  of  the  great  Chancellor  Chillingworth — "  The 
Bible,  and  the  Bible  alone,  is  the  religion  of  Protestants."  Let  it 
be  venerated  as  it  superlatively  merits,  in  every  school,  from  the 
nursery  to  the  university.  Let  its  history  of  the  past  and  its  history 
of  the  future  be  daily  studied  and  taught.  Let  its  stupendous  facts, 
its  sublime  precepts  and  its  rich  and  ineffably  transcendent  promises 
command  a  daily  portion  of  our  time  and  of  our  studies.  Let  its  deep 
and  lofty  philosophy  and  divine  science  imbue  the  minds  of  all  our 
youth  that  receive  instruction  and  garniture  for  our  social  system,  and 
the  high  offices  in  the  schools,  the  churches,  the  courts,  the  legislative- 
halls  and  great  councils  of  our  august  Republic.  Let  no  sectarian 
dogmata,  no  ready-made  and  finished  creed  or  formula  of  faith,  be 
introduced  into  any  school  or  into  any  literary  or  philosophic  institu- 
tion. Let  the  Lord  himself  teach  in  all  our  seminaries  in  his  own  words 
and  in  his  own  arguments,  and  let  us  fear  not  that  he  may  impinge 
upon  our  shibboleths  or  weaken  our  earth-born  sanctions  of  heaven- 
descended  truths.  Bribe  not  the  infant  mind  with  the  honeyed  argu- 
ments and  paltry  tinsellings  of  your  favorite  dogmata,  which  neither 
their  authors  nor  their  advocates  can  demonstrate  or  make  intelligible 
to  any  discreet  and  inquiring  mind. 

He  that  made  the  eye  of  man,  can  he  not  see  ?  He  that  made  the 
ear,  can  he  not  hear  ?  He  that  made  the  heart,  does  he  not  know  how 
to  awaken  all  its  sympathies,  to  open  all  its  fountains  of  feeling,  to 
allure  it  to  himself,  that  he  may  beatify  and  gladden  it  forever  ? 
Patronize,  then,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  no  church,  no  school,  no  semi- 
nary, that  does  not  honor  God's  own  Book,  by  giving  it  to  all  the  people 
as  God  gave  it  to  the  human  race. 

When  God  himself,  by  plenary  inspiration,  educated  the  Bible  phi- 
losophers, orators  and  scribes,  shall  we  embargo  their  tongues  by  im- 
prisoning them  in  papal  cells  and  inquisitorial  dungeons,  or  by  inhibit- 


310 


ADDRESS  OX  COLLEGES. 


ing  their  being  read  in  any  or  in  every  vernacular  of  the  many-tongued 
earth  ?  Let  us  rather  elevate  them  to  the  highest  schools  and  chairs 
in  all  our  colleges,  and  risk  all  the  consequences  of  permitting  them  to 
speak  to  us  the  Divine  Oracles,  under  the  plenary  inspiration  and 
guidance  of  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  of  utterance. 

Proscribe  every  creed  and  manual,  every  catechism  and  formula  of 
sound  doctrine,  from  all  the  theatres  of  education  of  every  name  and 
of  every  party,  rather  than  the  Bible ;  and  fear  not  to  permit  God  him- 
self to  be  heard,  in  his  own  wisdom  and  eloquence,  by  every  pupil  and 
every  student  in  the  land,  and  leave  the  consequences  to  God. 

If  ignorance  be  a  reproach  to  any  people,  and  if  intelligence  and 
righteousness  exalt  a  nation  to  the  highest  rank  and  dignity  amongst, 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  then,  under  such  auspices,  we,  a<s  a  nation  and 
people,  shall  stand  among  the  nations  of  the  earth  great  and  happy  and 
powerful — fair  as  a  morning  without  clouds,  "bright  as  the  sun,  and 
terrible  as  an  army  with  banners." 


ESSAY. 


IS  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED  BY  DIVINE  AUTHORITY? 


The  true  philosophy  of  man,  even  amongst  philosophers  themselves, 
is  yet  a  desideratum.  We  are  all  agreed  that  neither  the  Egyptians 
nor  the  Chaldeans,  neither  the  Medes  nor  the  Persians,  neither  the 
Greeks  nor  the  Bomans,  had  attained  to  the  true  science  of  man.  They 
had  their  astrologers,  soothsayers  and  magicians.  .  They  had  their 
sages,  philosophers  and  poets,  as  they  had  their  great  generals,  heroes 
and  conquerors.  They  had  their  sciences  and  arts,  both  useful  and  orna- 
mental ;  but  they  had  not  the  knowledge  of  themselves ;  they  had  not 
the  Bible.  Hence  their  proper  origin,  relations,  obligations  and  des- 
tiny, were  to  them  alike  unknown  and  unknowable.  The  profound 
Socrates,  the  learned  and  acute  Aristotle,  the  splendid  and  erudite 
Plato,  the  still  more  enlightened  and  eloquent  Cicero,  were  as  pro- 
foundly ignorant  of  their  own  moral  constitution  and  moral  relations  to 
the  great  unknown  and  eternal  God,  as  they  were  of  the  grand  dis- 
coveries and  inventions  of  the  present  century. 

We  may,  indeed,  have  as  exaggerated  views  of  our  own  attainments 
in  this  our  ''age  of  reason,"  ''march  of  mind,"  and  brilliant  advances 
into  the  mysteries  of  nature,  as  they  had  of  themselves  and  their  attain- 
ments. Posterity,  too,  may  look  back  upon  our  age  as  we  are  wont 
to  contemplate  ages  long  since  passed  away,  and  wish,  as  "  duteous 
sons,  their  fathers  had  been  more  wise."  Certain  it  is,  that  we  are 
not  satisfied  with  ourselves,  and  that  a  spirit  of  inquiry,  revolution 
and  change  is  now  abroad  in  the  land,  which  no  man  can  limit  or 
restrain. 

We  live  in  the  midst  of  a  great  moral  revolution.  Opinions  held 
sacred  by  our  fathers,  usages  consecrated  by  the  devotion  of  ages, 
^'nstitutions  venerated  by  the  most  venerable  of  mankind  are  now 
subjected  to  the  same  cold,  rigid  analysis,  and  made  to  pass  through  the 
same  unsparing  ordeal,  to  which  the  most  antiquated  errors  and  the 
most  baseless  hypotheses  of  the  most  reckless  innovators  are  now  so 

311 


312 


IS  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED 


unmercifully  doomed.  Few,  indeed,  of  the  most  popular  theories  of  the 
Pagan  schools  on  the  great  subject  of  man's  social  and  moral  relations, 
have,  when  cast  into  this  fiery  furnace,  like  Shadrach,  Meshach  and 
Abed-nego,  come  out  unscathed. 

Times  of  revolution  are,  however,  more  or  less,  dangerous  times. 
For,  as  in  the  tumultuous  rage  of  passions  long  pent  up,  and  in  the  fitful 
frenzy  of  an  inflamed  multitude  long  down -trodden,  the  innocent  with 
the  guilty  are  sometimes  immolated  on  the  same  altar,  reared  to  the 
presiding  genius  of  revolt;  so  truths  rightfully  enthroned  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  intelligent,  and  deeply  cherished  in  the  hearts  of  the  faithful, 
are,  in  times  of  great  excitement,  and  in  the  reign  of  skepticism,  repu- 
diated as  reprobate  silver,  and  sacrificed  at  the  shrine  of  a  licentious 
and  indiscriminating  spirit  of  innovation. 

Ours,  however,  is  an  age  of  invention,  rather  than  of  discovery :  the 
arts,  more  than  the  sciences,  are  cultivated  and  improved.  The  inven- 
tion of  printing,  the  discovery  of  America,  and  the  Protestant  reform- 
ation, have  imparted  to  the  human  mind  an  impulse  so  vigorous  and  so 
enduring,  that  neither  time  nor  space  seem  able  to  impair  it.  Stimu- 
lated by  former  conquests  over  error,  and  the  new  discoveries  since 
made,  the  human  mind  seems  intent  on  carrying  on  war  against  false 
assumptions  and  unwarranted  conclusions — as  if  determined  to  advance 
from  victory  to  victory  over  every  species  of  error  and  delusion  :  so 
that  we  may  not  unreasonably  anticipate  a  day  when  the  last  error 
shall  be  exploded,  and  the  last  baseless  assumption  shall  be  entombed 
in  the  same  unfathomable  abyss  with  the  vortices  of  Descartes,  or  in 
the  nethermost  hollow  sphere  of  the  speculative  and  hypothetical, 
though  ingenious,  Captain  Symmes. 

But  there  are  many  things  already  established.  The  human  mind 
is  not  wholly  at  sea  without  pilot  or  compass.  The  mariner's  compass 
has  been  invented.  And  many  truths  are  immovably  fixed  and  certain 
in  every  well-cultivated  and  intelligent  mind. 

Physical  nature  is,  indeed,  still  open  to  investigation  in  some  of  her 
most  interesting  and  sublime  departments.  Astronomy  is  yet  in  pro- 
gress of  development.  Geology  is  a  new  science,  still  incomplete  and 
imperfect.  The  physical  constitution  of  man  has  yet  numerous  mys- 
teries sealed  from  the  most  discriminating  eye.  Not  only  several  of 
its  most  sublime  and  delicate  tissues  are  unexplored,  but  the  design  as 
well  as  the  peculiar  structure  of  some  of  its  organs  are  unappreciated 
and  unknown.  The  human  head  has  only  recently  been  explored  and 
developed  by  the  mighty  genius  and  indefatigable  toils  of  a  Gall  and 
a  Spurzheim.    That  men  have  souls  as  well  as  bodies,  and  spirits  ns 


BY  DIVIXE  AUTHORITY? 


313 


well  as  souls,  seems  likely  soon  to  be  satisfactorily  proved,  not  by 
metaphysical  reasoning,  but  by  ocular  and  sensible  demonstrations. 
Nor  is  the  day  far  distant  when  it  is  presumed  that  all  parties  will 
agree  that,  as  God  has  made  the  world,  he  should  govern  it. 

There  are,  indeed,  two  sciences,  and  but  two,  wholly  unsusceptible 
of  improvement.  These,  the  Author  of  the  Universe,  by  a  patent 
which  no  man  can  invade  but  at  the  peril  of  his  eternal  destiny,  has 
both  wisely  and  kindly  reserved  to  himself.  I  need  not  say  that  these 
are  the  sciences  of  religion  and  morality.  No  angelic  being,  unable  to 
survey  the  universe  in  its  infinite  and  eternal  dimensions,  nor  man,  in 
all  his  mysterious  and  sublime  organization  and  capacities,  could  pos- 
sibly project  or  develop  these.  They  are  sciences  which,  by  an  in- 
superable and  stern  necessity,  are  not  merely  superhuman,  but  super- 
natural and  divine.  There  is  a  world  above  us  and  a  world  within  us 
for  which  no  man  or  angel  could  legislate.  There  is  a  moral  code 
beyond  the  capacity  and  supervision  of  man — extending,  too,  in  its 
requisition  into  a  kingdom  over  which  no  human  tribunal  can  find  any 
jurisdiction,  and  which  is  as  necessary  to  moral  government  as  oxygen 
to  combustion,  or  caloric  to  human  life.  There  is  an  empire  in  the 
human  heart  over  which  no  man  or  angel  can  preside,  and  a  throne 
in  the  midst  of  it  on  which  no  king  can  sit  but  the  King  of  Eternity. 
For  this  one  reason  alone,  which  is  as  good  as  a  thousand,  and  to  which 
the  addition  of  a  thousand  could  give  no  weight,  religion  and  morals 
are  sciences  wholly  supernatural  and  divine. 

Civil  government  is  itself  a  divine  appendix  to  the  volumes  of  re- 
ligion and  morality.  Though  neither  Caesar  nor  Napoleon,  Nicholas 
nor  Victoria,  were,  "by  the  grace  of  God,''  king,  emperor  or  queen; 
still  the  civil  throne,  the  civil  magistrate,  and,  therefore,  civil  govern- 
ment, are,  hy  the  grace  of  God,  bestowed  upon  the  world.  Neither  the 
church  nor  the  world  could  exist  without  it.  God  himself  has,  there- 
fore, benevolently  ordained  magistrates  and  judges.  Men  may  call 
them  kings,  emperors  or  presidents,  (for  much  of  politics,  like  much  of 
speculative  theology,  is  but  a  mere  logomachy — a  war  of  ill-assorted 
words,)  but  they  are  God's  ministers,  executors  of  his  will  and  of  his 
vengeance,  ordained  to  wait  upon  him  and  to  execute  his  mandates. 
They  are  a  sort  of  viceroys — vicegerents  under  law  to  God,  and  to 
govern  according  to  his  revealed  will.  The  Bible  is  of  right,  and  it 
ought  to  be,  just  as  much  a  law  to  kings  and  governors  and  presidents, 
as  it  is  to  mastei's  and  servants,  to  husbands  and  wives,  to  parents  and 
children.    Those  magistrates,  therefore,  who  will  not  be  governed  and 


314 


IS  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED 


guided  by  it  in  the  faithful  execution  of  God's  laws,  God  himself,  in 
his  own  proper  person,  will  judge  and  punish. 

Since  the  days  of  Plato,  men  have  conceived  republics.  They  have 
invented  new  orders  of  society,  new  theories  of  socialism,  and  new 
names  for  things.  But  these  are  mere  demonstrations  of  human  weak- 
ness and  of  human  skepticism.  The  Bible  has  sanctioned  republics, 
and  commonwealths  and  kingdoms,  without  affixing  any  peculiar  name 
to  them.  It  prescribes  no  form  of  human  government,  because  no  one 
form  of  government  would  suit  all  the  countries,  climes  and  people  of 
the  earth.  But  the  Bible,  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  its 
Author,  demands  of  all  persons  in  authority  that  they  protect  the 
innocent,  that  they  punish  the  guilty,  and  that  they  dispense  justice  to 
all.  It  also  demands  of  the  governed  that  they  submit  to  the  powers 
THAT  BE,"  however  denominated,  as  an  ordinance  of  God;  not  through 
the  fear  of  the  sword,  but  for  the  sake  of  conscience.  It  inhibits  them 
also  from  treason,  insubordination  and  rebellion. 

In  the  freedom  of  debate,  and  in  harmony  with  that  spirit  of  inno- 
vation of  which  we  have  just  spoken,  a  question  has  been  mooted^ 
and  is  now  before  the  American  public  a  matter  of  very  grave  dis- 
cussion. A  question,  too,  than  which,  in  my  humble  judgment,  no  one 
pertaining  to  this  life  is  worthy  of  a  more  profound  deliberation,  nor 
whose  decision  is  fraught  with  more  fearful  and  important  results, 
affecting  the  whole  community,  involving  the  foundation  of  civil 
government,  all  the  fixtures  of  society,  the  extent  of  all  earthly 
sovereignty,  and  all  the  principles  of  international  law,  commerce  and 
responsibility.  That  question  is  propounded  in  the  solemn  interroga- 
tory, Is  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED  BY  DIVINE  AUTHORITY? 

or,  in  other  words.  Has  man  a  right  to  take  away  the  life  of  man  on 
any  account  whatever  ? 

If  he  have  not  a  divine  right,  I  frankly  admit  that  he  has  no  human 
right — no  warrant  or  authority  derived  from  man — that  will  authorize 
such  a  solemn  and  fearful  act.  Though  we  should  not,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, take  into  account  the  consequences  of  any  decision,  as  having 
direct  authority  in  influencing  our  reasonings  upon  the  question,  still 
it  is  important  that  we  have  some  respect  for  them  as  arguments  and 
incentives  to  a  calm,  discreet  and  patient  investigation  of  the  premises 
from  which  are  to  be  adduced  conclusions  so  deeply  involving  the 
interests  of  the  world. 

And  what,  let  me  inquire,  would  be  the  consequences  should  it  be 
decided  that  man  has  no  right  to  take  away  the  life  of  man  on  any 
account  whatever?    Is  not  the  right  to  inflict  upon  him  any  penal 


BY  DIVINE  AUTHOEITY? 


315 


pain  whatever  involved  in  this  question  ?  A  single  stripe  may  kill ; 
nay,  a  single  stripe,  inflicted  by  an  officer  of  justice,  and  that  no  vei7 
violent  one,  has  sometimes  killed.  A  man  has  no  right  to  punish  at 
all  in  any  way,  if  he  may  not  in  that  punishment  lawfully  take  away 
the  life  of  him  that  is  subjected  to  it.  He  has  not  even  the  right  to 
imprison  or  confine  a  person  in  a  jail,  workhouse  or  penitentiary,  if  he 
have  not,  in  any  case  whatever,  the  right  to  kill.  How  many  die  in 
jails,  workhouses  and  penitentiaries,  from  causes  to  which  they  would 
not  have  been  exposed  but  in  those  places  of  punishment ! 

But,  further,  if  man  has  not  the  right  to  kill,  nations  have  no  right 
to  go  to  war  in  any  case,  or  for  any  purpose  whatever.  We  argue  that 
whatever  power  a  Government  has  is  first  found  in  the  people ;  that 
men  cannot  innocently  or  rightfully  do  that  conventionally,  or  in  states, 
which  they  cannot  do  in  their  individual  capacities.  True,  when  a 
Government  is  organized,  the  citizens  or  subjects  of  it  cannot  use  or 
exercise  the  powers  to  legislate,  to  judge,  to  punish,  which,  by  the 
social  compact,  they  have,  for  wise  purposes,  surrendered  or  trans- 
ferred to  the  Government.  Still,  the  fundamental  fact  must  not  be 
lost  sight  of — that  nations  have  the  right  to  do  those  things  only  which 
ecery  individual  man  had  a  right  to  do  anterior  to  the  national 
form  of  society.  If,  then,  man  had  not  originally  a  right  to  kill  him 
who  killed  his  brother,  society  never  could,  but  from  a  special  law 
of  the  Creator,  have  such  a  right.  And  such,  we  may  hereafter  show, 
was  originally  the  divine  law.  The  natural  reason  of  man,  or  a  divine 
law,  enacted  that  the  blood  of  the  murdered  should  be  avenged  by 
the  blood  of  the  murderer,  and  that  the  brother  of  the  murdered  was 
pre-eminently  the  person  to  whom  belonged  the  right  of  avenging 
his  blood. 

Wars  are  either  defensive  or  aggressive.  But,  in  either  point  of 
view,  they  are  originated  and  conducted  on  the  assumption  that  man 
has  a  right,  for  just  cause,  to  take  away  the  life  of  man.  For  it  needs 
no  argument  to  convince  any  one,  however  obtuse,  that  man  cannot 
rightfully  kill  a  thousand  or  a  million  of  persons,  if  he  cannot  lawfully 
kill  one !  I  wonder  not,  then,  that  peace-men  are  generally,  if  not 
universally,  in  favor  of  the  total  abolition  of  capital  punishment. 

What  an  immense  train  of  consequences  hang  upon  the  final  and 
correct  decision  of  this  question !  Wars  would,  from  an  insuperable 
necessity,  cease.  We  should  then,  indeed,  ''beat  our  swords  into 
ploughshares  and  our  spears  into  pruning-hooks."  We  would  hang 
the  war-trumpet  in  the  halls  of  peace,  and  study  war  no  more. 
Cannon,  military  establishments,  standing  armies,  mighty  navies,  ex- 


316 


IS  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED 


tensive  arsenals,  and  all  the  other  munitions  of  war,  would  no  tonger 
be  the  ultima  ratio  regum.  No  longer  would  Governments  rely 
upon  the  arm  of  flesh  tor  self-defence  or  for  redress  of  wrongs.  What 
millions  of  gold  would  be  saved,  and  what  oceans  of  blood  would  be 
prevented ! 

It  is  true,  however,  that  wars  might  cease  and  universal  peace  spread 
its  halcyon  wings  over  the  earth,  and  still  the  murderer  be  right- 
fully, and  by  the  supreme  authority  of  the  state,  put  to  death.  There 
is  no  incompatibility  whatever  in  the  argument  of  settling  national 
controversies  by  another  way  than  by  war.  We  may  settle  them  as 
we  pacifically  settle  individual  and  corporate  misunderstandings,  and 
still  argue  against  the  abolition  of  capital  punishment.  But  our  argu- 
ment is,  that  there  would  be  an  end  of  all  wars,  ofi'ensive  and  defensive, 
in  the  national  mind,  if  men  have  no  right  to  kill  those  who  have  killed 
their  neighbors.  Certainly,  no  one  would  place  himself  in  the  absurd 
attitude  of  defending  wars  for  territory — for  mere  depredations  on 
trade  and  commerce — in  defence  of  chartered  rights  or  violated  treat- 
ies, if  it  can  be  shown  that  we  ought  not  to  wage  war  against  the 
most  savage  tribes  and  barbarous  nations  for  having  butchered  our 
wives  and  children. 

Again,  if  nations  may  not  rightfully  go  to  war — if  man  cannot,  in 
any  case,  lawfully  take  away  the  life  of  man,  in  how  dishonorable  an 
attitude  stand  the  patriots  of  all  Christian  lands — the  Hampdens,  the 
La  Fayettes,  the  Washingtons !  And  where  stand  the  men  of  faith, 
the  men  of  sacred  fame — the  Joshuas,  the  Samsons,  the  Baraks,  the 
Gideons,  the  Davids  ? 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  the  morality  of  those  who  do  honor  to 
their  memory?  Of  those  who  are  always  approbating,  applauding 
and  eulogizing  our  own  Revolutionary  heroes  and  those  who  distin- 
guished themselves  in  the  Indian  wars— in  wars  against  untutored 
savages,  desirous  to  retain  and  to  defend  their  patrimonial  inheritance 
from  European  invasion  and  aggression — of  those,  a  very  numerous 
host  of  patriotic  contemporaries,  who  have  no  civil  honors  to  bestow, 
no  civic  wreath  prepared,  but  to  adorn  the  brows  of  military  chieftains 
whose  garments  have  been  rolled  in  the  blood  of  vanquished  enemies — 
and  especially  of  those  who  desire  new  wars  for  manufacturing  new 
generals  and  new  heroes,  the  idols  of  a  nation's  worship,  to  fiU  the 
empty  niches  in  the  temple  of  our  heroic  fancies ! 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  consequences  that  must  follow  the  decision  of 
the  question  before  us  in  the  negative.  Still,  as  before  said,  we  only 
use  these  as  arguments  for  a  calm,  dispassionate  and  thorough  investi* 


BY  DIVINE  AUTHORITY? 


317 


gation  of  the  subject.  It  must  be  tried  by  some  law  and  before  some 
tribunal  having  supreme  authority  in  the  case.  But  what  shall  be  that 
law,  and  where  shall  that  tribunal  be  found  ?  It  is  not  the  law  of 
phrenology — of  expediency — of  tradition — of  our  common  statute-books 
— of  even  public  opinion.  None  of  these  have  legitimate  jurisdiction 
over  a  question  that  has  so  much  of  the  temporal  and  eternal  fortunes 
of  human  kind  at  stake. 

We  may,  indeed,  listen,  either  for  instruction  or  amusement,  to  the 
pleasing  fancies  of  poets — to  the  visions  of  enthusiastic  philanthropists 
— to  the  decisions  of  various  sects  of  philosophers,  or  to  the  codes 
and  enactments  of  olden  times  and  of  fallen  empires ;  but  from  their 
speculations  or  their  decisions  we  can  derive  neither  argument  noi- 
authority. 

Some  of  the  most  dogmatical  of  the  new  schools  of  philosophy 
assume  that  the  sole  end  of  punishment  is  the  reformation  of  the 
offender ;  that  the  murderer  must  be  sent  to  a  school  of  repentance 
and  be  better  educated,  and,  when  properly  instructed  and  honorably 
graduated,  he  shall  have  his  passport  into  the  confidence  of  society, 
and  be  permitted  to  develop  himself  in  the  midst  of  more  favorable 
circumstances.  Such  is  one  of  the  most  popular  substitutes  for  capital 
punishment.  Plato's  favorite  dogmas — that  man  was  made  for  philo- 
sophy, and  not  philosophy  for  man — that  a  perfect  civil  code  would 
make  a  nation  virtuous — and  that  offenders  could  be  reformed  by  wise 
and  benevolent  exhortations — are  not  more  whimsical  and  ridiculous 
than  the  theories  of  such  abolitionists  of  capital  punishment.  They 
are,  indeed,  but  an  ingenious  preface  to  the  Elysian  hell  of  some  Uni- 
versalian  philanthropists,  who  imagine  that  place  of  punishment  to  be 
but  a  portico  to  heaven — a  sort  of  purgatorial  ante-chamber,  in  which 
men  are  to  be  purified  by  gentle  flames  for  an  induction  into  the  inner- 
most sanctuary  of  the  universe. 

We  agree  with  those  who  affirm  that  punishments  ought,  in  all 
cases,  to  be  enacted  and  enforced  with  a  special  regard  to  the  reform- 
ation of  transgressors ;  but  we  cannot  say  with  an  exclusive  regard. 
Emphatic  and  special,  but  not  exclusive,  regard,  should  be  shown  to 
the  reformation  of  the  criminal.  There  must  also  be  a  special  and  a 
supreme  regard  to  the  safety  of  the  state,  and  the  protection  of  the 
innocent  and  unoffending.  The  laws  of  every  civilized  community 
should  unite  as  far  as  possible  the  reformation  of  the  offender  with  the 
safety  of  the  state. 

But  how  these  two  may  be  best  secured,  is  a  matter  not  yet  agreed. 
A  sentence  of  perpetual  imprisonment  is  no  guarantee  of  protection 


318 


IS  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED 


or  safety  to  the  state.  The  sentence,  in  the  first  place,  may  not  be 
executed.  It  seldom  is,  in  the  case  of  persons  holding  high  places  in 
society.  Governors  sometimes  reprieve.  Political  demagogues,  too, 
will  not  very  conscientiously  demur  at  the  offer  of  many  suffrages  for 
a  gubernatorial  chair,  on  a  private  understanding  that  certain  persons 
■of  influential  connections  sentenced  to  perpetual  imprisonment  shall  on 
their  election  be  pardoned.  But,  further,  it  is  no  guarantee  that  the 
monster  who  has  been  guilty  of  one  murder  may  not  murder  some 
of  his  attendants  or  fellow-prisoners  in  hope  of  escape,  or  that  he  may 
not  fire  his  prison  or  in  some  way  elope.  He  may  be  confined  for  life, 
and  yet  may  again  perpetrate  the  same  foul  crime.  Are  there  not 
numerous  instances  of  this  kind  on  record?  And  has  not  the  pro- 
fessedly reformed  and  pardoned  criminal  at  times  been  guilty  of  a 
second,  and  sometimes  of  a  third,  murder  ?  Such  instances  have  been 
known  in  our  own  country  and  in  our  own  memory.  A  sentence  of 
perpetual  confinement  is  not  an  adequate  security  against  a  murderer, 
in  any  view  that  can  be  taken  of  it.  Society  demands  a  higher 
pledge  of  safety — a  more  satisfactory  guarantee.  It  demands  the  life 
of  the  murderer. 

And,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  we  affirm  the  conviction  that  the  cer- 
tainty of  death  is,  upon  all  the  premises,  the  most  efficient  means  of 
reformation.  When — I  do  not  say  the  unfortunate,  (a  name  too  full 
of  sophistry,  though  unfortunate  he  may  be,)  but — the  malignant  and 
wicked  murderer  has  been  tried,  convicted  and  sentenced  to  die  after 
the  lapse  of  so  many  days  or  weeks,  when  all  hope  of  pardon  is  forever 
gone,  then  evangelical  instruction  is  incomparably  more  likely  to  effect 
a  change  than  are  the  chances  of  a  long  or  short  life  within  the  walls 
of  a  penitentiary.  It  is,  therefore,  I  must  think,  more  rational  and 
humane,  whether  we  consider  the  safety  of  the  state  or  the  happiness 
of  the  individual,  to  insist  that  the  sentence  of  death  be  promptly  and 
firmly  executed. 

So  we  reason  against  the  assumptions  of  those  who  would  abolish 
capital  punishment,  on  the  ground  that  all  punishment  should  be  for 
the  salvation  of  the  transgressor,  and  that  his  imprisonment  for  life, 
or  till  evident  reformation,  is  an  ample  pledge  for  the  safety  and 
security  of  the  state. 

They  reason  as  illogically  against  capital  punishment  who  assume 
that  imprisonment  for  life  is  a  greater  punishment  than  death.  Satan, 
more  than  three  thousand  years  ago,  reasoned  more  logically  than  they. 
He  then  argued  in  the  face  of  high  authority,  on  the  trial  of  a  very 
distinguished  person,  that  a  man  would  give  the  world  for  his  life. 


BY  DIVINE  AUTHORITY? 


319 


*'Skin  for  skin,  all  that  a  man  hath,"  said  the  devil,  "will  he  give  for 
his  life." 

I  am  reminded  of  one  of  the  fables  of  ^sop  in  the  only  speech  I 
ever  read  in  favor  of  capital  punishment,  so  far  as  my  memory  bears 
witness.  The  writer,  in  disproof  of  the  assumption  that  imprisonment 
for  life  is  a  greater  punishment  than  death,  adduces  the  following 
fable: — "^sop  has  finely  satirized  the  prevalent  disposition  to  com- 
plain of  life  as  a  burden  when  we  are  oppressed  by  the  ills  to  which 
humanity  is  heir.  We  are  all  familiar  with  the  fable  of  the  poor  man 
who  was  groaning  under  the  weight  of  the  fagots  which  he  was  carry- 
ing to  his  home.  Weary  and  exhausted,  he  threw  his  load  from  his 
shoulders,  sat  down  by  the  wayside,  and  loudly  invoked  Death  to 
come  and  relieve  him  from  his  misery.  Instantly  the  greedy  tyrant 
stood  before  him,  and,  with  uplifted  dart,  inquired,  'What  wouldst 
thou  have  with  me?'  'Good  Death,'  exclaimed  the  poor  man,  in  ter- 
rified amazement,  'I  want  thee  to  help  me  get  this  bundle  of  sticks 
upon  my  back.'  The  fable  needs  no  interpreter.  Its  moral  is  ob- 
vious."* Were  imprisonment  for  life  a  severer  punishment  than  death, 
it  would  not  be  lawful  to  exact  it,  so  far  as  the  divine  law  indicates  what 
is  just  and  equal.  l^Teither  the  lex  talionis,  nor  the  Bible,  nor  right 
reason,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  would  authorize  any  punishment  severer 
than  death. 

But  we  can  very  sincerely  sympathize  with  many  good  men  in  their 
aversion  to  capital  punishment  for  any  other  crime  than  murder.  In- 
deed, much  of  the  excitement  and  indignation  against  capital  punish- 
ment arises  from  two  sources : — the  many  crimes  that  have  been 
judged  worthy  of  death;  and  the  fact  that  the  innocent  sometimes 
sufier  while  the  guilty  escape.  In  noticing  the  various  topics  from 
which  men  reason  against  the  justice  of  demanding  life  for  life,  our 
design  is  to  show  how  doubtful  and  inconclusive  all  mere  human 
reasonings  and  statutes  on  this  subject  must  be,  rather  than  to  enter 
into  a  full  investigation  of  all  that  may  be  alleged  from  these  sources 
of  reason  and  argumentation. 

We  cheerfully  admit  that  our  criminal  code  is  not  in  unison  with  the 
spirit  of  the  age,  nor  with  the  presiding  genius  of  European  and 
American  civilization.  Christian  justice,  humanity  and  mercy  have, 
indeed,  in  some  countries,  and  in  none  more  than  in  our  own,  greatly 
modified  and  improved  political  law  and  political  justice. 


*  Rev.  Dr.  Berg,  as  reported  in  the  Philadelphia  "  Saturday  American"  for  December 
!2,  1845. 


320 


IS  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED 


Public  opinion  lias  for  more  than  a  century  been  vacillating  between 
two  extreme  systems  of  punishment — one  of  which  punishes  more  than 
a  hundred  varieties  of  offence  with  death,  while  the  other  inflicts  death 
on  no  transgressor  for  any  crime  whatever.  During  the  reign  of  san- 
guinary law  in  England,  as  Blackstone  very  correctly  observes,  "  It  is 
a  melancholy  truth,  that  among  the  variety  of  actions  which  men  are 
daily  liable  to  commit,  no  less  than  a  hundred  and  sixty  have  been 
declared,  by  act  of  Parliament,  to  be  felonies  without  benefit  of  clergy ; 
or,  in  other  words,  to  be  worthy  of  instant  death.  So  dreadful  a  list," 
adds  the  learned  jurist,  ''instead  of  diminishing,  increases  the  number 
of  offenders." 

Such  a  criminal  code  was,  indeed,  very  likely  to  lead  to  another 
extreme.  It  has,  therefore,  been  yielding  in  severity  to  the  more 
humane  genius  of  modern  civilization.  The  human  mind,  ocean-like, 
has  its  ebbings  and  its  flowings,  its  high  tides  and  its  low  tides,  on  all 
exciting  subjects.  Time  was  when  an  Englishman  forfeited  his  life 
for  a  very  paltry  theft — for  the  mere  purloining  of  twelvepence  ster- 
ling. That  there  ought  to  be  a  correspondence  between  offences  and 
their  punishment,  is  an  oracle  of  reason  and  justice,  so  obvious  to  a]l, 
that  it  may  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  a  primary  truth — a  sort  of  sel  f- 
evident  proposition,  that  needs  only  to  be  stated  to  any  person  of  re- 
flection to  secure  his  immediate  assent. 

"We  advocate  a  discriminating  tariff  of  penalties  and  punishments, 
not  for  the  sake  of  revenue  alone,  but  for  the  sake  of  protecting  inno- 
cence and  virtue.  We  have  no  faith  either  in  the  justice  or  expediency 
of  a  horizon  tnl  tariff,  awarding  one  and  the  same  punishment  to  each 
and  to  every  one  of  a  hundred  crimes.  We  would  not  hang  one  man 
for  stealing  a  shilling,  and  inflict  the  same  punishment  for  treason 
sacrilege,  rape  or  murder.  We  believe  in  the  scriptural  phrasey, 
''worthy  of  stripes,"  "worthy  of  a  sorer  punishment,"  and  "worthy  of 
death."  These  forms  of  speech  occur  in  both  Testaments,  but  more 
frequently  in  the  New  than  in  the  Old.  They  are  phrases  from  which 
a  sound  and  irrefutable  argument  in  support  of  capital  punishment 
may  be  deduced,  and  which  no  one  opposed  to  it  will  dare  on  any  occa- 
sion to  employ. 

With  the  profound  Montesquieu,  I  argue  that  "  the  severity  of  laws 
prevents  their  execution;  and,  therefore,  whenever  punishment  tran- 
scends reasonable  limits,  the  public  will  not  unfrequently  prefer  impunity 
to  inhumanity  or  to  excessive  punishment."  Nay,  with  a  greater  than 
Montesquieu,  I  believe  that  an  eye  should  not  be  taken  for  a  tooth,  nor 
a  few  years'  imprisonment  for  a  man's  whole  life. 


BY  DIVINE  AUTHORITY? 


321 


The  penal  code  of  every  community  should  be  an  index  of  its  moral 
aense  and  of  its  moral  chai-acter.  It  ought  to  be  regarded  as  a  licensed 
exposition  of  its  views  upon  the  comparative  criminality  and  malignity 
of  every  action  affecting  the  life,  the  liberty,  the  character  or  the 
prosperity  of  its  citizens, — a  polished  mirror  from  which  may  be 
reflected  upon  its  own  citizens  and  upon  the  world  at  large  a  nation's 
intelligence,  moral  taste  and  moral  excellency.  Should  it  affix  the 
same  punishment  to  various  and  numerous  offences,  irrespective  of 
their  grade  in  criminality,  it  will  confound  and  bewilder  the  moral 
perceptions  of  the  people,  and  exhibit  to  the  world  a  very  fallacious 
test  of  the  comparative  atrocity  and  malignity  of  human  actions. 

It  may,  indeed,  be  assumed  that  all  sins  are  equally  violations  of  the 
law  of  God — equally  dishonorable  to  his  majesty — equally  obnoxious  to 
his  displeasure — and,  therefore,  equally  to  be  punished.  But  be  this 
view  abstractly  right  or  wrong,  it  is  alien  to  our  subject;  for  it  is  only 
with  sin  as  it  respects  man  in  its  injurious  tendency  that  human  legis- 
lation and  human  punishment  have  to  do.  The  Lord  has  reserved  to 
himself  the  right  to  punish  sin  as  committed  against  himself,  and 
has  delegated  to  man  the  authority  to  punish  sin  only  in  so  far  as  it  is 
frausrht  with  evils  to  the  human  race.  In  this  view  alone  are  sins 
to  be  estimated  more  or  less  atrocious,  and  more  or  less  severely  to  be 
punished.  The  doctrine  of  sound  reason,  as  well  as  that  of  revelation, 
is,  "  that  every  transgression  and  disobedience  of  the  divine  law  should 
receive  a  just  and  adequate  recompense  of  reward." 

From  such  considerations  and  reasonings  as  these,  we  would  advo- 
cate a  scale  of  punishments  in  harmony  with  the  most  correct  views  of 
the  criminality  and  wickedness  of  human  actions,  rising  up  to  capital 
punishment  only  in  the  case  of  wilful  and  deliberate  murder,  not  to  be 
extenuated  in  any  case  by  passion,  intemperance,  or  any  temptation 
whatsoever.  To  obviate  the  exception  not  unfrequently  taken  to 
capital  punishment  on  the  ground  that  sometimes  the  innocent  may 
suffer  while  the  guilty  escape,  might  there  not  be  such  legal  pro- 
visions as  would  prevent  the  possibility  of  any  one  being  convicted 
without  such  strength  of  testimony  and  proof  of  guilt  as  would  not 
leave  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  ?  We  doubt  not  the  practicability  of  such 
a  provision. 

Thus  we  reason  with  those  who  reason  from  their  conceptions  of  the 
congruity,  expediency  and  rational  propriety  of  human  theories  and 
codes  as  respects  penal  statutes  in  general,  and  capital  punishment  in 
particular.  Should  we,  then,  claim  no  more  authority  for  our  reason- 
ings than  those  who  differ  from  us  claim  for  theirs,  (though,  of  course, 


322 


IS  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED 


we  suppose  we  have  the  stronger  and  the  better  reasons,)  we  have 
gained  this  point,  that,  in  demurring  to  our  conclusions,  we  must  both 
appeal  to  a  higher  court,  and  await  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Law- 
giver and  Judge  of  the  universe.  This  is  all  we  have  sought  in  these 
preliminary  views  and  reasonings ;  and  certainly  it  will  be  conceded  to 
us  by  those  who  may  dissent  from  the  positions  we  have  already 
assumed. 

In  this  present  erratic  world  there  are  two  ultra  schools  of  philo- 
sophy : — the  one  takes  nothing,  the  other  takes  almost  every  thing,  on 
credit.  With  the  one,  the  fathers  are  wiser  than  their  sons;  with  the 
other,  the  sons  are  wiser  than  their  fathers.  The  antiquity  of  an 
opinion  is  a  passport  to  the  favor  of  one;  the  novelty  of  an  opinion 
secures  for  it  a  favorable  introduction  to  the  confidence  of  the  other. 
The  tendency  of  the  one  school  is  to  a  blind  devotion  ;  that  of  the  other 
to  an  absolute  skepticism.  We  will  not  abide  by  the  decision  of  either 
school.  We  prefer  to  carry  this  question  up  to  a  higher  court — to  a 
Judge  who  perfectly  comprehends  the  whole  constitution  of  man  as  an 
animal,  intellectual  and  moral  being — by  whom  the  fiindamental  laws 
of  the  moral  universe,  and  man  in  all  his  mysterious  and  sublime 
relations  to  that  universe,  are  contemplated — not  in  the  dim  light  of 
time,  but  in  the  clear  and  bright  efi'ulgence  of  a  glorious  and  awful 
eternity.  We,  therefore,  appeal  from  all  human  reasonings  and  from 
all  human  codes  to  the  infallible  decisions  of  that  court  as  registered 
in  the  faithful  records  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  The  question 
before  us  is.  What  2mnishment  does  the  Supreme  Lawgiver  and  Judge 
award  to  the  murderer  ?  This  is  a  mere  question  of  fact,  and  not  of 
a  philosophic  theory.  We  must,  then,  decide  it  by  testimony.  We 
shall,  therefore,  make  a  direct  appeal  to  the  Divine  Eecord,  and 
endeavor  to  find  an  answer  for  it  from  an  induction  of  the  cases  and 
statutes  therein  recorded ;  or,  at  least,  so  many  of  them  as  will  satis- 
factorily indicate  the  Divine  will  on  the  subject. 

The  first  case  in  the  annals  of  time  brought  before  this  court  was 
that  of  Cain,  indicted  for  the  murder  of  his  brother  Abel.  Abel's 
blood,  thus  shed,  in  the  judgment  of  God  called  for  vengeance  on 
him  that  shed  it.  His  words  are,  ''The  voice  of  thy  brother's  blood 
crieth  unto  me  from  the  ground."  He  immediately  added,  ''Thou 
art  cursed  from  the  earth,"  dooming  him  to  become  "  a  fugitive  and  a 
vagabond." 

This  excommunication  beyond  the  pale  of  the  Divine  protection, 
Cain,  understood  to  be  a  license  given  to  any  person  to  kill  him.  His 
language  clearly  indicates  this: — ''It  shall  come  to  pass,"  said  he, 


BY  DIVINE  AUTHORITY? 


323 


*'that  every  one  who  findetli  me  shall  kill  me."  A  single  question 
on  this  case,  it  seems,  might  decide  the  matter :  viz.  Was  this  the  voice 
of  reason,  the  voice  of  conscience,  or  the  voice  of  Grod  ?  Rather,  was  it 
not  the  voice  of  them  all  ?  If  so,  then,  is  not  the  crime  of  murder,  on 
its  first  appearance,  judged  worthy  of  death? 

Does  any  one  doubt  it  ?  Let  him  place  the  matter  before  his  own 
mind  in  the  form  of  a  trilemma.  Either  Cain's  own  natural  reason 
and  conscience,  or  an  antecedent  law,  or  the  sentence  God  pronounced 
upon  him,  decreed  his  death  for  that  crime.  Can  any  one  assign  any 
other  reason  than  some  one  of  these  three  as  extorting  from  Cain  the 
declaration  that  ''every  one  who  findeth  me  will  kill  me"?  The  whole 
three  may,  indeed,  have  conspired  to  produce  the  conviction ;  but  cer- 
tainly some  one  of  them  did ;  and  this  is  enough  to  prove  that,  in  the 
sight  of  God,  his  crime  was  worthy  of  death :  for  none  of  the  three 
could  exist  without  a  revelation  from  God.  Such  was  the  decision  of  the 
first  case.  God,  indeed,  for  reasons  growing  out  of  the  condition  of  the 
world  at  that  period,  was  pleased  to  reprieve  him  for  the  time-being, 
and  gave  him  a  pledge  that  no  one  should  kill  him. 

Some  may  ask,  Why  did  not  God  himself  immediately  kill  Cain, 
seeing  that  his  brother's  blood  called  for  vengeance  ?  To  which  several 
answers  may  be.  given;  such  as — God,  who  knows  the  hearts  of  all 
men,  and  whose  prerogative  it  is  to  show  mercy,  may  have  known  that 
Cain  did  not  intend  to  kill  his  brother,  but  only  to  humble  him ;  or  he 
may  have  judged  it  expedient  to  give  proof  of  his  mercy  in  the  exercise 
of  his  sovereignty  in  the  beginning  of  the  world,  waiting  till  further 
developments  of  the  violence  of  human  passion  would  justify  him 
before  the  universe  in  inflicting  adequate  penalties  upon  transgressors ; 
and  also  in  demonstration  of  another  truth,  viz.  that  a  government 
all  mercy  would  not  promote  the  safety  or  happiness  of  man ;  for  this 
experiment  resulted  in  the  earth's  being  so  filled  with  violence  that 
God  was  finally  constrained  to  punish  the  antediluvians  by  one  common 
death  inflicted  by  his  own  hand.  This  was  capital  punishment  in  the 
superlative  degree. 

What  numerous  and  various  acts  of  violence  characterized  the  ante- 
diluvian world  we  are  not  informed.  What  laws  were  promulged  by 
Divine  authority  we  are  not  told.  But  the  silence  of  antiquity  is  no 
proof  that  such  laws  were  not  enacted.  For,  although  we  have  no 
published  code  of  antediluvian  laws,  we  have  allusions  to  existing 
institutions  which  could  not  have  been  introduced  without  laws.  A 
priesthood,  altars,  victims  and  sacrifices  could  not  have  existed  without 
positive  law.    The  distribution  of  animals  into  clean  and  unclean  with 


324 


IS  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED 


regard  not  to  food,  but  to  sacrifice,  presupposes  very  clear  and  positive 
enactments.  Neither  Abel,  nor  Seth,  nor  Enoch,  could  have  pleased 
God,  or  walked  with  God,  without  law.  The  light  of  nature  could  not 
have  originated  altars,  victims  and  priests.  Indeed,  the  fact  that  the 
earth  was  filled  with  violence,  is  no  inconsiderable  argument  that  the 
will  of  God  had  been  revealed;  for  where  no  law  is,  there  is  no 
transgression. 

But,  besides  what  is  affirmed  of  vengeance  in  the  case  of  Gain,  we 
have,  so  late  as  the  time  of  his  great-great-grandson,  Lamech,  another 
very  direct  reference  to  the  punishment  of  murder.  Lamech,  of  the 
family  of  Cain,  was  the  first  of  polygamists  known  to  history.  His 
wives,  Adah  and  Zillah,  being  apprehensive  of  the  vengeance  threat- 
ened, called  forth  from  him  the  oldest  poem  in  the  world.  It  may 
be  translated  as  follows  : — 

"  Adah  and  Zillah,  hear  my  voice  : 
Wives  of  Lamech,  hearken  to  my  speech ; — 
For  I  have  slain  a  man  for  wounding  me, 
A  young  man  for  having  beaten  ine. 
If  Cain  be  avenged  sevenfold, 
Surely  Lamech  seventy-and-seven." 

This,  being  written  in  hemistichs  in  the  original,  is  generally,  by  the 
learned,  regarded  as  the  oldest  poetry  in  the  literature  of  the  world. 
There  is,  to  my  mind,  but  one  ambiguity  in  the  passage.  It  respects 
the  punctuation  of  the  third  line.  It  may  be  read  interrogatively  or 
indicatively : — either, 

"I  have  slain  a  man  for  wounding  me," 

or, 

<*Have  I  slain  a  man  for  wounding  me, 
A  young  man  for  having  bruised  me  ?" 

Bead  indicatively,  it  intimates  that  Lamech  killed  a  man  in  self- 
defence.  Read  interrogatively,  it  denies  that  he  killed  any  person. 
In  either  case,  he  rebukes  the  evil  forebodings  of  his  wives ;  for  if 
any  one  kiUed  him,  not  being  guilty  of  murder,  sevenfold  vengeance 
would  be  inflicted  upon  him  more  than  on  Cain, — than  which  we 
Ruow  of  nothing  more  terrible.  On  the  above  version  I  may  say  I 
have  the  Jewish  Targums,  Adam  Clarke,  and  other  rabbis  of  dis- 
tinction with  me.  The  whole  case,  taken  complexly,  indicates  that 
death  for  murder  was  the  penalty  affixed  by  the  justice  of  the  ante- 
diluvian world. 

From  this  fragment  of  antediluvian  history,  we  shaU  turn  to  the 


BY  DIVINE  AUTHORITY? 


325 


more  copious  details  of  the  postdiluvian.  It  is  worthy  of  special 
consideration  that  the  first  act  of  legislation  in  the  new  world,  while 
the  whole  human  race  was  in  Noah's  family,  was  an  act  against 
murder.  This  was  a  law  not  for  Jew  or  Qentile — not  for  Egyptian, 
Chaldean,  Greek  or  Roman — but,  being  enacted  before  any  of  them 
existed,  for  the  whole  human  race.  It  was  not  an  act  against  any 
particular  kind  of  murder — such  as  parricide  or  fratricide — but  an  act 
against  murder  simply  on  its  own  account. 

The  occasions  and  circumstances  accompanying  the  enactment  of 
many  laws  are  explanatory  of  them.  These  are  worthy  of  special 
attention.  The  whole  world,  one  household  excepted,  had  been  de- 
stroyed by  the  immediate  hand  of  God.  This  destruction  was  made 
necessary  because  of  the  unparalleled  violence  that  filled  the  earth. 
One  family  was  wholly  destroyed.  This  family  was  that  of  Cain,  to 
which  all  cases  of  murder,  or  of  punishment  for  it,  named  in  the  old 
world,  belonged.  The  earth  being  thus  depopulated,  the  family  of  Cain 
and  of  Lamech  being  wholly  destroyed — to  prevent  the  increase  of 
crime  and  the  necessity  of  a  similar  catastrophe,  God  gave  to  man,  by 
a  positive  and  express  precept,  the  power,  the  authority  and  the  injunc- 
tion to  cut  ofi*  all  murderers. 

The  occasion  of  this  act  of  legislation,  and  the  positive  and  pe- 
remptory terms  in  which  it  is  expressed,  alike  commend  it  to  our 
consideration  and  regard.  It  is  expressed  in  the  following  words : — 
'^At  the  hand  of  every  mans  brother  will  I  require  the  life  of  man. 
Whoso  sheddeth  mans  blood,  by  man  shall  his^blood  be  shed:  for  in 
the  image  of  God  made  he  man."  No  statute  was  ever  more  free  from 
ambiguity,  or  more  intelligible,  than  this  one.  I  never  have  met  with 
one  who  misunderstood  it.  Why,  then,  is  its  Divine  obligation  not 
universally  felt  and  acknowledged  ? 

To  one  unacquainted  with  the  power  of  sympathy,  especially  when 
its  victim  is  seized  with  a  morbid  philanthropy  or  charmed  with  the 
fascinations  of  a  new  theory,  it  will  appear  somewhat  mysterious  how 
a  precept  so  express,  so  authoritative  and  peremptory  could  be  dis- 
posed of  or  evaded.  It  is  done  by  the  magic  of  a  single  assumption : — 
''Christianity  is  more  mild  and  generous  and  philanthropic  than  the 
law  of  Moses."  But  that  this  is  a  provision  of  the  law  of  Moses,  is  an 
assumption  which  rests  on  the  simple  ground  that  Moses  the  lawgiver 
wrote  the  book  of  Genesis.  One  might  as  justly  assume  that  Noah's 
ark  or  Melchizedek's  pontificate  was  a  part  of  the  law  of  Moses,  because 
Moses  is  the  only  person  who  wrote  their  history.  From  the  age  of 
spiritual  Quakerism  unt"  now,  the  abolitionists  of  capital  punishment 


326 


IS  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED 


generally  occupy  this  ground.  As  there  is  no  dispute  about  the  mean- 
ing of  the  precept,  the  only  way  to  dispose  of  it  is  to  locate  it  amongst 
the  Jewish  rites  and  usages  which  have  been  abolished.  But  the  simple 
fact  that  this  precept  was  promulged  in  the  year  of  the  world  1658,  and 
that  Moses  gave  not  the  law  till  the  year  2513 — that  is,  full  eight  hun- 
dred and  fifty-five  years  after — is  a  fact  so  prominent  and  so  indispu- 
table as  to  render  any  other  refutation  of  the  assumption  a  work  of  the 
most  gratuitous  supererogation.  I  wonder  why  the  same  romantic  genius 
that  embodied  with  the  Jewish  code  a  precept  given  to  the  whole  human 
family  almost  a  thousand  years  before  there  was  a  Jewish  nation,  did 
not  also  embody  with  the  same  code,  and  appropriate  to  the  same 
people,  the  right  to  eat  animal  food,  then  for  the  first  time  given  to 
man — the  covenant  of  day  and  night,  of  summer  and  winter,  of  seed- 
time and  harvest,  indicated  and  confirmed  by  the  celestial  arch  which 
God  erected  upon  the  bosom  of  a  cloud  in  token  of  his  ''covenant  with 
all  flesh."  The  constitution  that  guarantees  the  continuance  of  day 
and  night  and  the  seasons  of  the  year  also  secures  and  protects  the 
life  of  man  from  the  violence  of  man,  by  a  statute  simultaneously  pro- 
mulged and  committed  to  the  father  of  the  new  world  for  the  benefit 
of  the  whole  human  race.  Why  not  also  represent  this,  too,  as  doiie 
away,  and  thus  place  the  world  without  the  precincts  of  the  covenanted 
mercies  given  to  Noah  for  his  family  and  recorded  by  Moses  the  man 
of  God  ?  There  is  not,  then,  the  shadow  of  a  reason  for  the  assump- 
tion that  the  present  human  family  is  not  obliged  to  enforce  the 
statute  above  named.  The  right  to  eat  animal  food,  to  expect  the 
uninterrupted  succession  of  seasons,  and  the  obligation  to  put  the 
murderer  to  death,  are  of  equal  antiquity  and  of  the  same  Divine 
authority.  Every  one  claiming  any  interest  in  the  world,  because  of 
his  relation  to  Noah,  and  God's  charter  of  privileges  granted  to  him, 
must  either  show,  by  some  authority  equally  express  and  incontrovert- 
ible, that  God  has  abolished  one  part  of  it  and  perpetuated  the  remainder, 
or  advocate  capital  punishment  upon  Divine  authority. 

But  still  more  convincing  and  decisive  is  the  reason  assigned  by  the 
divine  Author  of  the  statute  commanding  capital  punishment.  It  is  in 
these  words : — "For  in  the  image  of  God  made  he  man."  A  reason, 
indeed,  for  the  statute,  worthy  of  God  to  propound  and  worthy  of  man 
to  honor  and  regard.  Why  a  reason  so  forcible  and  so  full  of  eloquence 
and  authority  could  be  so  frequently  disparaged  by  an  intelligent  and 
Christian  community,  is,  to  my  mind,  indicative  not  merely  of  the  want 
of  piety,  but  of  that  of  humanity  and  self-respect.  The  reason  here 
assignef"  for  this  precept  places  the  crime  of  murder  in  an  entirely  new 


BY  DIVINE  AUTHORITY  ? 


327 


attitude  before  the  mind.  Much,  indeed,  has  been  said  of  this  crime — 
of  its  enormous  dimensions — of  its  moral  turpitude — its  appalling  guilt 
— its  diabolical  malignity ;  but  here  it  is  presented  to  us  as  the  greatest 
insult  which  man  can  offer  to  his  Creator — to  the  Supreme  Majesty  of 
the  universe,  apart  from  all  its  bearings  upon  human  society  and  its 
unfortunate  victim. 

On  one  occasion  the  Messiah  said  of  Satan  that  he  "  was  a  liar  and 
a  murderer  from  the  beginning."  It  is  impossible,  then,  that  we  can 
exaggerate  the  wickedness  and  malignancy  of  murder.  No  one  has 
yet  been  able  to  do  it  justice.  It  desecrates  in  effigy,  and,  as  far  as  the 
impotent  arm  of  flesh  has  power,  destroys,  the  once  brightest  image 
of  the  invisible  and  eternal  God  that  adorns  any  province  of  his  vast 
and  glorious  universe.  Man  is  still  great  in  his  ruins.  Once  the  most 
exact  and  beautiful  similitude  of  the  Great  Original  of  universal  being, 
he  is  still  to  be  reverenced ;  and,  when  renewed  in  the  moral  image  of 
his  Maker,  he  is  to  be  loved  and  admired  not  only  as  the  noblest  work 
of  almighty  power,  but  as  the  special  and  exclusive  object  of  redeeming 
grace  and  mercy.  But  it  is  enough  for  our  present  purpose  to  know 
that  in  making  it  the  duty  of  society  to  avenge  this  crime,  God  makes 
its  dishonor  to  his  own  image  the  paramount  reason  why  the  life  of  the 
murderer  should  be  taken  from  hiiQ.  The  Most  High  does  not  give 
many  reasons  for  his  precepts ;  but,  when  he  gives  one,  it  is  worthy  of 
himself  and  of  the  occasion,  and  claims  the  profound  respect  of  every 
discerning  and  moral  man. 

Before  we  dismiss  this  divine  statute,  which  has  never  been  repealed, 
which  never  can  be  abolished,  we  must  add  one  other  remark,  in  the 
form  of  an  argument  against  the  possibility  of  its  abrogation.  The 
reason  given  for  slaying  the  murderer  is  one  of  perpetual  validity. 
If  it  was  ever  good  and  obligatory,  it  must  always  be  so.  So  long 
as  it  stands  true  that  man  was  created  in  the  image  of  God,  so 
long  it  wiU  bind  every  religious  and  moral  people  to  take  away  the 
life  of  the  murderer.  It  is,  therefore,  of  immutable  and  perpetual 
obligation. 

We  shall  now  briefly  glance  at  the  criminal  code  of  the  Jewish 
nation,  merely  to  see  whether  it  harmonizes  with  the  prominent 
statutes  of  the  postdiluvian,  if  not  of  the  antediluvian,  age.  It  is  often 
very  properly  observed  that  the  Jewish  nation  was  placed  under  a 
theocracy.  Punishment  by  death  was,  under  it,  somewhat  extended 
beyond  the  single  crime  of  murder.  Various  crimes  affecting  human 
life,  endangering  or  implying  murder,  were,  under  the  special  govern- 
fnent  of  God,  amongst  a  people  whose  ecclesiastic  and  political  consti- 


328 


IS  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED 


tutions  were  one  and  the  same,  punishable  by  death.  According  to  the 
latest  and  one  of  the  most  respectable  treatises  yet  written  on  the 
"Elements  of  Moral  Science/'  by  one  of  the  living  ornaments  of 
Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  the  Jewish  code  took  a  proper  view  of 
polity.  For,  as  Mr.  Whewell  very  profoundly  observes,*  "It  is  to  be 
recollected  that  one  requisite  for  our  advancing  towards  a  state  of 
society  so  generally  satisfactory,  is  the  establishment  of  moral  rules  as 
realities ;  and  to  this,  at  present,  there  appears  to  he  no  way  except  by 
making  ignominious  death  the  climax  of  our  scale  of  punishments'' 
It  is,  indeed,  the  climax  of  several  categories  in  the  Jewish  code.  Not 
only  he  that  mortally  smote  a  fellow-citizen,  but  he  that  smote  his 
father  or  his  mother,  whether  mortally  or  not ;  he  that  stole  a  man 
and  sold  him ;  he  that  cursed  his  parents ;  the  reckless  owner  of  an 
animal  that  killed,  when  through  his  neglect  life  was  lost;  all  that 
practised  witchcraft,  blasphemy,  incest,  sodomy,  bestiality,  &c.  were 
deemed  worthy  of  death.  Both  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of  the  Jewish 
code  on  the  subject  of  murder,  and  the  reasons  given  for  exacting  life 
for  life,  demand  our  special  attention :  we  shall  therefore  copy  a  fe\v 
of  the  more  prominent  statutes  of  that  institution. 

The  fullest  summary  of  the  ordinances  concerning  manslaughter  and 
murder,  enjoined  upon  the  Jews,  is  found  in  the  book  of  Numbers, 
with  some  of  the  reasons  annexed,  indicative  of  the  philosophy  of  the 
Divine  requisitions.    We  shall  read  the  whole  passage : — 

9.  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying, 

10.  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  and  say  unto  them,  When  ye 
be  come  over  Jordan  into  the  land  of  Canaan, 

11.  Then  ye  shall  appoint  you  cities  to  be  cities  of  refuge  for  you ; 
that  the  slayer  may  flee  thither  which  killeth  any  person  at  unawares. 

12.  And  they  shall  be  unto  you  cities  for  refuge  from  the  avenger ; 
that  the  manslayer  die  not  until  he  stand  before  the  congregation  in 
judgment. 

13.  And  of  these  cities  which  ye  shall  give,  six  cities  shall  ye  have 
for  refuge. 

14.  Ye  shall  give  three  cities  on  this  side  Jordan,  and  three  cities 
shall  ye  give  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  which  shall  be  cities  of  refuge. 

15.  These  six  cities  shall  be  a  refuge  both  for  the  children  of  Israel, 
and  for  the  stranger,  and  for  the  sojourner  among  them;  that  every 
one  that  killeth  any  person  unawares  may  flee  thither. 

16.  And  if  he  smite  him  with  an  instrument  of  iron  so  that  he  die, 
he  is  a  murderer :  the  murderer  shall  surely  be  put  to  death. 


*  Vol.  ii.  p.  329,  sect.  1058. 


BY  DIVINE  AUTHORITY? 


329 


17.  And  if  he  smite  him  with  throwing  a  stone,  wherewith  he  may 
die,  and  he  die,  he  is  a  murderer :  the  murderer  shall  surely  be  put  to 
death. 

18.  Or  if  he  smite  him  with  an  hand-weapon  of  wood,  wherewith  he 
may  die,  and  he  die,  he  is  a  murderer :  the  murderer  shall  surely  be 
put  to  death. 

19.  The  revenger  of  blood  himself  shall  slay  the  murderer  :  when  he 
meeteth  him  he  shall  slay  him. 

20.  But  if  he  thrust  him  of  hatred,  or  hurl  at  him  by  laying  of  wait, 
that  he  die ; 

21.  Or  in  enmity  smite  him  with  his  hand,  that  he  die;  he  that 
smote  him  shall  surely  be  put  to  death ;  for  he  is  a  murderer :  the 
revenger  of  blood  shall  slay  the  murderer  when  he  meeteth  him. 

22.  But  if  he  thrust  him  suddenly  without  enmity,  or  have  cast  upon 
him  any  thing  without  laying  of  wait, 

23.  Or  with  any  stone,  wherewith  a  man  may  die,  seeing  him  not, 
and  cast  it  upon  him,  that  he  die,  and  was  not  his  enemy,  neither 
sought  his  harm ; 

24.  Then  the  congregation  shall  judge  between  the  slayer  and  the 
revenger  of  blood,  according  to  these  judgments : 

25.  And  the  congregation  shall  deliver  the  slayer  out  of  the  hand 
of  the  revenger  of  blood,  and  the  congregation  shall  restore  him  to  the 
city  of  his  refuge,  whither  he  was  fled;  and  he  shall  abide  in  it  unto 
the  death  of  the  high-priest,  which  was  anointed  with  the  holy  oil. 

26.  But  if  the  slayer  shall  at  any  time  come  without  the  border  of  the 
city  of  his  refuge,  whither  he  was  fled ; 

27.  And  the  revenger  of  blood  find  him  without  the  borders  of  the 
city  of  his  refuge,  and  the  revenger  of  blood  kill  the  slayer ;  he  shall 
not  be  guilty  of  blood ; 

28.  Because  he  should  have  remained  in  the  city  of  his  refuge  until 
the  death  of  the  high-priest ;  but  after  the  death  of  the  high-priest  the 
slayer  shall  return  into  the  land  of  his  possession. 

29.  So  these  things  shall  be  for  a  statute  of  judgment  unto  you, 
throughout  your  generations,  in  all  your  dwellings. 

30.  Whoso  killeth  any  person,  the  murderer  shall  be  put  to  death 
by  the  mouth  of  witnesses :  but  one  witness  shall  not  testify  against 

.any  person  to  cause  him  to  die. 

31.  Moreover,  ye  shall  take  no  satisfaction  for  the  life  of  a  murderer 
which  is  guilty  of  death ;  but  he  shall  be  surely  put  to  death. 

32.  And  ye  shall  take  no  satisfaction  for  him  that  is  fled  to  the  city 
of  his  refuge,  that  he  should  come  again  to  dwell  in  the  land,  until  the 
death  of  the  high-priest. 

33.  So  ye  shall  not  pollute  the  land  wherein  ye  are ;  for  blood  it 
defileth  the  land :  and  the  land  cannot  be  cleansed  of  the  blood  that  is 
shed  therein,  but  by  the  blood  of  him  that  shed  it.  (Num.  ch.  xxxv.) 

The  ordinance  for  erecting  the  cities  of  refuge  and  the  police  under 
which  they  were  placed,  like  every  other  part  of  the  Mosaic  institu- 


330 


IS  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED 


tion,  commend  the  wisdom,  justice  and  benevolence  of  the  Lawgiver 
and  King  of  Israel  Two  great  objects  were  contemplated  and  secured 
by  that  institution — a  refuge  for  the  innocent,  and  a  caveat  against 
manslaughter. 

When  any  one  killed  another  by  mere  accident,  without  any  malice 
or  evil  intent  on  the  part  of  him  that  did  it,  he  was,  when  admitted  into 
any  one  of  these  cities,  legally  secure  against  the  avenger  of  blood. 
The  right  of  avenging  blood,  from  Adam  to  Moses,  during  the  whole 
patriarchal  age,  seems  to  have  been,  with  the  Divine  approbation,  con- 
ferred upon  the  nearest  kinsman  of  the  deceased.  It  is  very  evident, 
not  merely  from  the  silence  of  the  law,  but  from  the  retention  of  the 
ancient  official  name,  that  the  erection  of  these  cities  created  no  officer 
in  the  land  other  than  he  to  whom,  from  the  beginning,  the  duty  had 
belonged.  The  next  in  blood  stiU  retained  the  right  to  avenge  his 
murdered  relative.  These  cities  were,  therefore,  intended  to  protect 
the  innocent  from  rash  and  unjust  executions.  Before  that  time,  the 
altar,  it  appears,  (Ex.  xxi.  14,)  had  been  the  sanctuary  of  refuge  for  the 
unfortunate  manslayer. 

But,  in  the  second  place,  the  cities  of  refuge  were  not  unlike  peni- 
tentiaries, to  which  even  an  innocent  manslayer  was  required,  at  the 
peril  of  his  life,  to  be  confined  until  the  death  of  that  high-priest  under 
whose  administration  the  event  had  taken  place.  This  sometimes  hap- 
pened to  be  for  life.  If  at  any  time  during  the  pontificate  of  the  high- 
priest  he  presumed  to  go  out  of  the  city,  it  was  at  the  hazard  of  his 
life.  This  was  placing  a  new  guard  around  human  life.  A  wise  pro- 
vision, truly,  against  manslaughter  !  He  that  was  so  unfortunate  as  to 
kill  any  person  by  the  veriest  accident,  incurred  two  imminent  risks — 
that  of  being  killed,  before  he  got  into  the  city  of  refuge,  by  the  avenger 
of  blood ;  and,  if  not  killed,  that  of  being  confined  for  years — perhaps 
all  his  life — within  its  walls,  away  from  his  family  and  home. 

But  in  case  of  murder,  whether  premeditated  or  from  the  rage  of 
passion,  the  cities  of  refuge  afibrded  no  asylum  whatever.  On  trial 
and  conviction  the  criminal  was,  in  all  cases,  taken  from  them  and  put 
to  death.  For  the  guilty  murderer  there  was  no  asylum.  If  he 
escaped  the  hand  of  the  avenger  of  blood  while  fleeing  to  the  city,  if, 
perchance,  he  fled  there  for  trial,  he  always  expiated  the  blood  that  he 
nad  shed  by  his  own. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark  how  often  and  with  what  clearness 
and  authority  it  is  promulged — "The  murderer  shall  surely  be  put 
to  death and  again,  The  avenger  of  blood  himself  shall  kill  him 
when  he  meeteth  him."   No  one  will,  I  presume,  after  a  single  reading 


BY  DIVINE  AUTHORITY? 


331 


of  this  statute,  require  any  other  evidence  that  capital  punishment 
was  divinely  ordained  during  the  whole  period  of  Old  Testament 
history — that  it  was  an  essential  part  of  the  Jewish  institution, 
and  during  its  continuance  extended  much  beyond  the  patriarchal 
requisition. 

But  there  is  a  reason  connected  with  these  ordinances  that  demands 
our  special  consideration.  Like  that  given  to  Noah,  it  has  no  respect 
to  time,  place  or  circumstance.  It  belongs  exclusively  to  no  age,  to  no 
nation  or  people.  It  is  a  reason,  too,  why  murder  shall  not  be  par- 
doned, and  why  the  Lord  so  solemnly  and  so  positively  said,  ''You 
shall  take  no  satisfaction  for  the  life  of  a  murderer" — he  must  not  be 
ransomed  at  any  price.  Does  any  one  ask  why  there  should  be  no 
ransom,  no  commutation,  no  pardon  ?  The  answer,  the  reason,  is  one 
of  fearful  import.  It  is  this : — "  The  land  cannot  he  cleansed  of  the 
blood  that  is  shed  therein  but  by  the  blood  of  him  that  shed  it." 
So  God  Almighty  has  ordained  in  his  infinite  wisdom,  justice  and 
benevolence.  It  is  enough.  ITe  has  said  it.  No  tears  of  repentance, 
no  contrition  of  heart,  no  agony  of  soul,  can  expiate  the  sin  of  murder. 
Lebanon  is  not  sufficient,  nor  all  the  beasts  thereof,  to  afi'ord  one  burnt- 
offering  to  cleanse  from  defilement  a  land  polluted  with  the  blood  of  one 
unexpiated  murder.  As  soon  could  the  breath  of  a  mortal  melt  the 
polar  mountains  of  ice,  dissolve  the  Siberian  snows  and  fill  the  dreary 
wastes  with  the  verdure,  the  beauty  and  the  fragrance  of  ancient  Eden, 
as  soon  would  the  sigh  of  remorse  quicken  into  life  the  ashes  of  the 
murdered  dead,  or  a  single  penitential  tear  extinguish  the  fires  of  hell, 
as  any  expiation  or  ablution  of  mortal  hand,  other  than  the  blood  of 
the  murderer,  atone  to  God's  violated  law,  do  honor  to  his  insulted 
majesty  and  purify  the  land  from  the  dark  defilement  of  unavenged 
blood. 

I  cannot  but  tremble  for  our  country,  if  this  be  the  decision  of  the 
Governor  of  nations,  when  I  reflect  upon  the  multitude  that  have  in 
single  combat  sacrificed  each  other,  in  purpose  or  in  fact,  at  the  shrine 
of  a  false  and  factitious  honor ;  and  upon  those  who,  in  the  sullen  rage 
and  malice  of  the  dastardly  assassin,  avenged  their  imaginary  wrongs 
by  the  blood  of  their  fellow-citizens ;  and  upon  those  who  sought  to  con- 
ceal their  infamous  crimes  of  lust  and  passion — of  burglary,  arson  and 
rapine — with  the  blood  of  those  who  might  have  been  witnesses  against 
them ;  I  say,  when  I  reflect  upon  the  hundreds  and  the  thousands  thus 
murdered,  whose  blood  yet  unexpiated  still  pollutes  our  soil,  and 
through  the  vagueness  and  ambiguity  of  our  laws,  the  venality,  cor- 
ruption or  incompetency  of  our  tribunals,  or  the  servility  or  self- 


332 


IS  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED 


willedness  of  our  chief  magistrates,  yet  cries  to  heaven  for  vengeance, 
not  merely  upon  the  head  of  those  that  shed  it,  but  upon  the  Govern- 
ment and  the  people  that  still  suffer  them  to  live,  methinks  I  see  a  most 
portentous  cloud,  dark,  swollen  and  lowering,  surcharged  with  the 
fires  of  divine  indignation,  ready  to  burst  in  accumulated  vengeance 
upon  our  blood-polluted  land. 

But,  in  extenuation  of  our  apathy  or  as  an  apology  for  our  indiffer- 
ence, it  is  sometimes  assumed  that  the  Messiah  has  forever  abolished 
the  bloody  code  of  Moses  and  the  patriarchs,  and  has  preached  a  larger 
benevolence  and  forgiveness  to  the  nations.  What  a  baseless  assump- 
tion !  What  an  outrage  upon  the  character  of  the  Messiah !  True, 
indeed,  he  came  not  to  judge  the  world,  to  act  the  civil  magistrate,  the 
civil  lawgiver,  or  to  assume  regal  authority  over  any  nation  or  people 
of  this  world.  His  kingdom  was  spiritual  and  heavenly.  In  it,  he 
would  not  have  an  eye  for  an  eye,  a  tooth  for  a  tooth,  or  stripe  for 
stripe.  He  would  not  have  his  followers  go  to  law  for  any  violence, 
fraud  or  wrong  inflicted  on  them  on  his  account.  They  might,  indeed, 
sue  those  out  of  his  kingdom  for  civil  wrongs  in  civil  courts,  or  they 
might  consent  to  be  sued  for  unjust  demands  upon  them  in  their 
political  and  civil  relations ;  but  any  wrong,  violence  or  compulsion 
inflicted  on  them  for  their  religion,  their  conscientious  allegiance  to 
him,  they  were  to  endure  cheerfully,  and  rejoice  that  they  were 
counted  worthy  to  suffer  wrong  or  even  shame  for  his  name's  sake. 
But  he  that  hence  argues  for  the  abolition  of  civil  government,  of 
civil  penalties,  or  for  the  abrogation  of  the  statutes  given  to  mankind 
by  God  himself,  founded  on  his  own  perfections  and  the  immutable  re- 
lations of  things,  not  merely  typical  and  adumbrative  in  their  nature, 
but  jurisprudential  and  for  the  safety  of  society,  shocks  all  common 
sense.  As  well  might  we  say  that  morality  and  the  moral  character 
of  God  are  mutable  things.  The  New  Testament  abolished  nothing 
that  was  not  in  its  own  nature  temporal,  local  and  prospective  of  better 
things.  It  enacts  no  civil  statutes.  It  does  not  even  designate  the 
persons  between  whom  the  institution  of  marriage  may  be  consum- 
mated. It  abrogates  nothing  in  the  Old  Testament  that  was  not  sub- 
stantiated in  Christ,  or  that  was  not  peculiar  to  the  twelve  tribes.  But 
we  have  shown  that  the  precept  in  discussion  belonged  not  to  any 
institution,  Patriarchal,  Jewish  or  Christian,  but  to  the  whole  family 
of  man. 

Poes  not  an  apostle  say  that  "  the  law  is  good  if  a  man  use  it  law- 
fully"? Does  he  not  say  that  ''the  law  was  not  made  for  a  righteous 
man,  but  for  the  lawless  and  disobedient :  for  murderers,  man-slayers, 


BY  DIVINE  AUTHORITY? 


333 


man-stealers,  thieves,  liars,  perjured  persons,"  &c.  ?  And  surely  for  all 
these  evil-doers  it  has,  or  ought  to  have,  its  penalties.  In  executing 
these  on  their  proper  subjects  the  law  is  used  lawfully. 

Again,  does  not  Paul  teach  that  the  "  powers  that  be  are  ordained 
of  God"  ? — that  the  magistrate  "  is  his  minister,"  and  that  he  right- 
fully wears  a  sword  not  his  own,  but  God's  ?  And,  in  the  name  of 
reason,  why  have  a  sword  in  the  state,  and  worn  by  the  civil  magis- 
trate, if  it  be  unlawful  or  unchristian  to  put  any  one  to  death  on  any 
account  whatever?  That  would,  indeed,  be  to  ''bear  the  sword  in 
vain ;"  a  thing  which  the  apostles  themselves  would  have  reprobated. 
Christians,  then,  must  remember  that  the  magistrate  is  God's  armed 
minister,  and  that  he  must  be  obeyed  by  every  Christian  man,  not 
merely  through  the  fear  of  his  wrath,  or  of  his  avenging  sword,  but 
for  the  sake  of  a  conscientious  regard  to  God's  authority,  whose 
minister  of  justice  he  is.  The  civil  magistrate  is  now  the  civil 
avenger  of  blood.  Paul  calls  him  "a  messenger  of  wrath  upon  him 
that  doeth  evil." 

There  is  not,  then,  a  word  in  the  Old  Testament  or  the  New  inhi- 
biting capital  punishment,  nor  a  single  intimation  that  it  should  be 
abolished.  On  the  contrary,  reasons  are  given  as  the  basis  of  the  re- 
quisition of  life  for  life,  which  never  can  be  set  aside — which  are  as 
forcible  at  this  hour  as  they  were  in  the  days  of  Cain,  Noah,  Moses 
and  Jesus  Christ.  We  reiterate  the  statute  with  clearer  conviction 
of  its  obligation  and  utility  on- every  consideration  of  the  broad,  deep, 
solid  and  enduring  premises  on  which  it  is  founded : — "  Thou  shalt 
take  (no  ransom)  no  satisfaction  for  the  life  of  the  murderer." — ''He 
that  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed ;  for  in  the 
image  of  God  made  he  man." — "The  land  cannot  be  cleansed  from 
blood  but  by  the  blood  of  him  that  shed  it."  For  this  purpose  the 
magistrate  is  "  God's  minister,  an  avenger,  to  execute  wrath  upon  him 
that  doeth  evil." 

The  necessity,  utility  and  importance  of  capital  punishment,  we  \ 
must  regard,  on  the  premises  already  considered,  as  unequivocally  and 
irrefragably  established,  so  far  as  divine  authority  can  require  or  esta- 
blish any  thing.  And  although  the  most  plain  and  striking  passages, 
found  "in  the  Patriarchal,  Jewish  and  Christian  institutions,  have  been 
adduced  and  partially  considered,  the  half  has  not  been  told,  nor  the 
argument  fully  developed.  A  single  address  on  such  an  occasion  as 
the  present  is  not  sufficient  for  a  subject  so  comprehensive  and  im- 
portant. It  would,  indeed,  require  a  volume  rather  than  one  short 
lecture.    Conscious  of  our  inability  fully  to  discuss  such  a  question 


334 


IS  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED 


on  sucli  an  occasion,  we  shall  therefore  add  but  a  few  remarks 
further. 

It  has  been  said,  not  bv  those  of  old  time,  but  by  those  of  our  time, 
that  the  sixth  precept  of  the  Decalogue,  Thou  shalt  not  kill,"  inhibits 
all  taking  away  of  human  life.  A  sect  of  extreme  pietists  on  Long 
Island,  it  is  reported,  gave  to  the  precept  a  broader  interpretation, 
and  forbade  the  killing  of  any  living  creature  for  food.  They  are  as 
consistent  as  he  who  says  the  precept  "  thou  shalt  not  kilV  prohibits 
capital  punishment.  It  is  the  very  precept  which  calls  for  the  blood 
of  him  that  violates  it. 

Moses  did  not  himself  so  interpret  this  precept ;  for  on  the  very 
day  he  descended  from  the  mount  with  the  autograph  in  his  hand,  he 
commanded  the  sons  of  Levi  to  gird  on  their  swords  and  kill  the 
idolaters  who  had  eaten  and  drunk  and  danced  to  an  idol — of  whom 
DO  less  than  three  thousand  fell  that  day. 

I  introduce  this  case  for  another  purpose — to  repudiate  an  objection 
urged  against  capital  punishment.  It  is  asked,  What  Christian  man, 
or  what  man  of  delicate  moral  sensibility,  could  execute  such  a  sen- 
tence— could  despatch  to  the  judgment-seat  a  criminal  crimsoned  with 
the  blood  of  his  fellow-man  ? 

It  is  not  the  sheriff's  hand — it  is  not  the  sword  of  the  executioner. 
It  is  the  hand  of  God — it  -is  the  sword  of  his  justice  that  takes  away 
that  life  which  he  himself  gave,  because  the  criminal  has  murderously 
taken  away  a  life  which  he  could  not  give. 

Is  the  hand  of  a  man  purer  than  the  hand  of  an  angel  ?  And  who 
was  it  that,  in  one  memorable  night,  passing  through  the  land  of 
Egypt,  by  a  single  stroke  smote  to  death  the  first-born  of  all  the 
realms  of  Pharaoh,  from  the  royal  palace  down  to  the  cottage  of  the 
meanest  serf  that  breathed  upon  "his  soil !  And  who  was  it  that,  on 
another  fatal  night,  while  passing  through  the  camp  of  the  insolent 
Assyrian  chief,  killed  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  thousand  of  his 
most  valiant  men  ?  Was  it  not  an  angel  of  the  Lord  ?  Nay,  rather, 
who  was  it  that  in  the  days  of  Koah  inflicted  with  his  own  hand 
capital  and  condign  punishment  upon  a  world  filled  with  violence  and 
with  blood  ?  Who  was  it  that  rained  down  fire  and  brimstone  from 
the  heavens  on  the  devoted  cities  of  the  Plain,  saving,  as  in  the  former 
case,  but  a  single  family  ?    Was  it  not  the  Lord  himself  in  person  ^ 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  the  father  of  the  faithful,  returning  from 
the  slaughter  of  the  confederate  kings  ? — of  Moses,  as  the  messenger  of 
God,,  slaying  not  merely  a  single  Egyptian,  but  smiting  with  his  rod, 
in  the  depths  -^f  the  Bed  Sea,  the  strength,  the  pride  and  the  glory  of 


BY  DIVINE  AUTHORITY? 


335 


Egypt? — of  Joshua,  the  son  of  ISTun,  destroying  seven  idolatrous 
nations? — of  Samuel,  the  pure  and  pious  Samuel,  hewing  to  pieces 
with  his  own  hand  the  king  of  Amalek  ? — of  David  and  his  hundred 
battles  ?  Time  would  fail  me  to  name  all  the  instances  in  which  God 
has  made  the  purest,  the  holiest  and  the  best  of  men,  as  well  as  angels, 
the  executioners  of  his  justice.  I  shall  mention  another  case — the 
case  of  Joab — one  that,  before  I  understood  the  statutes  of  the  Lord 
on  the  subject  of  murder,  often  perplexed  me.  There  lay  king  David, 
the  beloved  of  his  God,  on  the  bed  of  death;  and  while  making  his 
last  will  and  testament,  he  remembered  Joab — the  brave,  the  valorous, 
the  mighty  Joab — than  whom  no  king  could  boast  of  a  truer  friend 
or  a  greater  or  more  successful  general — his  own  kinsman,  too — his 
own  sister's  son.  He  names  him  to  his  son  Solomon,  his  successor  of 
the  sceptre  of  Israel.  And  what  is  his  will  concerning  Joab  ?  What 
honors  or  rewards  has  he  in  store  for  him  ?  Hearken  to  his  words  : — 
"  Solomon,  my  son — thou  knowest  also  what  Joab,  the  son  of  Zeruiah, 
did  to  me,  and  what  he  did  to  the  two  captains  of  the  hosts  of  Israel : 
to  Abner,  the  son  of  Ner,  and  to  Amasa,  the  son  of  Jether,  whom  he 
slew,  and  shed  the  blood  of  war  in  peace,  and  put  the  blood  of  war 
upon  his  girdle  that  was  about  his  loins,  and  in  the  shoes  that  were 
upon  his  feet.  Do,  therefore,  according  to  thy  wisdom,  and  let  not  his 
hoary  head  go  down  to  the  grave  in  peace."  So  willed  the  dying 
David.  And  what  did  Solomon  his  son  ?  There  was  no  city  of  refuge 
for  Joab,  but,  flying  into  the  tabernacle  and  taking  hold  of  the  horns 
of  the  altar,  Joab  said,  "Here  will  I  die."  And  what  said  the  king? 
"  Go,  Benaiah,  do  as  he  hath  said.  Fall  upon  him  and  bury  him,  that," 
adds  the  king,  thou  may  est  take  away  the  innocent  blood  which  Joab 
shed  from  me  and  from  the  house  of  my  father."  Was  there  ever  such 
a  comment  on  such  a  text  as  the  following? — "The  land  cannot  be 
cleansed  of  the  blood  that  is  shed  therein,  but  by  the  blood  of  him 
that  shed  it." 

But  we  have  yet  a  stronger  case — the  case  of  David's  son  and 
David's  Lord.  His  words  are  oracles  from  which  there  is  no  appeal ; 
his  example  is  an  argument  to  which  there  is  no  response.  Is  he,  or  is 
he  not,  on  the  side  of  capital  punishment  ?  While  on  earth  he  was  a 
saviour.  In  heaven  he  is  now  a  king.  Hereafter  he  will  appear  in 
the  character  of  a  judge  and  an  avenger.  We  ask  not  what  he  will 
do  then  in  finally  and  eternally  punishing  the  impenitent.  We  ask 
not  what  he  did  while  on  earth  as  a  Saviour;  for  then  "he  came  to 
save  men's  lives,  and  not  to  destroy."  But  we  ask.  What  did  he  do 
when  he  became  king,  when  exalted  to  be  the  prince  and  the  governor 


336 


IS  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED 


of  the  universe?  He  intimated  the  leading  principles  of  his  govern- 
ment before  he  was  crowned  Lord  of  all,  to  those  Jews  who  were  intent 
on  his  destruction.  "  I  will/'  said  he,  send  you  prophets,  wise  men 
and  scribes.  Some  of  them  you  will  kill  and  crucify,  others  you  will 
scourge  in  your  synagogues  and  persecute  from  city  to  city,  that  upon 
you  may  come  all  the  righteous  blood  shed  upon  the  earth,  from  the 
blood  of  Abel  to  the  blood  of  Barachias,  whom  ye  slew  between  the 
temple  and  the  altar.  Verily,  I  say  to  you,  all  these  things  shall  come 
on  this  generation."  Did  he  when  king  execute  this  threat?  Ask 
Josephus,  Tacitus  and  a  hundred  other  witnesses.  As  governor  of  the 
world,  he  despatched  Titus  with  a  Koman  army,  and  laid  siege  to 
Jerusalem  and  other  cities  in  Judea.  In  the  whole  of  these  various 
wars  and  sieges — in  the  destruction  of  the  city  and  the  temple,  he 
killed  more  than  one  million  of  the  rebellious  Jews,  and  sent  the  re- 
mainder into  exile.  But  this  is  not  the  only  case.  It  is  but  the  first 
one  of  notoriety  in  his  reign  of  justice.  Ever  since  he  ascended  the 
throne  his  promise  is,  "  All  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish  with  the 
sword."  As  king  of  nations  and  governor  of  the  world,  he  executes 
wrath  by  his  ministers  of  justice"  upon  wicked  men  and  nations,  in 
the  temporal  punishments  v/hich  he  awards.  According  to  king  David, 
in  the  second  Psalni;  when  the  Messiah  should  be  placed  as  king  on 
Mount  Zion,  he  was  to  "  rule  the  nations  with  a  rod  of  iron,  and  to 
break  them,  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel."  This  he  has  already  done 
in  more  than  one  instance,  and  will  yet  do  in  many  more.  But  he 
does  it  not  in  person,  but  by  his    ministers."    Still,  he  does  it. 

It  being  evident,  as  we  suppose,  that  capital  punishment  is  not  only 
countenanced  by  innumerable  Biblical  precedents,  but  that  it  is  also 
most  positively  enjoined  upon  all  persons  to  whom  God  has  revealed 
his  will,  who  are  intrusted  with  the  government  of  the  world,  we  shall 
henceforth  regard  it  as  a  divine  precept  and  requisition,  to  which  we  are 
bound  to  yield  our  cordial  assent;  not  because  it  chances  to  fall  in  with 
our  theories  of  what  is  expedient,  useful  or  consonant  to  the  genius 
of  our  age  and  government,  but  because  of  the  supreme  authority  that 
enacts  it — because  it  is  a  decree  of  the  King  of  the  universe,  the 
ultimate  Judge  of  the  living  and  the  dead,  and  because  he  himself  has 
practised  it,  and  still  continues  to  practise  it,  as  moral  governor  of  the 
world. 

Though  not  disposed  to  appear  paradoxical,  I  hesitate  not  to  avow 
the  conviction  that  the  divine  ordinance  is  as  merciful  as  it  is  just — that, 
for  example,  it  was  most  humane  and  merciful  on  the  part  of  David  to 
command  his  son  Solomon  to  take  away  the  life  of  Joab.    I  cite  this 


BY  DIVINE  AUTHORITY? 


337 


case  and  avow  this  conviction,  for  the  sake  of  those  opposers  of  capital 
punishment,  who,  under  the  pretence  of  a  more  refined  and  enlarged 
philanthropy,  are,  nowadays,  declaiming  both  eloquently  and  impas- 
sionedly  against  capital  punishment  because  of  its  alleged  cruelty  and 
inhumanity.  That  those  who  thus  inveigh  against  it  are  philanthropic 
in  purpose  and  feeling,  I  doubt  not.  But  that  they  are  so  in  fact,  is 
not  quite  so  evident. 

In  seeking  to  abolish  capital  punishment,  do  they  not  divest  human 
life  of  one  of  its  main  pillars  of  defence?  In  all  countries,  and,  I 
believe,  in  all  ages,  murders  increase  and  diminish  in  the  ratio  of  the 
certainty  or  uncertainty  of  the  exaction  of  life  for  life.  It  must,  in 
ihe  nature  of  things,  be  so.  Every  thing  is  safe  or  unsafe  as  it  is 
guarded  or  not  guarded  by  education — by  law — by  the  magnitude  and 
certainty  or  uncertainty  of  rewards  and  punishments.  In  abolishing 
capital  punishment,  the  main  bulwark  against  the  perpetration  of 
murder  falls  to  the  ground.  The  broad  shield  of  a  nation's  safety 
and  defence  from  violence  and  blood  is  broken  to  pieces,  and  the 
honorable  and  virtuous  citizen,  naked  and  defenceless,  left  exposed  to 
the  murderous  assaults  of  malice  and  envy.  Of  what  avail  is  the  bare 
possibility  of  a  punishment  infinitely  less  than  the  injury  inflicted  on 
the  individual  and  the  state, — enfeebled,  too,  as  it  must  be,  by  a  hun- 
dred  chances  of  escape  against  one  of  apprehension  and  conviction  ? 
Who  could  feel  himself  safe  under  a  government  where  there  is  no 
protection  of  his  life  against  the  furious  passions  which  not  unfrequently 
display  themselves  in  the  most  appalling  forms,  in  some  of  those  ter- 
rific monsters  with  which  human  society  more  or  less  abounds?  Exile, 
confinement  in  prisons  or  workhouses,  are  to  such  demons  as  an  act 
of  Congress  to  a  South  American  tiger,  or  as  the  stubble  to  Job  s 
Leviathan. 

In  saving  a  murderer  from  death,  through  a  morbid  compassion, 
Bociety  acts  with  more  indiscretion  than  the  fabled  husbandman  who, 
in  commiseration,  carried  home  to  his  hearth  a  congealed  serpent, 
which,  when  warmed  into  life,  fatally  struck  the  children  of  its  bene- 
factor. In  saving  from  the  penalty  of  God's  law  a  single  murderer, 
society  sins  against  itself,  as  well  as  against  God,  and  occasions,  or 
may  occasion,  the  destruction  of  one  or  more  of  its  citizens.  If  every 
one  convicted  of  murder  in  any  of  its  varigus  forms  was  infallibly 
put  to  death,  can  any  intelligent  citizen  imagine  that  crimes  oi 
this  sort  would  not  rather  diminish  than  increase  ?  The  strong  pro- 
bability of  escape  disarms  every  legal  punishment  of  its  terror  to" 
«vil-doers. 

22 


338 


IS  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED 


It  has  been  observed  that  murder  and  robbery  more  frequently 
accompany  each  other  in  all  states  that  punish  the  robber  as  well  as 
the  murderer  by  death,  than  in  those  that  never  visit  theft  or  high- 
way-robbery with  capital  punishment.  As  true  it  is  that  in  those 
states  where  murder  is  very  seldom  punished  with  death,  the  crime,  so 
far  as  my  reading  and  observation  go,  is  more  frequently  perpetrated 
than  in  those  states  in  which  its  proper  punishment  is  much  more 
certain.  We  cannot,  therefore,  but  think  that  the  court  of  Judge 
Lynch  would  not  have  held  its  sessions  so  frequently  in  late  years,  had 
it  not  been  that  other  courts  so  often  failed  to  hold  their  sessions,  with 
that  certainty  of  capital  punishment  for  capital  offences  which  right 
reason,  human  prudence  and  God's  holy  law  so  clearly  and  authorita- 
tively demand.  We  cannot  but  trace  the  present  appalling  increase 
of  murders  in  our  country  to  those  morbid  philanthropists  who,  in  the 
form  of  judges,  juries  and  chief  magistrates,  in  these  days  of  new 
theories,  experiments,  and  irreverence  for  God's  law  and  authority, 
are  ever  and  anon  making  void  our  laws,  lame  though  they  be,  by 
suffering  the  convicted  murderer  to  live. 

The  master-spirits  of  France,  now,  and  at  former  times,  have  been 
much  addicted  to  theorize  against  capital  punishment.  Robespierre 
in  early  life  published  a  treatise  against  capital  punishment,  but  when 
he  rose  to  power,  he  became  the  presiding  genius  of  the  guillotine. 
Strange  that  such  a  theory  should  have  been  popular  in  France  before 
the  reign  of  terror  began  !  France,  however,  is  not  the  only  country 
that  has  theorized  against  the  Bible  and  its  justice.  Nor  is  it  the 
only  one  that  suffers  for  it.  Indeed,  all  states  that  have  more  or  less 
theorized  against  capital  punishment  have  been  signally  punished  by 
an  increase  of  the  crime.    In  truth,  it  is  as  some  poet  says — 

"Mercy  murders  in  pardoning  him  that  kills." 

The  protection  and  safety  of  human  life  is  the  first  and  paramount 
concern  of  every  intelligent  and  moral  community  on  earth.  The  first 
statute  ever  enacted  by  the  heavenly  Father  in  the  present  world,  as 
before  observed,  was  a  statute  for  preserving  life.  I  am  not  singular, 
I  hope,  in  judging  of  the  civilization  of  every  community  by  the  care 
it  takes  of  human  life.  May  not  the  religious  and  moral  character  of  a 
community  be  very  fairly  estimated  by  the  value  it  puts  upon  human 
life,  and  the  care  it  takes  of  it,  as  indicated  in  its  statute-books,  its 
courts  of  justice,  its  general  police,  and  its  numerous  and  various  means 
of  defence  against  the  accidents  and  dangers  which  may  imperil  it  ? 
And  T^ay  not  these  be  learned  from  its  public  highways,  its  public 


BY  DIVINE  AUTHORITY? 


339 


conveyances,  its  public  buildings,  and  from  the  character  and  capacities 
of  the  officers  to  whose  fidelity  these  great  interests  are  committed,  as 
well  as  from  the  various  exactions  of  service,  and  the  extent  of  the 
penalties  inflicted  upon  them  for  delinquency  or  malfeasance  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  duties  ? 

In  countries  long  settled,  do  we  see  the  public  highways  bordered 
with  dead  trees,  whose  ponderous  and  decaying  branches  are  bending 
over  our  heads  ?  Are  the  streams  that  cross  them  unbridged,  or,  if 
bridged,  are  these  bridges,  decayed  and  dilapidating  under  the  wasting 
hand  of  time,  permitted  to  betray  the  unwary  traveller  into  danger  ? 
Are  their  dread  precipices  unwalled,  their  deep  ravines  uncovered, 
their  miry  sloughs  unpaved  ?  Are  their  public  conveyances  by  land 
and  sea,  by  lake  and  river,  uncomfortable  or  unsafe,  as  far  as  science 
^  or  art  can  promote  either  safety  or  comfort  ?  If  so,  must  we  not 
regard  such  a  people  as  imperfectly  educated — as  but  partially  civilized 
— ^as  essentially  defective  in  the  pure  and  excellent  morality  of  the 
Christian  religion  ? 

If  the  Lawgiver  of  the  Universe,  when  acting  as  King  of  Israel, 
ound  that  man  guilty  of  blood  on  the  roof  of  whose  house  there  was 
no  defence  against  falling  over,  when  it  became  necessary  to  walk  upon 
it — if  he  said  to  every  subject  of  his  kingdom,  When  thou  buildest 
house,  then  shalt  thou  make  a  battlement  for  thy  roof,  that  thou 
bring  not  blood  upon  thy  house,  should  any  man  fall  from  thence," — 
and  if  he  held  every  man  liable  for  the  damage  accruing  from  a  pit 
which  he  had  digged  and  left  uncovered,  what  should  we  think  of 
those  Christian  philanthropists  that  pay  so  little  regard  to  the  life  of 
man  as  not  only  to  subject  him  to  all  the  dangers  of  bad  roads,  bad 
bridges,  bad  coaches,  bad  boats,  and  bad  officers,  but,  when  his  Hfe  is 
taken  by  the  hand  of  a  duellist  or  an  assassin,  extenuate  the  offence, 
and  abolish  the  proper  punishment,  and  allow  this  wretch  again  to  go 
at  large  and  hazard  other  deeds  of  violence  and  blood  ? 

In  conclusion,  we  would  only  ask,  who  can  form  a  just  estimate  of  the 
value  of  the  life  of  one  man,  either  to  himself  or  to  society  ?  No  one 
Uves  or  dies  to  himself  alone/  The  unhappy  victim  of  a  murderers 
rear  or  hate  has  not  only  lost  his  life,  but  the  world  has  lost  it  too. 
And  what  is  life?  Ay,  what  is  life,  to  its  possessor,  to  his  relatives, 
to  his  country  and  to  the  world?  How  much  would  he  himself  take 
for  it  ?  Ask  not  the  princes  and  the  nobles  of  the  earth  in  the  morn- 
ing of  life — in  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  honors,  pleasures  and  posses- 
sions of  earth  that  imagination  can  body  forth,  or  passion  can  desire. 
Ask  not  the  men  of  genius,  who  dwell  in  enchanted  palaces,  who  drinV 


340 


IS  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  SANCTIONED 


the  pleasures  of  imagination  from  the  purest  and  the  loftiest  fountaini 
of  creation.  Ask  not  poets,  orators  and  philosophers,  who  find  a 
heaven  in  the  admiration  of  their  contemporaries,  and  an  eternal 
reward  in  the  worship  and  envy  of  posterity.  Ask  not  the  military 
chieftain,  returning  from  the  field  of  blood,  flushed  with  the  victories 
he  has  won,  and  crowned  with  the  laurels  of  a  hundred  battles.  But 
ask  that  poor,  old,  decrepit  galley-slave,  who  has  seen  his  fourscore 
years,  what  posthumous  fame  he  would  accept,  what  sum  of  money 
would  satisfy  him,  for  the  pittance  of  days  that  might  yet  be  allotted  to 
him.  One's  life  might  be  safely  staked  on  it,  that  neither  the  wealth 
of  a  Croesus  nor  the  fame  of  a  Napoleon  would  be  accepted  by  him  for 
his  chances  of  another  year. 

Again,  what  immense  stakes  has  society  in  the  lives  of  some  men ! 
What  great  interests  are  often  wrapped  up  in  the  life  of  a  single  indi- 
vidual !  It  is  not  the  interest  of  one  city,  one  state,  or  one  empire ; 
it  is  not  the  interest  of  one  age  or  of  one  generation  of  men ;  but  the 
interests  of  a  world,  and  of  ages  yet  to  come,  that  sometimes  provi- 
dentially hang  upon  the  life  of  a  single  individual.  Let  any  one  con- 
versant with  the  history  of  the  last  three  or  four  centuries  consider 
how  much  interest  had  the  world  in  a  few  individuals — in  such  men 
as  Christopher  Columbus,  Martin  Luther,  Sir  Francis  Bacon,  Sir 
Isaac  Newton,  Benjamin  Franklin,  Robert  Fulton,  and  George  Wash- 
ington. Suppose  that  each  of  these  had  met  with  some  Aaron  Burr, 
as  did  Alexander  Hamilton,  (a  name  of  no  inferior  fame  —  whose 
death,  as  a  national  misfortune,  no  living  man  can  estimate :)  what 
would  have  been  the  present  condition  of  the  world  ?  Can  any  man 
form  a  proper  estimate?  Can  any  one  subtract  from  science,  and 
art,  and  society,  the  exact  amount  of  our  indebtedness  to  any  one 
of  them,  much  less  to  them  all  ?  It  is  from  such  a  sacrifice  as  this, 
laid  upon  the  altar  of  the  implacable  demon  of  a  false  honor,  immo- 
lated at  the  promptings  of  malice  and  envy,  that  we  learn  the  demerit 
of  the  murderer — what  the  world  may  lose  by  permitting  him  to  live, 
and  why  the  fiercest  thunderbolts  of  Almighty  wrath  are  treasured 
up  for  him. 

From  this  view  of  the  subject,  (and  who  that  venerates  the  authority 
of  the  Bible  can  reasonably  dissent  from  it?)  may  we  not  entreat 
every  patriot,  philanthropist  and  Christian  in  our  country  to  use  his 
best  endeavors  to  create  a  sound  public  opinion  on  the  obligations 
resting  on  every  State  government  to  exterminate  the  crime  of  murder 
by  a  firm,  persevering  and  uniform  execution  of  the  murderer  according 
to  the  Divine  precept?    Every  one  can  aid  in  this  cause,  more  or  iesa. 


BY  DIVINE  AUTHORITY? 


341 


And  now  is  a  most  important  crisis.  While  so  many  are  for  taking 
away  the  greatest  restraint  and  for  substituting  a  less  one,  under  the 
preposterous  assumption  that  man  is  wiser  than  God,  and  that  a  minor 
punishment  will  be  more  effectual  than  a  greater  one,  it  is  high  time 
that  the  real  friends  of  man  should  speak  out. 

And  should  I  not  more  especially  address  myself  to  the  softer,  more 
sensitive  and  humane  portion  of  my  audience — to  that  sex  to  whose 
soul-subduing  counsels  and  fostering  hands  the  Grod  of  nature  and  of 
society  has  so  wisely  and  kindly  assigned  the  formation  of  human  charac- 
ter, and  to  whose  influence,  direct  and  indirect,  he  has  almost  entirely 
consigned  the  destiny  of  man  under  the  most  endearing  and  fascinating 
of  all  titles  and  associations — those  of  Mother,  Wife  and  Sister  ? 

If  the  ladies  in  this  our  age  of  civilization  will  only  concur  with  us 
in  opinion,  and  lend  their  mighty  aid  in  propagating  right  views  on  this 
subject — if  they  will  combine  their  irresistible  energies  in  this  cause  of 
genuine  humanity,  and  frown  from  their  presence  not  only  the  reckless 
duellist,  but  every  one  who  pleads  his  cause  or  countenances  in  any  way 
his  factitious  code  of  ignoble  honor — if  they  will  forever  discard  from 
their  admiration  and  esteem  every  candidate  for  their  favor  who  is 
known  to  wear  upon  his  person  any  weapon  whatever,  fabricated  with 
a  view  to  violence  against  the  life  of  man — the  mighty  work  is  done. 
Then  may  be  averted  the  vials  of  Divine  indignation  which  must  be 
poured  out  on  every  government  and  country  deaf  to  the  demands  of 
God's  righteous  law  and  regardless  of  the  true  safety  and  happiness  of 
society. 

I  can  only  add  my  earnest  prayer  that  a  timely  repentance  may  dis- 
sipate that  dark  and  portentous  cloud  that  yet  lowers  over  our  beloved 
country;  that  by  a  just  consideration  of  the  dignity  of  man  as  created 
in  the  image  of  God,  the  value  of  human  life  as  respects  the  eternal 
destiny  of  its  possessor,  the  interest  which  the  state  has  in  all  its 
citizens,  the  solemn  requisitions  of  the  Divine  law,  exacting  in  all  cases 
ihe  life  of  the  murderer — those  having  it  in  their  power  to  form,  direct 
and  govern  society  may  perceive  that  it  is  alike  an  oracle  of  reason, 
of  justice  and  of  mercy  that  ''whosoever  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by 
man  shall  his  blood  be  shed, "  and  that,  therefore,  no  ransom  or  sub- 
stitute shall  be  taken  for  the  life  of  the  murderer,  inasmuch  as,  by  th© 
eternal  and  immutable  law  of  God,  ''the  land  cannot  be  cleansed  of  tlie 
olood  that  is  shed  therein  but  by  the  blood  of  him  that  shed  it." 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR 


WHEELING,  VA.,  1848. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : — 

Has  one  Christian  nation  a  right  to  wage  war  against  another  Chns- 
tian  nation  ? 

On  propounding  to  myself,  and  much  more  to  you,  my  respected 
auditors,  this  momentous  question,  so  affecting  the  reputation  and  in- 
volving the  destiny  of  our  own  country  and  that  of  the  Christian  world, 
I  confess  that  I  rather  shrink  from  its  investigation  than  approach  it 
with,  full  confidence  in  my  ability  to  examine  it  with  that  intelligence 
and  composure  so  indispensable  to  a  satisfactory  decision.  With  your 
indulgence,  however,  I  will  attempt,  if  not  to  decide  the  que^ition,  at 
least  to  assist  those  who,  like  myself,  have  often,  and  with  intense  in- 
terest, reflected  on  the  desolations  and  horrors  of  war,  as  indicated 
the  sacrifice  of  human  life,  the  agonies  of  surviving  relatives,  the  im- 
mense expenditures  of  a  people's  wealth,  and  the  inevitable  deteriora- 
tion of  public  morals,  invariably  attendant  on  its  existence  and  career. 
If,  with  Dr.  Dick,  of  Scotland,  we  should  put  down  its  slain  victims  to 
the  minimum  of  14,000,000,000,  or,  with  Burke,  of  Ireland,  at  the 
maximum  of  35,000,000,000,  or  take  the  mean  of  24,500,000,000,  what 
imagination  could  picture  all  the  miseries  and  agonies  inflicted  upon  the 
slain  and  upon  their  surviving  relatives  and  friends  ?  And  who  could 
compute  the  wealth  expended  in  the  support  of  those  immense  armies 
whose  butchered  millions  can  never  be  exactly  computed  ?  If  Great 
Britain  alone,  from  the  revolution  in  1688  to  the  overthrow  of  Napo- 
leon in  1815 — during  her  seven  years'  wars,  occupying  sixty-five  years 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven — expended  the  sum  of  X2,023,000,00(> 
sterling — more  than  $10,100,000,000 — a  sum  much  more  easily  ex- 
pressed than  comprehended  by  even  the  most  accomplished  financier — 
how  can  we  compute  the  aggregate  expenditures  of  all  the  battles 
fought  and  wars  carried  on  during  a  period  of  some  five  thousand 
342 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


343 


years  ?  Yet  these  millions  slain  and  these  millions  expended  are  the 
least  items  in  its  desolations,  to  the  mind  of  an  enlightened  Christian 
philanthropist.  When  we  attempt  to  reflect  upon  one  human  being  in 
the  amplitude  and  magnitude  of  his  whole  destiny,  in  a  world  that  has 
no  limit,  and  also  survey  the  capacities  and  susceptibilities  of  his  nature 
according  to  the  Christian  revelation,  how  insignificant  are  the  tem- 
poral and  passing  results  of  any  course  of  action,  compared  with  those 
which  know  neither  measure  nor  end !  How  important,  then,  it  is 
that,  in  investigating  a  subject  whose  bearings  on  society  arithmetic 
cannot  compute  nor  language  express,  we  approach  it  with  a  candid 
and  unprejudiced  temper,  and  examine  it  with  a  profound  and  concen- 
trated devotion  of  our  minds  to  all  that  history  records,  philosophy 
teaches  and  religion  enjoins  ! 

But,  before  entering  upon  the  proper  examination  of  this  question, 
it  may  be  of  much  importance  to  a  satisfactory  issue  that  we  examine 
the  terms  in  which  it  is  expressed.  More  than  half  the  discussions 
and  controversies  of  every  age  are  mere  logomachies,  verbose  wrang- 
lings  about  the  terminology  of  the  respective  combatants ;  and  more 
than  half  the  remainder  might  be  compressed  into  a  very  diminutive 
Bize,  if,  in  the  beginning,  the  parties  would  agree  on  the  real  issue,  on 
the  proper  terms  to  express  and  define  them. 

As  pubHc  faith  or  commercial  credit,  founded  upon  an  equivocal 
currency,  on  its  exposure  suddenly  shrinks  into  ruinous  dimensions,  at 
once  blighting  the  hopes  and  annihilating  the  fortune  of  many  a  bold 
adventurer,  so  many  a  false  and  dangerous  position,  couched  in  ambi- 
guous terms,  when  pruned  of  its  luxuriant  verbiage,  divested  of  its 
captivating  but  delusive  elocution,  and  presented  in  an  intelligible, 
definite  and  familiar  attitude,  is  at  once  reprobated  as  unworthy  of  our 
reception  and  regard. 

On  comparing  the  literature  and  science  of  the  current  age  with 
those  of  former  times,  we  readily  discover  how  much  we  owe  to  a  more 
rigid  analysis  and  a  more  scrupulous  adoption  of  the  technical  terms 
and  phrases  of  the  old  schools,  tc  which  the  whole  world  at  one  time 
looked  up  as  the  only  fountains  of  wisdom  and  learning.  When  sub- 
mitted to  the  test  of  a  more  enlightened  criticism,  many  of  their  most 
popular  and  somewhat  cabalistic  terms  and  phrases  have  been  demon- 
strated to  be  words  without  just  or  appropriate  ideas,  and  have  been 
"  nailed  to  the  counter"  as  spurious  coin ;  others,  however,  like  pure 
metal  in  antique  forms,  have  been  sent  to  the  mint,  recast  and  made  to 
receive  the  impress  of  a  more  enlightened  and  accomplished  age. 

The  rapid  progress  and  advancement  of  modern  science  is,  I  presume, 


S44 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


owing  to  a  more  rational  and  philosophical  nomenclature  and  to  the 
more  general  use  of  the  inductive  system  of  reasoning,  rather  than  to 
any  superior  talent  or  more  aspiring  genius  possessed  either  by  our 
contemporaries  or  our  immediate  predecessors. 

Politics,  morals  and  religion — the  most  deservedly  engrossing  themes 
of  every  age — are,  in  this  respect,  unfortunately  behind  the  other 
sciences  and  arts  cultivated  at  the  present  day.  We  are,  however, 
pleased  to  see  a  growing  conviction  of  the  necessity  of  a  more  apposite, 
perspicuous  and  philosophical  verbal  apparatus  in  several  departments 
of  science,  and  especially  to  witness  some  recent  efforts  to  introduce  a 
more  improved  terminology  in  the  sciences  of  government,  morality 
and  religion. 

To  apply  these  preliminary  remarks  to  the  question  of  this  evening, 
it  is  important  to  note  with  particular  attention  the  popular  terms  in 
which  we  have  expressed  it, — viz. : — 

^'Has  one  Christian  nation  a  right  to  wage  war  against  another 
Christian  nation?'' 

We  have  prefixed  no  epithet  to  war  or  to  right,  while  we  have  to  the 
word  nation.  We  have  not  defined  the  war  as  offensive  or  defensive. 
We  have  not  defined  the  right  as  human  or  divine.  But  we  have 
chosen,  from  the  custom  of  the  age^  to  prefix  Christian  to  nation. 
The  reasons  for  this  selection  and  arrangement  of  terms  shall  appear 
as  we  proceed. 

First,  then,  had  we  prefixed  the  word  offensive  to  the  word  war, 
we  would,  on  proving  that  a  Christian  nation  had  no  right  to  wage 
an  offensive  war,  be  obliged  to  institute  another  question,  and  to  ask. 
Can  a  Christian  nation  wage  a  defensive  war  against  another  Chris- 
tian nation? — thereby  implying  t,hat  one  Christian  nation  might  be 
the  aggressor  and  another  the  aggrieved.  But  we  cannot  without 
great  difficulty  imagine  ,  such  a  thing  as  a  Christian  nation  carrying 
on  an  aggressive  war.  We,  therefore,  simplify  the  discussion  by 
placing  in  the  proposition  the  naked  term  war.  Nor  shall  we  spend 
our  time  in  discussing  the  political  right  of  one  nation  to  wage  war 
against  another  nation,  and  then  ask  whether  they  have  a  .divine 
right.  Indeed,  the  latter  generally  implies  the  former ;  for,  if  a  nation 
have  a  divine  right,  it  either  has  or  may  have  a  political  or  moral 
right  to  do  so. 

But  we  must  inquire  into  the  appropriateness  of  the  term  Christian 
prefixed  to  nation — for  popular  use  has  so  arranged  these  terms ;  and 
the  controversy,  either  expressly  or  impliedly,  as  now-a-days  occasion- 
ally con(?"icted  in  this  country,  is,  Has  one  Christian  nation  a  right 


ADDRESS  OX  WAR. 


346 


to  wage  war  against  another  Christian  natiou  ?  But,  as  we  assume 
nothing,  we  must  ask  the  grave  and  somewhat  startling  question — Is 
there  a  Christian  nation  in  the  world  ?  or  have  we  a  definite  idea  of  a 
Christian  nation?  We  have,  indeed,  had,  for  many  centuries  past, 
many  nations  called  Christian  nations;  but  we  must  fearlessly  ask, 
At  what  font  were  they  baptized  ?  Who  were  their  godfathers  ?  In 
what  record  are  their  sponsors  registered  ?  Ay,  these,  indeed,  are  pre- 
liminary questions  that  demand  a  grave  and  profound  consideration. 
That  there  are  many  nations  that  have  Christian  communities  in  them 
is  a  proposition  which  we  most  cheerfully  and  thankfully  admit.  By 
a  common  figure  of  speech,  we  also  give  to  that  which  contains  any 
thing  the  name  of  the  thing  contained  in  it.  Thus,  rhetorically,  we 
call  one  edifice  a  college ;  another,  a  bank ;  a  third,  a  church ;  not 
because  the  brick  and  mortar,  the  plank  and  nails,  constitute  a  college, 
a  bank,  a  church,  but  because  these  buildings  contain  these  institu- 
tions. So  we  have — if  any  one  contend  for  the  name — as  many  Chris- 
tian nations  as  we  have  Christian  communities  in  different  nations,  and 
as  many  Jewish  nations  as  we  have  nations  with  Jewish  synagogues  in 
them,  and  as  many  Mohammedan  nations  as  we  have  nations  contain- 
ing mosques  in  them.  But,  according  to  this  rhetorical  figure,  we  may 
have  a  Christian  and  a  Jewish  nation,  or  a  Christian  and  a  Moham- 
medan nation,  in  one  and  the  same  nation,  as  we  sometimes  find  both 
a  Jewish  and  a  Christian  synagogue  in  the  same  nation.  But  a 
rhetorical  Christian  nation  and  a  proper  and  unfigurative  Christian 
nation  are  very  different  entities.  A  proper  literal  Christian  nation  is 
not  found  in  any  country  under  the  whole  heavens.  There  is,  indeed, 
one  Christian  nation,  composed  of  all  the  Christian  communities  and 
individuals  in  the  whole  earth.  The  Apostle  Peter,  in  one  letter 
addressed  to  all  the  Christians  scattered  throughout  Pontus,  Calatia, 
Cappadocia,  Asia  and  Bithynia — though  strangers'  or  aliens  in  these 
respective  nations — calls  them,  collectively,  "a  holy  nation,  a  royal 
priesthood,  a  peculiar  peopled  In  strict  logical  and  grammatical 
truth,  there  is  not,  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  one  properly  called 
a  Christian  nation.  Therefore,  we  have  never  had,  as  yet,  one  Chris- 
tian nation  waging  war  against  another  Christian  nation.  Before  any 
one,  then — no  matter  what  his  learning  or  talents  may  be — can  answer 
the  great  interrogatory  now  in  discussion,  he  must  form  a  clear  and 
well-defined  conception  of  what  constitutes  a  nation  and  what  consti- 
tutes a  Christian. 

We  have  very  high  Roman  authority  for  defining  a  nation — froro 
naacor.   Pardon  me  for  quoting  it: — Genus  hominum  qui  non  aliunde 


346 


ADDRESS  OK  WAE. 


venerunt,  sed  ihi  nati  sunt;  which,  in  our  vernacular,  means,  a  race  or 
tribe  of  men  who  have  not  come  from  abroad^  hut  live  where  they  were 
horn.  Being  a  Koman  word,  derived  from  natural  birth,  a  Boman 
author  has  the  best  right  to  define  it.  Now,  a  Christian  is  not  one  born 
where  he  lives :  he  is  born  from  above,  as  all  Christians  of  all  parties 
admit.  Therefore,  no  nation,  as  such,  as  respects  either  its  natural 
birth  or  its  constitution,  can  with  any  show  of  truth  or  reason  be 
called  a  Christian  nation.  When  any  one  produces  the  annals  of  a 
nation  whose  constitution  was  given  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  whose  citizens 
are  all  born  of  God  spiritually,  as  well  as  of  man  physically,  I  will  at 
once  call  it,  in  good  faith,  without  a  figure,  a  true,  proper  and  literal 
Christian  nation. 

Now,  although  we  have  this  advantage,  which  no  one  can  take  from 
us,  and  conceded,  too,  by  all  the  literary  and  Christian  authorities  in 
Christendom,  we  will  not  build  on  it  alone — nor  at  all.  We  will  not  have 
it  said  that  we  carry  our  definition  by  a  grammatical  or  rhetorical  de- 
cision of  the  great  question.  We  appeal  to  all  our  public  documents, 
without  regard  to  party.  We  appeal  to^all  our  elementary  and  most 
profound  writers  on  the  subject  of  nationality.  Nay,  we  appeal  to  the 
common  views  of  this  whole  community.  Have  we  not  a  church  and  a 
state  in  every  State  in  the  Union,  and  in  every  European  nation?  Do 
not  all  belong  to  the  state  or  nation,  and  a  part  only,  and  that  often  a 
small  part,  to  the  church?  Is  not  the  bond  of  political  union  blood,  or 
naturalization?  Is  not  the  bond  of  union  in  the  Christian  kingdom 
faith,  or  the  new  birth  ?  What  nation  is  there  whose  citizens,  or  a 
majority  of  them,  are  Christians?    Not  one — even  in  profession. 

But  there  is  a  reflex  light  of  Christianity — a  moralizing  and  a  civil- 
izing influence  as  well  as  a  direct  and  soul-redeeming  radiance,  which  im- 
parts to  those  nations  that  have  the  oracles  of  God  a  higher  standard  of 
moral  excellence,  a  more  discriminating  conscientiousness  and  a  more  ele- 
vated national  character ;  which,  in  contrast  with  Pagan  nations,  obtains 
for  them  the  honorary  distinction  of  Christi'an  nation.  Still,  as  nations, 
or  states,  the  spirit  and  character  of  the  nation  are  anti- Christian.  A 
community  of  Jews  in  New  York  or  Nejv  Orleans,  even  were  they  natu- 
ralized citizens  of  the  United  States,  would  not  impart  to  those  cities 
an  American  or  Gentile  spirit,  nor  would  they  impart  to  our  nation  a 
Jewish  spirit  or  character.    They  would  still  be  Jews  and  we  Americans. 

The  American  nation,  as  a  nation,  is  no  more  in  spirit  Christian  than 
were  Greece  and  Rome  when  the  apostle  planted  churches  in  Corinth, 
Athens,  or  in  the  metropolis  of  the  empire,  with  Csesar's  household  in 
it.    Roman  policy,  valor,  bravery,  gallantry,  chivalry,  are  of  as  much 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


347 


praise,  admiration  and  glory,  in  Washington  and  London,  as  they  were 
in  the  very  centre  of  the  Pagan  world  in  the  days  of  Julius  or  Augus- 
tus Caesar.  We  worship  our  heroes  because  of  their  martial  and  Roman 
virtue.  Virtue,  in  the  Roman  language,  was  only  a  name  for  bravery 
or  courage.  Such  was  its  literal  meaning.  With  a  Roman  it  was 
queen  of  all  the  graces  and  of  all  moral  excellencies.  It  raised  from 
plebeian  to  patrician  rank,  and  created  military  tribunes,  decemvirs, 
triumvirs,  dictators,  consuls,  kings,  emperors.  With  us  it  cannot  make 
a  king,  but  may,  perhaps,  a  third  time  make  for  us  a  President.  If, 
indeed,  it  does  not  yet  make  for  us  a  king,  we  shall  blame  the  soil,  not 
the  culture.  Kings  cannot  grow  in  America.  But  under  our  free  and 
liberal  institutions  we  can  impart  more  than  kingly  power  under  a 
less  offensive  name. 

But  a  Christian  community  is,  by  the  highest  authority,  called  a 
kingdom.  He,  however,  who  gave  it  this  name  said  to  Csesar's  repre- 
sentative, "My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world.  Had  my  kingdom  been  of 
this  world,  my  servants  would  have  fought,  and  I  should  not  have  been 
delivered  to  the  Jews.  But  now  is  my  kingdom  not  from  hence. "  It 
is,  then,  decided — first,  that  we  have  no  Christian  nation  or  kingdom  in 
the  world,  but  that  Christ  has  one  grand  kingdom,  composed  of  all  the 
Christian  communities  in  the  world,  of  which  he  is  himself  the  proper 
sovereign,  lawgiver  and  king. 

Having,  then,  no  Christian  nation  to  wage  war  against  another  Chris- 
tian nation,  the  question  is  reduced  to  a  more  rational  and  simple  form, 
i  and  I  trust  it  will  be  still  more  intelligible  and  acceptable  in  this  form 
— viz.  Can  Christ's  kingdom  or  church  in  one  nation  wage  war  against 
his  kingdom  or  church  in  another  nation?  With  this  simple  view  of 
the  subject,  where  is  the  man  so  ignorant  of  the  letter  and  spirit  of 
Christianity  as  to  answer  this  question  in  the  affirmative  ?  Is  there 
a  man  of  ordinary  Bible  education  in  this  city  or  commonwealth,  who 
will  affirm  that  Christ's  church  in  England  may  of  right  wage  war 
against  Christ's  church  in  America? 

But  I  will  be  told  that  this  form  of  the  question  does  not  meet  the 
exact  state  of  the  case,  as  now  impinging  the  conscience  of  very  many 
good  men.  While  they  will,  with  an  emphatic  No,  negative  the  ques- 
tion as  thus  stated,  they  will  in  another  form  propound  their  peculiar 
difficulty: — ''Suppose,"  say  they,  ''England  proclaims  war  against  our 
nation,  or  that  our  nation  proclaims  war  against  England :  have  we  a 
right,  as  Christian  men,  to  volunteer,  or  enlist,  or,  if  drafted,  to  fight 
against  England  ?  Ought  our  motto  to  be,  '  Our  country,  right  or  wrong'  ? 
Or  has  our  Grovernment  a  right  to  compel  us  to  take  up  arms?" 


348 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


This  form  of  the  question  makes  it  important  that  we  should  have  as 
clear  and  definite  conceptions  of  the  word  right  as  of  any  other  word 
in  the  question  before  us.  We  must,  then,  have  a  little  more  definition. 
For  the  doctrine  of  right  and  wrong,  so  frequently  spoken  of  by  ele- 
mentary political  writers,  I  cannot  say  that  I  entertain  a  very  high 
regard.  Men  without  religious  faith,  being  without  an  infallible  guide, 
are  peculiarly  fond  of  abstractions.  Led  by  imagination  more  than  by 
reason,  authority  or  experience,  they  pride  themselves  in  striking  out 
for  themselves  and  others  a  new  path,  rather  than  to  walk  in  the  old  and 
long-frequented  ways.  They  have  a  theory  of  man  in  society  with  poli- 
tical rights,  and  of  man  out  of  society  with  natural  rights ;  but  as  they 
cannot  agree  as  to  the  word  natural  prefixed  to  right — whether  nature 
be  a  divinity  or  the  cause  of  things — I  will  not  now  debate  with  them 
the  question  of  natural  rights,  but  will  take  the  surer  and  well-esta- 
blished ground  of  a  divine  warrant,  or  a  right  founded  on  a  divint 
annunciation. 

Much,  in  all  cases  of  any  importance,  depends  on  beginning  right ; 
and  in  a  question  upon  right  itself,  every  thing  depends  upon  that 
ultimate  tribunal  to  which  we  make  our  appeal.  In  all  questions 
involving  the  moral  destinies  of  the  world,  we  require  more  than 
hypothetical  or  abstract  reasoning  from  principles  merely  assumed  or 
conceded.  We  need  demonstration,  or,  what  in  this  case  of  moral 
reasoning  is  the  only  substitute  for  it,  oracular  authority.  All  questions 
on  morals  and  religion,  all  questions  on  the  origin,  relations,  obliga- 
tions and  destiny  of  man,  can  be  satisfactorily  decided  only  by  an 
appeal  to  an  infallible  standard.  I  need  not  say  that  we  all,  I  mean 
the  civilized  world,  the  great,  the  wise,  the  good  of  human  kind,  con- 
cede to  the  Bible  this  oracular  authority ;  and,  therefore,  constitute  it 
the  ultimate  reason  and  authority  for  each  and  every  question  of  this 
sort  ?    What,  then,  says  the  Bible  on  the  subject  of  war  f 

It  certainly  commanded  and  authorized  war  amongst  the  Jews.  God 
had  given  to  man,  ever  since  the  flood,  the  right  of  taking  away  the 
life  of  man  for  one  specified  cause.  Hence  murderers,  ever  since  the 
flood,  were  put  to  death  by  express  Divine  authority.  "  He  that  sheds 
man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed."  He  gave  authority  only, 
however,  to  one  family  or  nation,  whose  God  and  King  he  assumed  to 
be.  As  soon  as  that  family  was  developed  into  a  nation,  he  placed  it 
under  his  own  special  direction  and  authority.  Its  government  has 
been  properly  called  by  Josephus,  a  distinguished  Jew,  a  theocracy. 
It  was  not  a  republican,  an  aristocratical  or  monarchical,  but  a  theo- 
^atical  government,  and  that,  indeed,  of  the  most  absolute  character, 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


for  certain  high  ends  and  purposes  in  the  destinies  of  mankind — tem- 
poral, spiritual  and  eternal.  God  was,  therefore,  in  person  the  King, 
Lawgiver  and  Judge  of  the  Jewish  nation. 

It  was  not  simply  for  desiring  a  king  that  God  was  at  one  time  dis- 
pleased with  them.  It  was  for  asking  a  king  like  those  of  other  nations, 
and  thereby  refusing  God  himself  and  God  alone  as  their  king.  Still, 
he  never  made  their  kings  any  more  than  viceroys.  He,  for  many 
centuries,  down  to  the  end  of  Old  Testament  history,  held  in  his  own 
hand  the  sovereignty  of  the  nation.  Hence  the  kings  ruled /or  him, 
and  the  high-priest,  or  some  special  prophet,  was  the  Lord's  mouth  to 
them.  Their  kings  were,  therefore,  unlike  other  kings.  They  truly, 
and  only  they,  of  all  the  kings  on  earth,  were  ''the  Lord's  anointed." 
The  Jewish  kingdom  was  emphatically  a  typical  institution,  prospective 
of  a  kingdom  not  of  this  world,  to  be  instituted  in  future  times  and 
to  be  placed  under  the  special  government  of  his  only  Son  and  Heir. 
Hence  it  came  to  pass  that  the  enemies  of  Israel  became  typical  of  the 
enemies  of  Jesus  Christ;  and  hence  the  temporal  judgments  inflicted 
on  them  were  but  shadows  through  which  to  set  forth  the  spiritual  and 
eternal  judgments  to  be  inflicted  on  the  enemies  of  the  Messiah's  reign 
and  kingdom.  Whether,  therefore,  the  enemies  of  the  Jews  fell  in 
battle,  or  by  any  of  the  angels  of  death,  it  was  God  that  slew  them. 
Hence  their  kings  and  God's  angels  were  but  mere  sheriffs,  executing, 
as  it  were,  the  mandates  of  high  heaven. 

It  is,  however,  important  to  reiterate  that  God  gave  to  Noah,  and 
through  him  to  all  his  sons  and  successors  in  government,  a  right  to 
take  away,  in  civil  justice,  the  life  of  a  murderer.  As  the  world  of 
the  ungodly,  antecedent  to  the  deluge,  during  the  first  five  hundred 
years  of  Noah's  life,  was  given  to  violence  and  outrage  against  each 
other,  it  became  expedient  to  prevent  the  same  violence  and  bloodshed 
after  the  flood ;  and  for  this  purpose  God  gave  to  man,  or  the  human 
race  in  Noah's  family,  the  right  to  exact  blood  for  blood  from  him.  who 
had  deliberately  and  maliciously  taken  away  the  life  of  his  fellow. 
Had  not  this  been  first  ordained,  no  war,  without  a  special  divine 
commission,  could  have  been  sanctioned  as  lawful  and  right  even  under 
the  Old  Testament  institution.  Hence  we  may  say  that  wars  were 
first  allowed  by  God  against  those  who  had  first  waged  war  against 
their  fellows,  and  consequently,  as  viewed  by  God  himself,  they  were 
murderers.  The  first  and  second  wars  reported  in  the  annals  of  the 
world  were  begun  by  the  enemies  of  God  and  his  people,  and  hence 
the  reprisals  made  by  Abraham  and  Moses  are  distinctly  stated  to 
liave  been  occasioned  by  the  enemies  of  God  and  his  people. 


350 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


But  what  is  most  important  here  and  apposite  to  the  occasion,  is, 
that  theseVars  waged  by  God's  people  in  their  typical  character  were 
waged  under  and  in  pursuance  of  a  special  divine  commission.  They 
were,  therefore,  right.  For  a  divine  precept  authorizing  any  thing  to 
be  done,  makes  it  right  absolutely  and  forever.  The  Judge  of  all  the 
earth  can  do  only  that,  or  command  that  to  be  done,  which  is  right. 
Let  those,  then,  who  now  plead  a  jus  divinum,  a  special  divine 
warrant  or  right  for  carrying  on  war  by  the  authority  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  produce  a  warrant  from  the  present  Monarch  of  the 
universe.  What  the  G-od  of  Abraham  did  by  Abraham,  by  Jacob,  or 
by  any  of  his  sons,  as  the  moral  governor  of  the  world,  before  he  gave 
up  the  sceptre  and  the  crown  to  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  is  of  no  binding 
authority  now.  This  is  a  point  of  much  more  importance  than  we  can 
at  present  develop,  and  one  which  has  been,  so  far  as  known  to  me, 
wholly  slurred  over  in  this  great  investigation.  The  very  basis  of  the 
•Christian  religion  is  that  Jesus  Christ  is  now  the  Lord  and  King  of 
both  earth  and  heaven,  and  that  his  Father  and  our  God  no  longer 
assumes  to  be  either  the  Lawgiver,  Judge  or  King  of  the  world.  It  is 
positively  declared  by  him  that  all  legislative,  judiciary  and  executive 
power  is  now  committed  into  the  hands  of  one  who  is  both  our  kinsman 
and  God's  only-begotten  Son.  Two  grand  declarations  that  ought  to 
revolutionize  our  whole  views  of  civil  government  as  respects  its  ulti- 
mate authority,  and  change  some  of  our  forms  of  legal  justice,  are  wholly 
overlooked  so  far  as  they  are  of  any  practical  value  and  importance. 
The  first  was  announced  by  the  Messiah  immediately  before  his  as- 
cension into  heaven ;  the  other  was  publicly  propounded  by  an  embassy 
from  heaven  immediately  after  his  ascension.  The  former  declarea 
that  all  authority,''  (exousia,)  all  legislative,  judiciary  and  regal 
jiuthority  in  heaven  and  earth,  is  given  to  Jesus  Christ;  the  other 
affirms  that  God  has  made  Jesus,  Lord  and  Christ,  or  anointed  him 
Sovereign  of  the  universe.  Kings  of  the  earth  and  courts  of  high 
judicature  are  all  under  him,  but  they  do  not  really  acknowledge  it; 
few  of  them,  perhaps,  know  or  believe  the  fact,  that  Jesus  Christ  has 
been  on  the  throne  of  the  universe  for  more  than  eighteen  hundred 
years.  Hence,  the  courts  of  England  and  America,  the  two  most  en- 
lightened nations  in  the  world,  are  yet  deistical  in  form,  rather  than 
Christian.  In  every  place  where  they  have  the  phrase  the  name 
of  God,"  they  ought  to  have  In  the  name  of  the  Lord.  This  is  the 
gist  of  the  whole  controversy  between  the  friends  and  the  enemies  of 
war,  on  the  part  of  the  subjects  of  Christ's  kingdom.  The  coronation 
of  Jesus  Christ  in  heaven  as  Lord  of  all,  his  investiture  with  aU 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


351 


authority  in  heaven  and  earth,  legislative,  judiciary  and  executive,  is 
the  annunciation,  on  the  beHef  and  public  acknowledgment  of  which 
the  first  Christian  church  was  founded  in  Jerusalem,  where  the  throne 
of  David  was,  in  the  month  of  June,  eighteen  hundred  and  fourteen 
years  ago,  Anno  Domini  34. 

God  the  Father,  in  propria  persona,  now  neither  judges  nor  pun- 
ishes any  person  or  nation,  but  has  committed  all  judgment  to  his  Son, 
now  constituted  Head  of  the  universe  and  Judge  of  the  living  and  the 
dead.  This  simplifies  the  question  and  levels  it  to  the  judgment  of 
all.  It  is  this  : — Has  the  Author  and  Founder  of  the  Christian  religion 
enacted  war,  or  has  he  made  it  lawful  and  right  for  the  subjects  of  his 
government  to  go  to  war  against  one  another  ?  Or,  has  he  made  it 
right  for  them  to  go  to  war  against  any  nation,  or  for  any  national 
object,  at  the  bidding  of  the  present  existent  political  authorities  of  any 
nation  in  Christendom  ? 

The  question  is  not,  Whether,  under  the  new  administration  of  the 
universe,  Christian  communities  have  a  right  to  wage  war,  in  its  com- 
mon technical  sense,  against  other  communities — as  the  house  of  Judah 
against  the  house  of  Israel,  both  of  the  same  religion,  language  and 
blood.  This  is  already,  by  almost  universal  consent,  decided  in  the 
negative,  probably  only  one  society  of  professed  Christians  excepted. 
\  (But  the  question  is,'  May  a  Christian  community,  or  the  members  of 
it,  in  their  individual  capacities,  take  up  arms  at  all,  whether  aggres- 
sively or  defensively,  in  any  national  conflict  ?  We  might,  as  before 
alleged,  dispense  with  the  words  aggressive  and  defensive;  for  a  mere 
grammatical,  logical  or  legal  quibble  will  make  any  war  either  aggres- 
sive or  defensive,  just  as  the  whim,  caprice  or  interest  of  an  individual 
pleases.  Napoleon,  on  his  death-bed ,  declared  that  he  had  never 
engaged,  during  his  whole  career,  in  an  aggressive  war — that  all  his 
wars  were  defensive.  Yet  all  Europe  regarded  him  as  the  most  aggres- 
sive warrior  of  any  age. 

But  the  great  question  is,  Can  an  individual,  not  a  public  function- 
ary, morally  do  that  in  obedience  to  his  Government  which  he  cannot 
\  do  in  his  own  case  ?    Suppose  the  master  of  apprenticed  youth,  or  the 
master  of  a  number  of  hired  or  even  bond  servants,  should  fall  out 
i     with  one  of  his  neighbors  about  one  of  the  lines  of  his  plantation, 
I     because,  as  he  imagined,  his  neighbor  had  trespassed  upon  his  freehold 
,     in  clearing  or  cultivating  his  lands.    His  neighbor  refuses  to  retire 
i     within  the  precincts  insisted  on  by  the  complainant;  in  consequence 
;     of  which  the  master  calls  together  his  servants,  and  proceeds  to  avenge 
I     aimself,  or,  as  he  alleges,  to  defend  his  property.    As  the  con  trovers) 

J 

s 


S52 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


waxes  hot,  he  commands  his  servants  not  only  to  burn  and  destroy  the 
improvements  made  on  the  disputed  territory,  but  to  fire  upon  his 
neighbor,  his  sons  and  servants.  They  obey  orders,  and  kill  several 
of  them.  They  are,  however,  finally  taken  into  custody  and  brought 
to  trial.  An  attorney  for  the  servants  pleads  that  these  servants  were 
bound  to  obey  their  master,  and  quotes  these  words  from  the  Good 
Book : — Servants,  obey  in  all  things  your  masters  according  to  the 
flesh."  But,  on  the  other  side,  it  is  shown  that  the  "  aU  things'  en- 
joined are  only  all  things  lawful."  For  this  obedience  is  to  be 
rendered  ''as  to  Christ;"  and  again,  "as  the  servants  of  Christ,  doing 
the  will  of  God  from  the  heart."  No  judge  or  jury  could  do  otherwise 
than  condemn  as  guilty  of  murder  servants  thus  acting.  Now,  we 
all,  in  our  political  relations  to  the  government  of  our  country,  occupy 
positions  at  least  inferior  to  that  which  a  bond-servant  holds  towards 
his  master,  we  cannot  of  right,  as  Christian  men,  obey  the  powers 
THAT  BE  in  any  thing  not  in  itself  justifiable  by  the  written  law  of  the 
Great  King — our  liege  Lord  and  Master,  Jesus  Christ.  Indeed,  we  may 
advance  in  all  safety  one  step  further,  if  it  were  necessary,  and  affirm 
that  a  Christian  man  can  never,  of  right,  be  compelled  to  do  that  for 
the  state,  in  defence  of  state  rights,  which  he  cannot  of  right  do  for 
himself  in  defence  of  his  personal  rights.  No  Christian  man  is  com- 
manded to  love  or  serve  his  neighbor,  his  king  or  sovereign  more  than 
he  loves  or  serves  himself.  If  this  is  conceded,  unless  a  Christian  man 
can  go  to  war  for  himself,  he  cannot  for  the  state. 

We  have  already  observed  that  the  Jews  were  placed  under  a  theo- 
cracy, that  their  kings  were  only  vicegerents,  and  that  they  were  a 
.symbolic  or  typical  nation  adumbrative  of  a  new  relation  and  institu- 
tion to  be  set  up  in  the  fulness  of  time"  under  an  administration  of 
grace.  In  consequence  of  this  arrangement,  God  was  first  revealed  as 
the  God  of  Abraham  ;  and  afterwards,  when  he  was  about  to  make 
himself  known  in  all  the  earth,  in  contrast  with  the  idols  of  the  nations, 
he  chose,  by  Moses,  to  call  himself  the  God  of  the  Hebrews.  As 
the  custom  then  was,  all  nations  had  their  gods,  and  by  their  wars 
judged  and  decided  the  claims  and  pretensions  of  their  respectiva 
divinities.  Esteeming  the  reputation  and  pretensions  of  their  gods 
according  to  their  success  in  war,  that  nation's  god  was  the  greatest 
and  most  to  be  venerated  whose  people  were  most  successful  and  tri- 
umphant in  battle.  God,  therefore,  chose  this  method  to  reveal  him- 
self as  the  God  of  the  Hebrews.  Hence  he  first  poured  out  ten  plague? 
upon  the  gods  of  Egypt.  The  Egyptians  worshipped  every  thing,  from 
the  Nile  and  its  tenantry  to  the  meanest  insect  in  the  land.    He  first, 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


353 


then,  plagued  their  gods.  Afterwards,  by  causing  the  Jews  io  fight 
and  destroy  many  nations,  in  a  miraculous  manner,  from  the  victory 
over  Amalek  to  the  fall  of  the  cities  and  kings  of  ancient  Palestine,  he 
established  his  claim?  a&  supreme  over  all.  Proceeding  in  this  way^ 
he  fully  manifested  the  folly  of  their  idolatries,  and  the  omnipotence, 
greatness  and  majesty  of  the  Grod  of  the  Jews. 

.  The  wars  of  Pagan  nations  were,  indeed,  much  more  rational  than  , 
Uhose  of  our  miscalled  Christian  nations.  No  two  of  these  nations 
lacknowledged  the  same  dynasties  of  gods ;  and,  therefore,  having  dif- 
ferent gods,  they  could  with  much  propriety  test  their  claims  by  in- 
yoking  them  in  battle.  But  two  Christian  nations  both  pray  to  one 
and  the  same  God  to  decide  their  respective  quarrels,  and  yet  will  not 
abide  by  the  decision ;  for  success  in  war  is  not  by  any  of  them  re- 
garded as  an  end  of  all  strife  as  to  the  right  or  justice  of  the  demands 
jnf  the  victorious  party.  Did  our  present  belligerent  nations  regard 
victory  and  triumph  as  a  proof  of  the  justice  of  their  respective  claims, 
they  would  in  the  manner  of  carrying  on  their  wars  prove  themselves 
to  be  very  great  simpletons  indeed ;  for  why  sacrifice  their  hundred 
millions  of  dollars  and  their  fifty  thousand  lives  in  one  or  two  years, 
when  they  could  save  these  millions  of  men  and  money,  by  selecting, 
each,  one  of  their  genuine  Simon  Pure  "patriots  and  heroes,  and  having 
them  voluntarily  to  meet  in  single  combat,  before  a  competent  number 
of  witnesses,  and  encounter  each  other  till  one  of  them  triumphed — 
and  thus  award,  from  Heaven's  own  court  of  infallible  rectitude,  to 
the  nation  of  the  survivor,  the  glory  of  a  great  national  triumph,  both 
in  heroism  and  justice?  But  this  they  dare  not  do;  for  these  Chris- 
tian nations  are  quite  skeptical  so  far  as  faith  in  the  justice  of  their 
own  cause,  or  in  the  right  decision  of  their  claims  in  the  providence 
and  moral  government  of  God,  is  concerned.  To  what  purpose,  we 
therefore  ask,  do  they  both  appeal  to  the  same  God,  when  neither  of 
them  feels  any  obligation  to  abide  his  decision  ? 

But  as  we  are  neither  under  a  Jewish  nor  a  Pagan  government, 
but  professedly,  at  least,  under  a  Christian  dispensation,  we  ought  tj> 
hear  what  the  present  King  of  the  universe  has  enacted  on  this 
subject.  The  maxims  of  the  Great  Teacher  and  Supreme  Philan- 
thropist are,  one  would  think,  to  be  final  and  decisive  on  this  great 
question.  The  Great  Lawgiver  addresses  his  followers  in  two  very 
distinct  respects :  first,  in  reference  to  their  duties  to  him  and  their 
own  profession,  and  then  in  reference  to  their  civil  rights,  duties  and 
obligations. 

So  far  as  any  indignity  was  ofiered  to  them  or  any  punishment 

23 


354 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


inflicted  upon  them  as  his  followers,  or  for  his  names  sake,  they  were 
in  no  way  to  resent  it.  But  in  their  civil  rights  he  allows  them  tho 
advantages  of  the  protection  of  civil  law,  and  for  this  cause  enjoins 
upon  them  the  payment  of  all  their  political  dues,  and  to  be  subject  to 
every  ordinance  of  man  of  a  purely  civil  nature,  not  interfering  with 
their  obligations  to  him. 

"If  a  heathen  man,  or  persecutor,  smite  you  on  one  cheek,  turn  to 
him  the  other  also.  If  he  compel  you  to  go  with  him  one  mile,  go  two. 
If  he  sue  thee  at  the  law,  and  take  away  thy  coat,  let  him  have  thy 
mantle  also,"  &c.  &c.  These  and  whatever  else  of  evil  treatment  they 
might  receive,  as  disciples  of  Christ,  they  must,  for  his  sake,  endure 
without  resistance  or  resentment/  But  if  in  their  citizen  character  or 
civil  relations  they  are  defrauded,  maligned  or  prosecuted,  they  might, 
and  they  did,  appeal  to  Caesar.  They  paid  tribute  to  civil  magistrates 
that  they  might  protect  them;  and  therefore  they  might  rightfully 
claim  their  protection.  In  this  view  of  the  matter,  civil  magistrates 
were  Grod's  ministers  to  the  Christian  "for  good."  And  also  as  God's 
ministers  they  were  revengers  to  execute  wrath  on  those  who  did 
evil.  Therefore,  Christians  are  in  duty  bound  to  render  to  Caesar 
what  is  Caesar's,  and  to  God  what  is  God's — to  reverence,  honor  and 
support  the  civil  magistrate,  and,  when  necessary,  to  claim  his  pro- 
tection. 

But  as  respects  the  life  peculiar  to  a  soldier,  or  the  prosecution  of 
a  political  war,  they  had  no  commandment.  On  the  contrary,  they 
were  to  live  peaceably  with  all  men  to  the  full  extent  of  their  power. 
Their  sovereign  Lord,  the  King  of  nations,  is  called  "the  Prince  of 
Peace."  How,  then,  could  a  Christian  soldier,  whose  "  shield"  wsls 
faith,  whose  ''helmet"  was  the  hope  of  salvation,  whose  "breastplate" 
was  righteousness,  whose  ''girdle"  was  truth,  whose  "feet  were  shod 
with  the  preparation  of  the  gospel  of  peace,"  and  whose  "sword"  was 
that  fabricated  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  even  "the  Word  of  God" — I  say, 
how  could  such  a  one  enlist  to  fight  the  battles  of  a  Caesar,  a  Hannibal, 
a  Tamerlane,  a  Napoleon,  or  even  a  Victoria  ? 

Jesus  said,  "All  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish  by  the  sword." 
An  awful  warning !  All  that  take  it  to  support  religion,  it  is  con- 
fessed, have  fallen  by  it ;  but  it  may  be  feared  that  it  is  not  simply 
confined  to  that ;  for  may  I  not  ask  the  pages  of  universal  history, 
have  not  all  the  nations  created  by  the  sword  finally  fallen  by  it? 
Should  any  one  say,  "Some  few  of  them  yet  stand,"  we  respond.  All 
that  have  fallen  also  stood  for  a  time;  and  are  not  those  that  now 
stand  tottering  just  at  this  moment  to  their  overthrow?    We  have  no 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


355 


doubt,  it  will  prove  in  the  end  that  nations  and  states  founded  by  the 
eword  shall  fall  by  the  sword. 

When  the  Saviour,  in  his  sententious  and  figurative  style,  indi- 
cating the  trials  just  coming  upon  his  friends,  said,  "You  had  better 
sell  your  outside  garments  and  buy  a  sword, "  one  present,  understand- 
ing him  literally,  as  some  of  the  friends  of  war  still  do,  immediately 
responded,  ''Lord,  here  are  two  swords."  What  did  he  say?  "It  is 
enough."  Two  swords  for  twelve  apostles !  Truly,  they  are  dull 
scholars  who  thence  infer  that  he  meant  they  should  literally  use  two 
3words  to  fight  with !  When  asked  by  Pilate  whether  he  was  a  king, 
he  responded  that  he  was  born  to  be  a  king,  but  not  a  king  of  worldly 
type  or  character.  Had  he  been  such  a  king,  his  servants  would, 
indeed,  have  used  the  sword.  But  his  kingdom  neither  came  nor  stands 
by  the  sword.  When  first  announced  as  a  king  by  the  Jewish  prophets, 
more  than  seven  centuries  before  he  was  born,  the  Spirit  said  of  his  reign, 
''He  shall  judge  among  the  nations,  and  decide  among  many  people. 
And  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares,  and  their  spears 
into  pruning-hooks :  nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation, 
neither  shall  they  learn  war  any  more."  (Isa.  ii.  2-4.)  Two  prophets 
describe  it  in  almost  the  same  words.   Micah,  as  well  as  Isaiah,  says — 

'♦Out  of  Zion  shall  go  forth  the  law, 
And  the  word  of  Jehovah  from  Jerusalem; 
And  he  shall  judge  among  many  people, 
And  decide  among  strong  nations  afar  off; 
And  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares, 
And  their  spears  into  pruning-hooks ; 
Neither  shall  they  any  longer  learn  war  : 
But  they  shall  sit  every  man  under  his  vine 
And  under  his  fig-tree,  and  none  shall  make  him  afraid ; 
For  the  mouth  of  Jehovah  of  hosts  hath  spoken  it." 

Such  was,  according  to  prophecy,  such  is,  according  to  fact,  the  native 
influence  and  tendency  of  the  Christian  institution.  The  spirit  of  Chris- 
tianity, then,  is  essentially  pacific. 

There  is  often  a  multiplication  of  testimony  for  display  rather  than 
for  eff'ect.  And,  indeed,  the  accumulation  of  evidence  does  not  always 
increase  its  moral  momentum.  Nor  is  it  very  expedient  on  other 
considerations  to  labor  a  point  which  is  generally,  if  not  universally, 
admitted.  That  the  genius  and  spirit  of  Christianity,  as  well  as  the 
letter  of  it,  are  admitted,  on  all  hands,  to  be  decidedly  "peace  on  earth, 
and  good  will  among  men,"  needs  no  proof  to  any  one  that  has  ever 
read  the  volume  that  contains  it. 

B-'t  if  any  one  desires  to  place  in  contrast  the  gospel  of  Christ  and 


356 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


the  genius  of  war,  let  him  suppose  the  chaplain  of  an  army  'iddresciing 
the  soldiers  on  the  eve  of  a  great  battle,  on  performing  faithfully  their 
duty,  from  such  passages  as  the  following: — ''Love  your  enemies;  bless 
them  that  curse  you ;  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them 
that  despitefully  use  you  and  persecute  you  :  that  you  may  be  the  chil- 
dren of  your  Father  in  heaven,  who  makes  his  sun  to  rise  upon  the 
evil  and  the  good,  and  sends  his  rain  upon  the  just  and  the  unjust." 
Again,  in  our  civil  relations : — ''Recompense  to  no  man  evil  for  evil." 
"As  much  as  lieth  in  you,  live  peaceably  with  all  men."  "Dearly 
beloved,  avenge  not  yourselves  ;  but  rather  give  place  to  wrath."  "  If 
thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him;  if  he  thirst,  give  him  drink."  "Be 
not  overcome  of  evil;  but  overcome  evil  with  good."  Would  any  one 
suppose  that  he  had  selected  a  text  suitable  to  the  occasion  ?  How 
would  the  commander-in-chief  have  listened  to  him  ?  With  wjiat  spirit 
would  his  audience  have  immediately  entered  upon  an  engagement? 
These  are  questions  which  every  man  must  answer  for  himself,  and 
which  every  one  can  feel  much  better  than  express. 

But  a  Christian  man  cannot  conscientiously  enter  upon  any  business, 
nor  lend  his  energies  to  any  cause,  which  he  does  not  approve ;  and,  in 
order  to  approve,  he  must  understand  the  nature  and  object  of  the 
undertaking.  Now,  how  does  this  dictate  of  discretion,  religion  and 
morality  bear  upon  the  case  before  us  ? 

Nothing,  it  is  alleged,  more  tends  to  weaken  the  courage  of  a  con- 
scientious soldier  than  to  reflect  upon  the  originating  causes  of  wars 
and  the  objects  for  which  they  are  prosecuted.  These,  indeed,  are  not 
always  easily  comprehended.  Many  wars  have  been  prosecuted,  and 
some  have  been  terminated  after  long  and  protracted  efforts,  before  the 
great  majority  of  the  soldiers  themselves,  on  either  side,  distinctly 
understood  what  they  were  fighting  for.  Even  in  our  country,  a  case 
of  this  sort  has,  it  is  alleged,  very  recently  occurred.  If,  it  is  pre- 
sumed, the  true  and  proper  causes  of  most  wars  were  clearly  understood^ 
and  the  real  design  for  which  they  are  prosecuted  could  be  clearly  and 
distinctly  apprehended,  they  would,  in  most  instances,  miscari'v  for  the 
want  of  efficient  means  of  a  successful  prosecution. 

A  conviction  of  this  sort,  some  years  ago,  occasioned  an  elaborate 
investigation  of  the  real  causes  for  which  the  wars  of  Christendom  had 
been  undertaken  from  the  time  of  Constantine  the  Great  down  to  the 
present  century.  From  the  results  furnished  the  Peace  Society  of 
Massachusetts,  it  appeared,  that,  after  subtracting  a  number  of  pett^ 
wars,  long  since  carried  on,  and  those  waged  by  Christian  nations  with 
tribes  of  savages,  the  wars  of  real  magnitude  amounted  in  all  to  two 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


357 


hundred  and  eighty-six.  The  origin  of  these  wars,  on  a  severe  analysis, 
appeared  to  have  been  as  follows  : — Twenty-two  for  plunder  and  tribute; 
forty-four  for  the  extension  of  territory ;  twenty -four  for  revenge  or 
retaliation ;  six  for  disputed  boundaries ;  eight  respecting  points  of 
honor,  or  prerogative ;  six  for  the  protection  or  extension  of  commerce ; 
fifty-five  civil  wars ;  forty-one  about  contested  titles  to  crowns ;  thirty 
under  pretence  of  assisting  allies;  twenty-three  for  mere  jealousy  of 
rival  greatness ;  twenty-eight  religious  wars,  including  the  Crusades — 
not  one  for  defence  alone;  and  certainly  not  one  that  an  enlightened 
Christian  man  could  have  given  one  cent  for,  in  a  voluntary  way, 
much  less  have  volunteered  his  services  or  enlisted  into  its  ranks. 

If  the  end  alone  justifies  the  means,  what  shall  we  think' of  the 
wisdom  or  the  justice  of  war,  or  of  the  authors  and  prominent  actors 
of  these  scenes  ?  A  conscientious  mind  will  ask,  Did  these  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty-six  wars  redress  the  wrongs,  real  or  feigned,  com- 
plained of?  Did  they  in  all  cases,  in  a  majority  of  the  cases,  or  in 
a  single  case,  necessarily  determine  the  right  side  of  the  controversy  ? 
Did  they  punish  the  guilty,  or  the  more  guilty,  in  the  ratio  of  their 
respective  demerits  ?  No  one  can,  indeed,  no  one  will,  contend  that 
the  decision  or  termination  of  these  wars  naturally,  necessarily,  or 
even  probably,  decided  the  controversy  so  justly,  so  rationally,  so  satis- 
factorily as  it  could  have  been  settled  in  any  one  case  of  the  two  hun- 
ired  and  eighty-six,  by  a  third  or  neutral  party. 

War  is  not  now,  nor  was  it  ever,  a  process  of  justice.  It  never  was 
I  test  of  truth — a  criterion  of  right.  It  is  either  a  mere  game  of 
:hance,  or  a  violent  outrage  of  the  strong  upon  the  weak.  Need  we 
iny  other  proof  that  a  Christian  people  can  in  no  way  whatever  coun- 
enance  a  war  as  a  proper  means  of  redressing  wrongs,  of  deciding 
justice,  or  of  settling  controversies  among  nations?  On  the  common 
ionception  of  the  most  superficial  thinkers  on  this  subject,  not  one 
Df  the  two  hundred  and  eighty-six  wars  which  have  been  carried  on 
Among  the  Christian  nations"  during  fifteen  hundred  years  was  such 
as  that  an  enlightened  Christian  man  could  have  taken  any  part  in  it — 
because,  as  admitted,  not  one  of  them  was  for  defence  alone :  in  other 
•;Vords,  they  were  all  aggressive  wars. 

But  to  the  common  mind,  as  it  seems  to  me,  the  most  convincing 
argument  against  a  Christian  becoming  a  soldier  may  be  drawn  from 
the  fact  that  he  fights  against  an  innocent  person — I  say  an  innocent 
person,  so  far  as  the  cause  of  the  war  is  contemplated.  The  men  that 
fight  are  not  the  men  that  make  the  war.  Politicians,  merchants, 
knaves  and  princes  cause  or  make  the  war,  declare  the  war,  and  hire 


358 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


men  to  kill  for  them  those  that  may  be  hired  on  the  other  side  to 
thwart  their  schemes  of  personal  and  family  aggrandizement.  The 
soldiers  on  either  side  have  no  enmity  against  the  soldiers  on  the  other 
side,  because  with  them  they  have  no  quarrel.  Had  they  met  in  any 
other  field,  in  their  citizen  dress,  other  than  in  battle-array,  thex 
would,  most  probably,  have  not  only  inquired  after  the  welfare  of  each 
other,  but  would  have  tendered  to  each  other  their  assistance  if  called 
for.  But  a  red  coat  or  a  blue  coat,  a  tri-colored  or  a  two-colored 
cockade,  is  their  only  introduction  to  each  other,  and  the  signal  that 
they  must  kill  or  be  killed !  If  they  think  at  all,  they  must  feel  that 
there  is  no  personal  alienation,  or  wrong,  or  variance  between  them. 
But  they  are  paid  so  much  for  the  job;  and  they  go  to  work,  as  the 
day-laborer  to  earn  his  shilling.  Need  I  ask,  how  could  a  Christian 
man  thus  volunteer  his  services,  or  hire  himself  out  for  so  paltry 
a  sum,  or  for  any  sum,  to  kill  to  order  his  brother  man  who  never 
offended  him  in  word  or  deed?  What  infatuation  !  "What  consum- 
mate folly  and  wickedness!  Well  did  Napoleon  say,  ''War  is  the 
trade  of  barbarians;"  and  his  conqueror,  Wellington,  ''Men  of  nice 
scruples  about  religion  have  no  business  in  the  army  or  navy."  The 
horrors  of  war  only  enhance  the  guilt  of  it ;  and  these,  alas !  no  one 
can  depict  in  all  their  hideous  forms. 

By  the  "  horrors  of  war"  I  do  not  mean  the  lightning  and  the 
thunder  of  the  battle-field — the  blackness  and  darkness  of  those  dismal 
clouds  of  smoke  which,  like  death's  own  pall,  shroud  the  encounter ;  it 
is  not  the  continual  roar  of  its  cannon,  nor  the  agonizing  shrieks  and 
groans  of  fallen  battalions — of  wounded  and  dying  legions ;  nor  is  it, 
at  the  close  of  the  day,  the  battle-field  itself,  covered  with  the  gore  and 
scattered  limbs  of  butchered  myriads,  with  here  and  there  a  pile,  a 
mountain  heap  of  slain  heroes  in  the  fatal  pass,  mingled  with  the  wreck 
of  broken  arms,  lances,  helmets,  swords,  and  shattered  firearms,  amidst 
the  pavement  of  fallen  balls  that  have  completed  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion, numerous  as  hailstones  after  the  fury  of  the  storm ;  nor,  amidst 
these,  the  sight  of  the  wounded  lying  upon  one  another,  weltering  in 
their  blood,  imploring  assistance,  importuning  an  end  of  their  woes 
by  the  hand  of  a  surviving  soldier,  invoking  death  as  the  only  respite 
from  excruciating  torments.  But  this  is  not  all ;  for  the  tidings  are 
at  length  carried  to  their  respective  homes.  Then  come  the  bitter 
wail  of  widows  and  orphans — the  screams  and  the  anguish  of  mother? 
and  sisters  deprived  forever  of  the  consolations  and  hopes  that  clustered 
round  the  anticipated  return  of  those  so  dear  to  them,  that  have  per- 
ished in  the  conflict. 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


359 


But  even  these  are  not  the  most  fearful  desolations  of  Vvar.  Wherb 
now  are  the  two  hundred  thousand  lost  by  England  in  our  Eevolu- 
tionary  "War  ? — the  seventy  thousand  who  fell  at  Waterloo  and  Quatre- 
Bras  ? — the  eighty  thousand  at  Borodino  ? — the  three  hundred  thousand 
at  Arbela  ? — or  where  the  fifteen  million  Goths  destroyed  by  Justinian 
in  twenty  years  ? — the  thirty- two  millions  by  Jenghis  Khan  in  forty- 
one  years  ? — the  sixty  millions  slain  by  the  Turks  ? — the  eighty  millions 
by  the  Tartars,  hurried  away  to  judgment  in  a  paroxysm  of  wrath, 
amid  the  fury  of  the  passions  ?  What  can  we  think  of  their  eternal 
destiny  ?*  Besides  all  these,  how  many  have  died  in  captivity  !  How 
many  an  unfortunate  exile  or  captive  might,  with  a  French  prisoner, 
sing  of  woes  like  these,  or  even  greater  ! — 

**  I  dwelt  upon  the  willowy  banks  of  Loire  ; 
I  married  one  who  from  my  boyish  days 
Had  been  my  playmate.    One  morn, — I'll  ne'er  forget, — 
While  choosing  out  the  fairest  twigs 
To  warp  a  cradle  for  our  child  unborn, 
We  heard  the  tidings  that  the  conscript-lot 
Had  fallen  on  me.    It  came  like  a  death-knell  I 
The  mother  perish'd  ;  but  the  babe  survived ; 
And,  ere  my  parting  day,  his  rocking  couch 
I  made  complete,  and  saw  him,  sleeping,  smile, — 
The  smile  that  play'd  erst  on  the  cheek  of  her 
Who  lay  clay-cold.    Alas !  the  hour  soon  came 
That  forced  my  fetter'd  arms  to  quit  my  child  I 
And  whether  now  he  lives  to  deck  with  flowers 
The  sod  upon  his  mother's  grave,  or  lies 
Beneath  it  by  her  side,  I  ne'er  could  learn. 
I  think  he's  gone,  and  now  I  only  wish 
For  liberty  and  home,  that  I  may  see, 
And  stretch  myself  and  die  upon,  their  grave!" 

But  these,  multiplied  by  myriads,  are  but  specimens  of  the  count- 
less millions  slain,  the  solitary  exiles,  the  lonely  captives.  They  tell 
the  least  portion  of  the  miseries  of  war.  Yet  even  these  say  to  the 
Christian,  How  can  you  become  a  soldier  ?  How  countenance  and  aid 
this  horrible  work  of  death  ? 

For  my  own  part,  and  I  am  not  alone  in  this  opinion,  I  think  that 
the  moral  desolations  of  war  surpass  even  its  horrors.  And  amongst 
these,  I  do  not  assign  the  highest  place  to  the  vulgar  profanity,  bru- 
tality and  debauchery  of  the  mere  soldier,  the  professional  and  licensed 
Dutcher  of  mankind,  who,  for  his  eight  dollars  a  month,  or  his  ten 


*  "War  a  Destroyer  of  Souls," — (a  tract  of  the  Peace  Society.) 


360 


ADDRESS  ON  WAK 


SOUS  per  day,  hires  himself  to  lay  waste  a  couutry,  to  pillage,  burn  and 
destroy  the  peaceful  hamlet,  the  cheerful  village  or  the  magnificent 
city,  and  to  harass,  wound  and  destroy  his  fellow-man,  for  no  other 
consideration  than  his  paltry  wages,  his  daily  rations,  and  the  infernal 
pleasure  of  doing  it,  anticipating  hereafter  "  the  stupid  stares  and  loud 
huzzas"  of  monsters  as  inhuman  and  heartless  as  himself.  And  were 
it  not  for  the  infatuation  of  public  opinion  and  popular  applause,  I 
would  place  him,  as  no  less  to  be  condemned,  beside  the  vain  and 
pompous  volunteer,  who  for  his  country,  "  right  or  wrong,"  hastens  to 
the  theatre  of  war  for  the  mere  plaudits  of  admiring  multitudes,  ready 
to  cover  himself  with  glory,  because  he  has  aided  an  aspirant  to  a 
throne  or  paved  the  way  to  his  own  election  to  reign  over  an  humbled 
and  degraded  people. 

I  make  great  allowance  for  false  education,  for  bad  taste,  for  the 
contagion  of  vicious  example :  still,  I  cannot  view  those  deluded  by 
Buch  sophistry,  however  good  their  motives,  as  deserving  any  thing 
from  contemporaries  or  posterity  except  compassion  and  forgiveness. 
Yet  behold  its  influence  on  mothers,  sisters,  and  relatives :  note  its 
contagion,  its  corruption  of  public  taste.  See  the  softer  sex  allured, 
fascinated  by  the  halo  of  false  glory  thrown  around  these  worshipped 
heroes !  See  them  gazing  with  admiration  on  the  "  tinselled  trap- 
pings," the  "  embroidered  ensigns,"  of  him  whose  profession  it  is  to 
make  widows  and  orphans  by  wholesale !  Sometimes  their  hands  are 
withdrawn  from  works  of  charity  to  decorate  the  warrior's  banners 
and  to  cater  to  these  false  notions  of  human  glory !  Behold,  too,  the 
young  mother  arraying  her  proud  boy  "  with  cap  and  feather,  toyed 
with  a  drum  and  sword,  training  him  for  the  admired  profession  of  a 
man-killer !" 

This  is  not  all.  It  is  not  only  at  home,  in  the  nursery  and  infant 
school,  that  this  false  spirit  is  inspired.  Our  schools,  our  academies, 
our  colleges,  echo  and  re-echo  with  the  fame  of  an  Alexander,  a  Caesar, 
a  Napoleon,  a  Wellington.  Forensic  eloquence  is  full  of  the  fame 
of  great  heroes,  of  military  chieftains,  of  patriotic  deliverers,  whose 
memory  must  be  kept  forever  verdant  in  the  affections  of  a  grateful 
posterity,  redeemed  by  their  patriotism,  or  rescued  from  oppression  by 
their  valor. 

The  pulpit,  too,  must  lend  its  aid  in  cherishing  the  delusion.  There 
is  not  unfrequently  heard  a  eulogium  on  some  fallen  hero — some 
church-service  for  the  mighty  dead ;  thus  desecrating  the  religion  of 
the  Prince  of  Peace,  by  causing  it  to  minister  as  the  handmaid  of  war. 
Not  only  are  prayers  offered  up  by  pensioned  chaplains  on  both  sides 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


361 


of  the  field,  even  amid  the  din  of  arms,  but.  Sabbath  after  Sabbath, 
for  years  and  years,  have  the  pulpits  on  one  side  of  a  sea  or  liver,  and 
those  on  the  other  side,  resounded  with  prayers  for  the  success  of  rival 
armies,  as  if  God  could  hear  them  both,  and  make  each  triumphant 
over  the  other,  guiding  and  commissioning  swords  and  bullets  to  the 
heads  and  hearts  of  their  respective  enemies ! 

And  not  only  this,  but  even  the  churches  in  the  Old  World,  and 
sometimes  in  the  New,  are  ornamented  with  the  sculptured  repre- 
sentations of  more,  military  heroes  than  of  saints — generals,  admirals 
and  captains,  who  gallantly  fought"  and  "  gloriously  fell"  in  the  service 
of  their  country.  It  is  not  only  in  Westminster  Abbey  or  in  St.  Paul's 
that  we  read  their  eulogiums  and  see  their  statues,  but  even  in  some 
of  our  own  cities  we  find  St.  Paul  driven  out  of  the  church  to  make 
room  for  generals  and  commodores  renowned  in  fight.  And  last  of 
all,  in  consummation  of  the  moral  desolation  of  war,  we  sometimes 
have  an  illumination — even  a  thanksgiving — rejoicing  that  God  has 
caused  ten  or  twenty  thousand  of  our  enemies  to  be  sent  down  to 
Tartarus,  and  has  permitted  myriads  of  widow.s  and  orphans  to  be  made 
at  the  bidding  of  some  chieftain  or  of  some  aspirant  to  a  throne ! 

But  it  would  exhaust  too  much  time  to  speak  of  the  inconsistencies 
of  the  Christian  world  on  this  single  subject  of  war,  or  to  trace  to 
their  proper  fountains  the  general  misconceptions  of  the  people  on  their 
political  duties  and  that  of  their  Governments.  This  would  be  the 
work  of  volumes — not  of  a  single  address.  The  most  enlightened  of 
our  ecclesiastic  leaders  seem  to  think  that  Jesus  Christ  governs  the 
(  nations  as  God  governed  the  Jews.  They  cannot  separate,  even  in 
this  land,  the  church  and  state.  They  still  ask  for  a  Christian  na- 
tional code. 

If  the  world  were  under  a  politico-ecclesiastic  king  or  president,  it 
would,  indeed,  be  hard  to  find  a  model  for  him  in  the  New  Testament. 
\  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  church,  and  the  church  only,  is  under  the 
\  special  government  and  guardianship  of  our  Christian  King.  The 
nations,  not  owning  Jesus  Christ,  are  disowned  by  him;  he  leaves 
them  to  themselves,  to  make  their  own  institutions,  as  God  anciently 
did  all  nations  but  the  Jews.  He  holds  them  in  abeyance,  and  as 
in  providence,  so  in  government,  he  makes  all  things  work  together 
for  the  good  of  his  people,  restrains  the  wrath  of  their  enemies,  turns 
the  counsels  and  wishes  of  kings  as  he  turns  the  rivers,  but  never 
condescends  to  legislate  for  the  bodies  of  men,  or  their  goods  or  chat- 
tels, who  withhold  from  him  their  consciences  and  their  hearts.  He 
announces  the  fact  that  it  is  by  his  permission,  not  always  with  hi^ 


362 


ADDEESS  ON  WAR. 


approbation,  that  kings  reign  and  that  princes  decree  justice,  and 
commands  his  people  politically  to  obey  their  rulers  and  to  respect  the 
ordinances  of  kings,  that  "  they  may  lead  quiet  and  peaceable  lives,  in 
all  godliness  and  honesty."  And  where  the  gospel  of  Christ  comes  to 
kings  and  rulers,  it  addresses  them  as  men  in  common  with  other  men, 
commanding  them  to  repent  of  their  sins,  to  submit  to  his  government, 
and  to  discharge  their  relative  duties  according  to  the  morality  and 
piety  inculcated  in  his  code.  If  they  do  this,  they  are  a  blessing  to 
his  people  as  well  as  an  honor  to  themselves.  If  they  do  not,  he  will 
hold  them  to  a  reckoning,  as  other  men,  from  which  there  is  neither 
escape  nor  appeal.  What  Shakspeare  says  is  as  true  of  kings  as  of 
their  subjects : — 

"  War  is  a  game  that,  were  their  subjects  wise, 
Kings  would  not  play  at." 

For,  were  both  kings  and  people  wise,  wars  would  cease,  and  nations 
would  learn  war  no  more. 

But  how  are  all  national  disputes  to  be  settled?  Philosophy,  his- 
tory, the  Bible,  teach  that  all  disputes,  misunderstandings,  alienations 
are  to  be  settled,  heard,  tried,  adjudicated  by  impartial,  that  is,  by  dis- 
interested, umpires.  No  man  is  admitted  to  be  a  proper  judge  in  his 
own  case.  Wars  never  make  amicable  settlements,  and  seldom,  if  ever, 
just  decisions  of  points  at  issue.  We  are  obliged  to  offer  preliminaries 
of  peace  at  last.  Nations  must  meet  by  their  representatives,  stipulate 
and  restipulate,  hear  and  answer,  compare  and  decide. 

In  modern  times  we  terminate  hostilities  by  a  treaty  of  peace.  We 
do  not  make  peace  with  powder  and  lead.  It  is  done  by  reason, 
reflection  and  negotiation.  Why  not  employ  these  at  first  ?  But  it  is 
alleged  that  war  has  long  been,  and  must  always  be,  the  ultima  ratio 
regum — the  last  argument  of  those  in  power.  For  ages  a  father  In- 
quisitor was  the  strong  argument  for  orthodoxy ;  but  light  has  gone 
abroad,  and  he  has  lost  his  power.  Illuminate  the  human  mind  on 
this  subject  also,  create  a  more  rational  and  humane  public  opinion, 
and  wars  will  cease. 

But,  it  is  alleged,  all  will  not  yield  to  reason  or  justice.  There  must 
be  compulsion.  Is  war,  then,  the  only  compulsory  measure  ?  Is  there 
no  legal  compulsion  ?  Must  all  personal  misunderstandings  be  settled 
by  the  sword  ? 

Why  not  have  a  hy -law -established  umpire  ?  Could  not  a  united 
national  court  be  made  as  feasible  and  as  practicable  as  a  United 
States  court?  Why  not,  as  often  proposed,  and  as  eloquently,  ably 
and  humanely  argued,  by  the  advocates  of  peace,  have  a  congress  of 


A^DDBESS  ON  WAR. 


36a 


nations  and  a  high  court  of  nations  for  adjudicating  and  terminating 
all  international  misunderstandings  and  complaints,  redressing  and 
remedying  all  wrongs  and  grievances  ? 

There  is  not,  it  appears  to  me,  a  physical  or  a  rational  difficulty 
in  the  way.  But  I  do  not  now  argue  the  case :  I  merely  suggest  this 
expedient,  and  will  always  vote  correspondingly,  for  reasons  as  good 
and  as  relevant  as  I  conceive  them  to  be  humane  and  beneficial. 

To  sum  up  the  whole,  we  argue — 

1.  The  right  to  take  away  the  life  of  the  murderer  does  not  of 
itself  warrant  war,  inasmuch  as  in  that  case  none  but  the  guilty  sufi'er, 
whereas  in  war  the  innocent  suffer  not  only  with,  but  often  without, 
the  guilty.  The  guilty  generally  make  war,  and  the  innocent  suffer 
from  its  consequences. 

2.  The  right  given  to  the  Jews  to  wage  war  is  not  vouchsafed  to 
any  other  nation,  for  they  were  under  a  theocracy,  and  were  God's 
sheriff  to  punish  nations :  consequently  no  Christian  can  argue  from 
the  wars  of  the  Jews  in  justification  or  in  extenuation  of  the  wars  of 
Christendom.  The  Jews  had  a  Divine  precept  and  authority :  no  exist- 
ing nation  can  produce  such  a  warrant. 

3.  The  prophecies  clearly  indicate  that  the  Messiah  himself  would 
be  "the  Prince  of  Peace,"  and  that  under  his  reign  "wars  should 
cease,"  and  "nations  study  it  no  more." 

4.  The  gospel,  as  first  announced  by  the  angels,  is  a  message  which 
results  in  producing  "  peace  on  earth  and  good  will  among  men." 

5.  The  precepts  of  Christianity  positively  inhibit  war — by  showing 
that  "wars  and  fightings  come  from  men's  lusts"  and  evil  passions, 
and  by  commanding  Christians  to  "follow  peace  with  all  men." 

6.  The  beatitudes  of  Christ  are  not  pronounced  on  patriots,  heroes 
and  conquerors,  but  on  "peace-makers,"  on  whom  is  conferred  the 
highest  rank  and  title  in  the  universe : — "  Blessed  are  the  peace-mazers, 
for  they  shall  be  called  the  sons  of  God." 

7.  The  folly  of  war  is  manifest  in  the  following  particulars : — 
Ist.  It  can  never  be  the  criterion  of  justice  or  a  proof  of  right. 
2d.  It  can  never  be  a  satisfactory  end  of  the  controversy. 

3d.  Peace  is  always  the  result  of  negotiation,  and  treaties  are  its 
guarantee  and  pledge. 

8.  The  wickedness  of  war  is  demonstrated  in  the  following  par- 
ticulars : — 

Ist.  Those  who  are  engaged  in  killing  their  brethren,  for  the 
most  part,  have  no  personal  cause  of  provocation  whatever. 

2d.  They  seldom,  or  never,  comprehend  the  right  or  the  wrong 


364 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


of  the  war.  They,  therefore,  act  without  the  approbation  of  con- 
science. 

3d.  In  all  wars  the  innocent  are  punished  with  the  guilty. 

4th.  They  constrain  the  soldier  to  do  for  the  state  that  which, 
were  he  to  do  it  for  himself,  would,  by  the  law  of  the  state,  involve 
forfeiture  of  his  life. 

5th.  They  are  the  pioneers  of  all  other  evils  to  society,  both  moral 
and  physical.  In  the  language  of  Lord  Brougham,  "Peace,  peace^ 
PEACE !  I  abominate  war  as  unchristian.  I  hold  it  the  greatest  of 
human  curses.  I  deem  it  to  include  all  others — violence,  blood,  rapine, 
fraud,  every  thing  that  can  deform  the  character,  alter  the  nature 
and  debase  the  name  of  man."  Or  with  Joseph  Bonaparte,  "  War  is 
but  organized  barbarism — an  inheritance  of  the  savage  state."  With 
Franklin  I,  therefore,  conclude,  There  never  was  a  good  war,  or  a 
had  peace." 

No  wonder,  then,  that  for  two  or  three  centuries  after  Christ  all 
Christians  refused  to  bear  arms.  So  depose  Justin  Martyr,  Tatian, 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  Tertullian,  Origen,  &c. 

In  addition  to  all  these  considerations,  I  further  say,  were  I  not  a 
Christian,  as  a  political  economist,  even,  I  would  plead  this  cause.  Apart 
from  the  mere  claims  of  humanity,  I  would  urge  it  on  the  ground  of 
sound  national  policy. 

Give  me  the  money  that  has  been  spent  in  wars,  and  I  will  clear 
up  every  acre  of  land  in  the  world  that  ought  to  be  cleared — drain 
every  marsh — subdue  every  desert — fertilize  every  mountain  and  hill 
— and  convert  the  whole  earth  into  a  continuous  series  of  fruitful 
fields,  verdant  meadows,  beautiful  villas,  hamlets,  towns,  cities,  standing 
along  smooth  and  comfortable  highways  and  canals,  or  in  the  midst 
of  luxuriant  and  fruitful  orchards,  vineyards  and  gardens,  full  of 
fruits  and  flowers,  redolent  with  all  that  pleases  the  eye  and  regales 
the  senses  of  man.  I  would  found,  furnish  and  endow  as  many  schools, 
academies  and  colleges,  as  would  educate  the  whole  human  race, — 
would  build  meeting-houses,  public  halls,  lyceums,  and  furnish  them 
with  libraries  adequate  to  the  wants  of  a  thousand  millions  of  human 
beings. 

Beat  your  swords  into  ploughshares,  your  spears  into  pruning- 
hooks ;  convert  your  war-ships  into  missionary  packets,  your  arsenals 
and  munitions  of  war  into  Bibles,  school-books,  and  all  the  appliances 
of  literature,  science  and  art ;  and  then  ask.  What  would  be  wanting 
on  the  part  of  man  to  "make  the  wilderness  and  solitary  place  glad;" 
to  cause  "  the  desert  to  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose ;"  to  make  our 


ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 


365 


hills  "like  Carmel  and  Sharon,"  and  our  valleys  as  "the  garden  of 
God"?  All  this  being  done,  I  would  doubtless  have  a  surplus  for 
some  new  enterprise. 

On  reviewing  the  subject  in  the  few  points  only  that  I  have  made 
and  with  the  comparatively  few  facts  I  have  collected,  I  must  confess 
that  I  both  wonder  at  myself  and  am  ashamed  to  think  that  I  have 
never  before  spoken  out  my  views,  nor  even  written  an  essay  on  this 
subject.  True,  I  had,  indeed,  no  apprehension  of  ever  again  seeing 
or  even  hearing  of  a  war  in  the  United  States.  It  came  upon  me  so 
suddenly,  and  it  so  soon  became  a  party  question,  that,  preserving,  as 
I  do,  a  strict  neutrality  between  party  politics,  both  in  my  oral  and 
written  addresses  on  all  subjects,  I  could  not  for  a  time  decide  whether 
to  speak  out  or  be  silent.  I  finally  determined  not  to  touch  the  subject 
till  the  war  was  over.  Presuming  that  time  to  have  arrived,  and 
having  resolved  that  my  first  essay  from  my  regular  course,  at  any 
foreign  point,  should  be  on  this  subject,  I  feel  that  I  need  offer  no 
excuse,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  for  having  called  your  attention  to  the 
matter  in  hand.  I  am  sorry  to  think — very  sorry  indeed  to  be  only 
of  the  opinion — that  probably  even  this  much  published  by  me  some 
three  years  or  even  two  years  ago,  might  have  saved  some  lives  that 
have  since  been  thrown  away  in  the  desert — some  hot-brained  youths 

*'  Whose  limbs,  unburied  on  the  shore, 
Devouring  dogs  or  hungry  vultures  tore." 

We  have  all  a  deep  interest  in  the  question ;  we  can  all  do  something 
to  solve  it ;  and  it  is  every  one's  duty  to  do  all  the  good  he  can.  We 
must  create  a  public  opinion  on  this  subject.  We  should  inspire  a 
pacific  spirit,  and  urge  on  all  proper  occasions  the  chief  objections  to  war. 
In  the  language  of  the  eloquent  Grimke,  we  must  show  that  the  great 
objection  to  war  is  not  so  much  the  number  of  lives  and  the  amount 
of  property  it  destroys,  as  its  moral  influence  on  nations  and  indi- 
viduals. It  creates  and  perpetuates  national  jealousy,  fear,  hatred  and 
envy.  It  arrogates  to  itself  the  prerogative  of  the  Creator  alone,  to 
involve  the  innocent  multitude  in- the  punishment  of  the  guilty  few. 
It  corrupts  the  moral  taste  and  hardens  the  heart;  cherishes  and 
strengthens  the  base  and  violent  passions;  destroys  the  distinguish- 
ing features  of  Christian  charity — its  universality  and  its  love  of 
enemies;  turns  into  mockery  and  contempt  the  best  virtue  of  Chris- 
tians— humility;  weakens  the  sense  of  moral  obligation ;  banishes 
the  spirit  of  improvement,  usefulness  and  benevolence;  and  incul- 


366  ADDRESS  ON  WAR. 

cates  the  horrible  maxim  that  murder  and  robbery  are  matters  of 
state  expediency." 

Let  every  one,  then,  who  fears  God  and  loves  man,  put  his  hand  to 
the  work ;  and  the  time  will  not  be  far  distant  when 

**  No  longer  hosts  encountering  hosta 
Shall  crowds  of  slain  deplore  : 
They'll  hang  the  trumpet  in  the  hftll« 
And  study  war  no  more." 


AN  ORATION 
IN  HONOR  OP  THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY,  1830/ 


Christian  Citizens  : — 

Omnipotent  is  the  word  of  God.  He  spake,  and  a  world  was  made. 
*'Let  there  he  light''  he  said,  ^^and  there  was  lights  He  uttered  his 
voice,  and  from  darkness  light  was  born,  from  chaos  order  sprang,  and 
from  an  inert  mass  of  lifeless  matter  animated  beings  of  ten  thousand 
ranks  and  orders  stood  forth  in  life  triumphant. 


*  A  number  of  disciples,  principally  members  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  in  Pittsburg, 
agreed  to  have  a  love-feast  on  Monday,  the  5th  of  July,  1830.  They  chose  that  day 
in  honor  of  the  fourth  of  July,  1776.  Grateful  to  Heaven  for  the  blessings  which  that  day 
vouchsafed  the  citizens  of  this  country,  tbey  thought  that  Christians  participating  in 
them  ought  religiously  to  call  to  mind  the  goodness  of  God  in  granting  that  deliverance. 
While  the  children  of  this  world,  with  voluptuous  joys  and  noisy  mirth,  are  regarding 
the  day  because  of  the  political  privileges  which  they  inherit,  we  know  of  no  good  rea- 
son why  Christians  may  not,  if  they  please,  consecrate  the  day  to  the  Lord  as  a  free-will 
offering,  and  convert  the  occasion  into  one  of  joy  and  rejoicing  in  the  Rock  of  their  sal- 
vation, giving  glory  to  the  Governor  of  the  nations  of  the  earth  that  they  are  made  fre4 
citizens,  not  only  of  a  free  Government  on  earth,  but  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

More  than  a  hundred  and  twenty  disciples,  with  sundry  visitants  and  many  children, 
dined  together  in  an  arbor  about  two  miles  from  the  city.  The  day  was  spent  in  joy 
and  gladness  of  heart,  singing  the  praises  of  the  Lord,  and  in  conversing  about  the  good 
things  of  the  heavenly  country.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  pronouncing  the  following  oration 
immediately  before  dinner.    After  the  oration,  the  following  song  was  sung : — 


Behold,  the  mountain  of  the  Lord 

In  latter  days  shall  rise 
On  mountain-tops,  above  the  hills, 

And  draw  the  wondering  eyes. 

To  this  the  joyful  nations  round, 
All  tribes  and  tongues  shall  flow , 

"Up  to  the  hill  of  God,"  they'll  say, 
"  And  to  his  house  we'll  go." 

The  beam  that  shines  from  Zion's  hill 

Shall  lighten  every  land ; 
The  King  who  reigns  in  Salem's  towers 

4hall  all  the  world  command. 

Among  the  nations  he  shall  judge; 
His  judgments  trutk  shall  gold* ; 


His  sceptre  shall  protect  the  just, 
And  quell  the  sinner's  pride. 

No  strife  shall  rage,  nor  hostile  fends 

Disturb  those  peaceful  years ; 
To  ploughshares  men  shall  beat  their  swords, 

To  pruning-hooks  their  spears. 

No  longer  host  encountering  host 

Shall  crowds  of  slain  deplore: 
They'll  hang  the  trumpet  in  the  hall. 

And  study  war  no  more. 

Come,  then,  0  house  of  Jacob,  come 

To  worship  at  his  shrine ; 
And,  walking  in  the  light  of  Qod, 

With  holy  beauties  shine. 


368 


THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY. 


Thus  came  the  universe  from  the  command  of  Grod.  But  how  gradual 
and  progressive  was  the  development  of  the  wisdom,  power  and  good- 
ness of  the  Almighty  Maker !  Light  was  the  first  born ;  next,  the 
aerial  expanse  called  heaven ;  then  the  water  heard  his  voice,  and  of 
the  terraqueous  globe  this  element  first  felt  the  impulse  of  the  all- 
creating  energy.  It  was  congregated  into  its  aerial  and  terrestrial 
chambers.  Naked  from  the  womb  of  waters  the  earth  appeared.  The 
new-born  earth  God  clothed  with  verdure — with  all  the  charms  of 
vegetable  beauty — and  gave  to  its  apparel  a  conservative  principle,  a 
reproducing  power. 

Light  was  itself  chaotic  until  the  fourth  day.  No  luminaries  gar- 
nished the  firmament  until  the  week  of  creation  was  more  than  half 
expired.  It  was  then  that  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  were  lighted  up  by 
the  great  Father  of  Lights.  Until  the  earth  was  born  of  water,  no  sun 
beamed  in  heaven,  no  ray  of  celestial  light  shone  upon  its  face.  No 
life  was  in  the  earth  until  the  sun  beamed  upon  it :  then  were  the 
waters  peopled,  and  from  them  came  forth  the  inhabitants  of  tne  air. 
In  the  domain  of  this  wonderful  element  life  was  first  conceived  and 
exhibited. 

The  race  of  earth-borns,  creatures  of  a  grosser  habit,  did  not  hear  the 
voice  of  God  until  the  sixth  day.  On  that  day  they  obeyed  the  com- 
mand of  God,  and  stepped  forth  into  life.  Then  the  Almighty  changed 
his  style.  Till  then  his  commands  were  all  addressed  in  the  third 
person.  ^'Let  there  he'  was  the  preamble,  ^^and  there  was'  was  the 
conclusion.  But  now,  ''Let  us  make  man;''  and  let  us  make  him 
after  a  model.  The  only  being  made  after  a  model  was  man.  All 
other  creatures  were  originals.  If  any  creature  approached  him., 
in  any  one  similitude,  it  was  in  anticipation.  Man  steps  forth  into 
life  in  the  image  of  his  Maker,  and  finds  himself  the  youngest  child  of 
the  universe,  but  tlie  darling  of  his  Father  and  his  God.  Here  the 
chapter  of  creaticai  closes,  and  man  has  the  last  period. 

Such  was  the  value  stamped  on  man  by  his  Creator.  A  world  is 
made  and  peopled  for  him ;  a  palace  reared  and  furnished  and  deco- 


After  dinner,  Brother  Walter  Scott  delivered  a  very  interesting  discourse  on  the  great 
MTid  notable  day  of  the  Lord  which  is  to  introduce  the  millennium.  Many  citizens 
assembled  to  hear  the  discourse ;  after  which,  we  proceeded  to  the  river,  where  five 
persons  were  immersed  into  the  ancient  faith.  Thus  closed  one  of  the  most  joyful  anni- 
versaries of  our  national  independence  which  we  ever  witnessed.  Every  incident  of  the 
day  was  pleasing  and  agreeable,  and  the  whole  celebration  was  well  ada'pted  to  promote 
the  edification  and  comfort  of  every  disciple  of  the  Prince  of  Peace.  All  was  conducted 
in  the  simplicity,  decency  and  good  order  which  become  the  Christian  profession. 


THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY. 


369 


rated  for  his  abode ;  the  great  Architect  plans  and  executes  the  edifice, 
and  then  introduces  to  its  richest  apartment  the  favorite  of  the  uni- 
verse. It  is  here  we  are  taught  the  science — it  is  here  we  learn  the 
numbers  which,  when  combined  with  wisdom,  tell  of  how  much  ac- 
count we  are. 

On  man,  thus  valued,  dignified  and  honored  by  his  Maker,  a  lordship 
IS  conferred.  Over  all  that  swims,  that  flies  or  that  walks  upon  the 
earth,  his  dominion  extends.  The  crown  placed  upon  his  head  had 
attractions  which  angels  saw,  and  charms  which  angels  felt.  Man 
thus  placed  in  Eden,  with  his  Eve/rom  and  by  his  side — having  all  its 
fruits  and  flowers  and  sweets  and  charms  under  his  control,  with  the 
smallest  reservation  in  favor  of  the  absolute  Sovereign  of  the  universe ; 
having,  too,  the  whole  earth,  from  Eden's  flowery  banks  to  both  the 
■poles,  subject  to  his  will — becomes  the  most  enviable  object  in  all  the 
great  empire  of  the  universe.  His  fortune  was  not  to  make — it  was 
only  to  keep.  But,  alas !  to  one  destitute  of  experience,  however 
exalted,  how  hard  to  guard,  how  difficult  to  retain,  possessions  gratui- 
tously acquired ! 

Man,  the  last,  best  work  of  God,  environed  with  the  riches  and  glory 
of  a  world  built  and  furnished  for  him,  is  envied,  and  his  ruin  meditated, 
by  the  prince  of  apostates.  He  falls  through  his  machinations.  From 
God  and  Eden  he  falls  at  once,  and  involves  with  him  the  fortunes  of  a 
world. 

For  his  recovery,  a  remedial  system  is  set  on  foot  by  his  Creator ; 
and  such  a  system  it  is  as  was  worthy  of  its  author  and  of  the  admira- 
tion of  an  intelligent  universe.  To  turn  from,  the  catastrophe  of  man 
to  this  recuperative  system,  is,  of  all  transitions,  the  most  grateful  to 
the  human  mind.  This  is  a  theme  which  never,  never  old  shall  growJ' 
Eternity  itself,  vast  and  unbounded  as  it  is,  can  never  do  more  than 
develop  it.  Time  furnishes  but  the  scaff'olding  for  rearing  this  temple 
of  science.  It  is  in  a  temple  yet  to  be  built  that  this  science  is  to  be 
erfected,  to  be  taught  and  to  be  learned. 
The  knowledge  of  God  is  all  the  bliss  which  rational  beings  oafu  pro- 
pose to  themselves.  This  knowledge,  indeed,  requires  an  acquaintance 
with  all  his  works ;  for,  as  we  learn  men  only  by  their  works,  we  learn 
our  Creator  only  by  his  works.  But  here  we  are  only  in  the  alphabet, 
and  here  we  can  never  rise  above  it ;  and  few,  indeed,  in  this  life  ac- 
quire an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  art  of  reading  God.  T\iq  primer 
which  God  has  put  into  the  hands  of  man  in  this  primary  school  is 
divided  into  three  chapters.  The  heads  of  these  are  creation,  provi- 
dence and  redemption.    It  is  God  alone  who,  to  the  initiated,  is  seen  ia 

24 


370 


THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY. 


every  character,  word  and  sentence  in  this  elementary  volume ;  and  he 
who  sees  not  Grod  in  every  sentence  of  this  primer,  knows  neither  him- 
self nor  any  thing  else  in  the  universe. 

This  memorable  occasion,  fellow- citizens  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  calls 
for  a  few  remarks  on  the  past,  the  present  and  the  future  providence 
of  God.  Aided  by  the  lights  of  the  living  oracles,  we  can  look  back  to 
the  birth  of  time,  and  forward  to  the  funeral  of  nature,  time  and  death. 
Looking  back  through  the  long  vista  of  past  ages,  beyond  the  birth  of 
the  empires  of  antiquity,  beyond  the  birth  of  kings  and  emperors  and 
governments,  we  find  a  world  without  Givil  government.  This  is 
farther  back  than  human  records  and  chronology  extend,  but  not 
farther  than  the  records  and  chronology  to  which  God  has  vouchsafed 
us  access.  In  a  world  without  civil  government,  the  earth  was  filled 
with  violence,  and  crime  multiplied,  until,  in  the  judgment  of  God,  the 
destruction  of  the  whole  race,  with  a  single  exception,  became  indis- 
pensable. As  water  first  felt  the  creative  energy  of  God,  by  its  agency 
the  first  general  judgment  was  inflicted.  The  anarchists  were  drowned ; 
and  in  their  death  and  burial  the  earth  was  washed  from  the  pollutions 
of  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty-six  years. 

In  the  New  World  an  avenger  of  crime,  and  especially  of  blood,  is 
the  first  institution.  The  second  chapter  of  the  history  of  the  Divine 
government  over  men  begins  with  the  establishment  of  civil  govern- 
ment. The  inhabitants  of  the  new  world  were  filed  ofi"  into  small 
groups,  called  tribes,  and  the  first  efi'ort  to  resist  this  arrangement  was 
avenged  by  the  confusion  of  human  speech,  which  made  dispersion 
unavoidable.  Patriarchs  and  princes  over  these  small  detachments  of 
human  beings,  called  nations,  wielded  the  sceptre  for  nearly  a  thousand 
years  without  any  remarkable  incident.  Cities  and  towns  and  palaces 
were  reared  and  ruined  during  the  interval  from  the  deluge  till  the 
erection  of  a  religious  nation.  At  that  time  tribes  had  grown  up  into 
lations,  and  nations  began  to  form  alliances,  and  thus  empires  began 
to  be  developed.  As  these  increased,  idolatry  began  to  increase.  The 
larger  the  groups  of  human  beings,  either  in  cities  or  empires,  the  more 
idolatrous  they  became.  They  refined  in  crime,  until  idolatry  became 
the  desolating  sin  of  the_  second  world,  as  violence  was  the  damning  sin 
of  the  antediluvian  world. 

To  save  the  second  world  from  one  general  ruin,  a  religious  nation 
was  erected,  upon  all  the  institutions  of  which  the  Divinity  was  in- 
scribed, and  in  such  a  way  that  nothing  but  the  annihilation  of  that 
nation  could  annihilate  the  knowledge  of  the  one  only  living  and  true 
God.     This  nation  began  in  miracle,  progressed  in  miracle,  was 


THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY. 


371 


governed  specially,  or  by  miracle,  and,  though  exiled  from  its  pos- 
sessions because  of  its  crimes,  miraculously  exists  still,  a  monument  of 
the  favor  of  God,  and  carrying  with  it  everywhere  a  proof  of  the 
Divinity  which  no  ingenuity,  however  perverse,  can  obliterate  or  deface. 
It  held  its  possessions  in  the  land  allotted  to  it  for  nearly  fifteen  hun- 
dred years. 

Then  opens  a  new  era.  A  celestial  King  is  born,  and  born  to  reign 
over  the  human  race  forever.  The  principles  of  his  government,  in 
their  grand  essentials,  are  new  principles.  This  new  institution,  new 
once,  and  still  new  in  contrast  with  the  past  and  with  the  reigning 
earthly  systems,  is  called,  significantly,  the  Beign  of  Heaven.  The 
King  is  heaven-born  and  divine.  Heavenly  and  divine  are  the  prin- 
ciples of  his  government ;  and  though  his  subjects  live  a  while  on.  earth," 
his  government  is  designed  to  give  them  a  taste  of,  and  a  taste  for, 
heavenly  things. 

His  government  began  in  conquest,  by  conquest  still  increases,  and 
will  by  conquests  ultimately  subdue  all  things  to  himself.  On  a  white 
horse,  with  a  single  crown  upon  his  head,  with  a  bow  and  a  full  quiver, 
in  the  book  of  symbols  he  appears  as  going  forth  to  war.  But  at  the 
end  of  the  long  campaign  he  appears  again,  with  many  crowns  upon  his 
head,  with  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  in  his  train,  and  with  the 
trophies  of  many  battles,  worshipped  as  the  King  of  kings  and  the 
Lord  of  lords. 

The  cardinal  principle  in  his  government  is  love.  He  subdues  by 
no  other  sword  than  that  of  the  Spirit.  Other  kings  subdue  men's 
persons  and  hold  a  sovereignty  over  their  estates,  but  he  seizes  the 
hearts  of  men.  To  conquer  enemies  is  his  grand  enterprise.  Philo- 
losophy  as  well  as  religion  teaches  us  that  to  conquer  enemies  is  not 
the  work  of  swords,  or  lances,  or  bows  of  steel.  It  is  not  to  bind 
men's  persons  to  a  triumphal  car,  to  incarcerate  them  in  strongholds, 
or  to  make  them  surrender  to  superior  bravery,  prowess  and  strength. 
To  conquer  an  enemy  is  to  convert  him  into  a  friend.  This  is  the 
noble,  benevolent  and  heaven-conceived  enterprise  of  God's  only-be- 
gotten Son.  To  do  this  aU  arms  and  modes  of  warfare  are  intpotentj" 
save  the  arms  and  munitions  of  everlasting  love.  By  vivid  displays 
of  God's  philanthropy  he  approaches  his  enemies,  and  by  the  argu- 
ments with  which  this  eloquence  is  fraught  he  addresses  a  rebel  world. 
Such  is  his  mode  of  warfare ;  a  system  devised  in  heaven,  and,  like  all 
of  God's  means,  perfectly  adapted  to  the  high  ends  proposed. 

But,  not  to  lose  sight  of  the  great  outline  of  things  begun,  let  us 
pause  and  survey  the  chapters  we  have  scanned.    In  the  first  we  saw 


372 


THE   FOURTH   OF  JULY. 


society  without  civil  government;  in  the  second,  society  with  civil 
government  without  religious  associations;  in  the  third,  society  under 
a  politico-religious  government;  and  in  the  fourth  chapter,  a  scheme 
begun  which  contemplates  the  government  of  men  by  religion  without 
politics,  by  the  efficacy  of  one  principle  alone.  This  is  the  chapter  of 
chapters  now  in  progress  and  full  of  the  greatest  and  most  astonishing 
incidents.  We  saw  the  rise,  progress  and  issue  of  three  states  ot 
society ;  but  as  yet  we  cannot  distinctly  see  the  issue  of  the  present. 
Its  progress  we  may  survey -and  its  tendency  we  may  appreciate,  but 
its  full  development  and  glorious  issue  are,  perhaps,  too  far  removed 
from  our  optics  and  from  our  experience  to  be  clearly  and  distinctly 
apprehended. 

But,  to  aid  us  in  looking  forward,  let  us  again  look  hack.  Chris- 
tianity, or  the  New  Institution,  was  set  up  under  a  Jewish  government. 
Under  that  government  it  existed  for  a  time ;  thence  it  passed  under 
a  Pagan  government;  next  under  a  Papal  government;  and  now,  in 
this  portion  of  the  earth,  it  has  come  under  a  political  government. 

Under  a  circumscribed  Jewish  government  it  began.  With  this  it 
did  not,  could  not,  coalesce.  Over  that  government  it  ultimately 
triumphed.  The  principles  of  that  government  and  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Jesus  Christ  were  at  variance,  and  therefore  one  or  the  other 
must  be  destroyed.  The  Jewish  government  fell,  and  fell  chiefly 
through  its  opposition  to  Christianity. 

It  next  passed  under  a  Pagan  government.  The  conflict  soon  began, 
and  the  Pagan  government  fell.  Christianity  triumphed'.  But  let  it 
be  distinctly  marked  that  Christianity  set  itself  in  no  other  way  against 
either  the  Jewish  or  Pagan  government,  than  as  its  principles  tended 
to  bestow  upon  mankind  a  happiness  from  which  that  government 
debarred  them ;  and  therefore  the  religion  of  Jesus — though  passive 
in  that  conflict,  and  though  imperial  Rome,  armed  with  all  political 
power,  and  allied  with  all  the  superstitions  of  past  ages,  was  active 
in  opposing  it — prevailed  and  broke  in  pieces  the  Pagan  power  which 
resisted  it. 

Papal  Pome  rises  out  of  the  ruins  of  Pagan  Rome.  Christianity  is 
then  subjected  to  a  more  insidiDus  and  a  more  unconquerable  govern- 
ment. This  government,  by  its  largesses  to  Christianity,  and  by  its 
paganized  Christian  institutes,  held  its  dominion  longer  over  the  insti- 
tution of  Jesus  than  ever  did,  or  than  ever  can,  any  government 
openly  opposed  to  its  principles.  But  even  over  this  Christianity  is 
triumphing,  and  so  far  has  triumphed  that  the  New  World  has  set  up 
twenty-four  governments,  and  is  setting  up  others,  upon  principles 


THE   FOURTH  OF  JULY. 


373 


variance  with  those  of  all  the  Papal  and  Pagan  governments  of  the  Old 
World.  So  far,  then,  Christianity  has  triumphed  and  is  triumphing 
over  Papal  Rome. 

Citizens  of  the  reign  of  heaven,  let  us  for  a  moment  turn  our  eyes  to 
that  government  under  v^hich  Christianity  exists  in  thie  most  favored 
of  all  lands,  in  this  wide  and  capacious  md  still-extending  empire. 
Tired  and  jaded  with  the  conflicts  of  Papal  Pome,  grieved  and  incensed 
at  the  infractions  of  the  rights  of  conscience  and  the  rights  of  men  and 
at  all  the  tyrannies  of  conflicting  sectarian  institutions,  our  ancestors 
sought  a  city  of  refuge,  a  hiding-place  from  the  storm,  in  this  newly- 
discovered  section  of  the  patrimony  of  lapheth.  God,  more  than  four, 
thousand  years  ago,  promised  to  Japheth  an  enlargement  of  his  terri-^ 
tory,  when  he  gave  him  the  broken  and  indented  patrimony  of  Europe. 
Here  he  found  it ;  and  our  fathers,  taught  in  the  schools  of  Papal  and 
sectarian  proscription,  imagined  that  a  government  without  any  re- 
ligion, a  government  purely  deistical,  skeptical  or  political,  was  the 
summum  honum — the  very  maximum  of  social  bliss.  They  went  as 
far  as  mortals,  stung  by  the  fiery  dragon,  could  go,  to  devise  a 
government  without  a  single  religious  institution.  They  succeeded  not 
only  in  declaring  but  in  sustaining  their  independence  in  the  eyes  of 
all  the  sons  of  pride,  and  in  rearing  for  themselves  and  their  children 
political  institutions  which  have  hitherto  secured,  and  will,  we  hope, 
continue,  to  secure,  till  Christianity  conquers  the  world,  the  greatest 
amount  of  political  and  temporal  happiness  hitherto  enjoyed  by  any 
people.  This  government  proposes  only  to  guard  the  temporal  and 
worldly  rights  of  men.  It  regards  this  world  as  the  only  appropriate 
object  of  its  supervision  and  protection.  It  permits  every  man  to  be 
of  no  religion,  or  of  any  religion  he  pleases.  I*g  has  no  partialities  for 
the  Jew,  the  Christian,  the  Turk  or  the  Indian.  Such  is  its  creed. 
Here  the  affairs  of  another  world  are  left  to  themselves.  The  govern- 
ment says  to  all  the  rival  sectarian  interests,  ''Fate  play  and  the 
EIGHTS  OF  MEN  !"  It  will  not  help  by  its  statutes,  nor  retard  by  its 
proscriptions,  any  religion,  or  sect  of  religionists,  now  on  the  theatre. 
This  is  all  that  Christianity  asks,  or  can  ask,  until  she  conquers  the 
world.  Whenever  a  sect  calls  for  the  governmental  arm  to  help  her — 
to  hold  her  up — she  proclaims  herself  overmatched  by  her  competitors, 
and  declares  her  consciousness  that  on  the  ground  of  reason  and  evi- 
dence  she  is  unable  to  stand. 

The  present  government  aims  at  being  purely  political,  and  therefore 
can  secure  only  man's  political  rights  and  promote  his  political  happi- 
fleas.    This  is  all  that  worldly  men  wish;  and  it  is  all  that  a  sectarian 


374 


THE  FOURTH   OF  JULY. 


profession  of  religion  can  reasonably  or  justly  require.  He  is  a  tyraiit 
in  principle,  and  would  be  one  in  practice,  who  asks  for  exclusive  pn- 
vileges.  None  but  tyrants  and  knaves  have  ever  sought  pre-eminencf> 
by  law  or  by  force. 

But  still  we  are  far  from  considering  that  a  political  government  cau 
ever  fill  up  the  measure  of  human,  of  social,  of  rational  enjoyment. 
And  all  confess  that  were  men  truly  religious  political  government 
would  be  unnecessary.  So  far  this  is  a  concession  in  favor  of  our  grand 
position,  that  Jesus  Christ  will  yet  govern  the  world  by  religion  only, 
and  that  by  the  operation  of  one  single  principle.  Then  shall  they 
literally  ''beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares  and  their  spears  into 
pruning-hooks,  and  learn  war  no  more."  Christianity  rightly  under- 
stood, cordially  embraced  and  fully  carried  out  •  in  practice,  will  as 
certainly  subvert  all  political  government,  the  very  best  as  well  as  the 
very  worst,  as  did  the  Jewish  institution  and  people  subvert  and  sup- 
plant the  seven  nations  which  once  occupied  the  land  of  Canaan. 

The  admirers  of  American  liberty  and  American  institutions  have 
no  cause  to  regret  such  an  event,  no  cause  to  fear  it.  It  will  be  but 
the  removing  of  a  tent  to  build  a  temple — the  falling  of  a  coLiage  after 
the  family  are  removed  into  a  castle.  Not  by  might,  nor  by  sword, 
but  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  will  the  political  institutions  of  our 
government  be  laid  aside.  The  sun  itself  and  the  systems  of  worlds 
which  revolve  round  it  we  can  well  dispense  with  when  we  arrive  in 
the  palace  of  the  universe,  where  God  is  the  Sun,  the  Light  and  the 
Glory.  So  our  best  political  institutions  we  can  part  with  without  a 
tear  or  a  sigh,  when  Jesus  reigns  on  earth,  and  has  placed  a  throne  in 
every  heart  and  built  a  temple  in  every  family. 

The  fourth  of  July,  1776,  was  a  memorable  day,  a  day  to  be  re- 
membered as  was  the  Jewish  Passover — a  day  to  be  regarded  with 
grateful  acknowledgments  by  every  American  citizen,  by  every  phi- 
lanthropist in  all  the  nations  of  the  world.  The  light  which  shines 
from  our  political  institutions  will  penetrate  even  the  dungeons  of 
European  despots,  for  the  genius  of  our  Government  is  the  genius  of 
universal  emancipation/  Nothing  can  resist  the  political  influence 
of  a  great  nation,  enjoying  great  political  advantages,  if  she  walk 
worthy  of  them.  The  example  which  our  Government  gives  is  neces- 
sarily terrible  to  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe,  and  exhilarating  to  all 
who  look  for  the  redemption  of  man  from,  political  degradation. 

But  there  is  the  superlative  as  well  as  the  comparative  degree.  A 
more  illustrious  day  is  yet  in  prospect — a  day  when  it  shall  be  said, 
"Kejoice  over  her,  you  holy  apostles  and  prophets,  for  God  has  avenged 


THE   FOUETH  OF  JULY. 


376 


you  on  her  !" — a  day  on  which  an  angel  shall  proclaim,  ''The  kingdoms 
of  this  world  have  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord!" — a  day  on 
which  it  shall  be  sung,  "  The  kingdom,  and  dominion,  and  the  great- 
ness of  the  kingdoms  under  the  whole  heaven,  is  given  to  the  people  of 
the  Most  High,  and  all  people  shall  serve  and  obey  him!"  This  will 
be  a  day  of  gladness  only  to  be  surpassed  by  the  joys  of  the  resur- 
rection. 

The  American  Eevolution  is  but  the  precursor  of  a  revolution  of 
infinitely  more  importance  to  mankind.  It  was  a  great,  a  happy  and 
a  triumphant  revolution.  But  time  and  space  limit  and  circumscribe 
all  its  blessings  to  mankind.  It  will  long,  perhaps  always,  be  accounted 
an  illustrious  and  happy  era  in  the  history  of  man.  Many  thanks- 
givings and  praises  have  reached  unto  heaven  because  of  this  great 
deliverance.  The  incense  of  gratitude,  perfumed  with  the  praises  of 
saints,  has  long  risen  from  myriads  of  hearts,  and  will  continue  to  rise 
until  the  cloud  shall  cover  the  whole  earth,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
be  reflected  upon  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

The  praises  of  a  Washington,  a  Franklin  and  a  Jefferson  wiU  long 
resound  through  the  hills  and  valleys  of  this  spacious  country,  and 
will,  in  proportion  as  men  are  prepared  to  taste  the  blessings  to  result 
from  the  next  revolution,  continually  increase.  Posterity  will  only 
mingle  their  regrets  that,  like  Moses,  all  their  political  leaders  died 
short  of  the  promised  land — that,  while  they  guided  the  tribes  almost 
to  Canaan,  they  fell  in  the  wilderness,  without  tasting  the  sweets  of  the 
good  inheritance. 

A  more  glorious  work  is  reserved  for  this  generation — a  work  of 
as  much  greater  moment,  compared  with  the  Revolution  of  '76,  as 
immortality  is  to  the  present  span  of  human  life — the  emancipation  of 
the  human  mind  from  the  shackles  of  superstition,  and  the  introduc- 
tion of  human  beings  into  the  full  fruition  of  the  reign  of  heaven. 
To  liberate  the  minds  of  men  from  sectarian  tyrannies — to  deliver 
them  from  the  melancholy  thraldom  of  relentless  systems,  is  a  work 
fraught  with  greater  blessings,  a  wwk  of  a  nobler  daring  and  loftier 
enterprise,  than  the  substitution  of  a  representative  democracy  for 
an  absolute  or  limited  monarchy.  This  revolution,  taken  in  aU  its 
influences,  will  make  men  free  indeed.  A  political  revolution  can  only 
make  men  politically  free  to  task  themselves,  and  to  exact  from  them- 
selves a  service  which  few  of  the  despots  of  more  barbarous  climes 
inflict  upon  their  veriest  slaves. 

Talk  not  of  a  liberty  which  only  makes  men  greater  slaves.  Under 
the  monarchies  of  the  Old  World  men  are  more  free  from  tbpniselvee 


376 


THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY. 


than  under  the  free  government  of  these  United  States.  The  reason 
is,  under  this  free  government  the  citizens  have  the  opportunity  and 
the  liberty  of  improving  and  bettering  their  circumstances  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  engross  all  their  energies,  to  call  forth  all  their  powers  : 
hence,  upon  themselves  they  impose  such  tasks  and  inflict  such  toils 
and  privations  as  few  of  the  monarchs  of  the  East  would  be  so  cruel 
as  to  impose  upon  their  subjects.  Here  in  this  land  of  liberty  we 
see  all  men  striving  for  power.  The  accomplishment  of  one  or  more 
projects  does  not  diminish  their  labor  or  their  enterprise.  Quite  the 
reverse  :  the  more  successful,  the  more  eager  to  commence  again.  And 
how  often,  how  very  often,  do  we  see  men  dying  under  the  whip  of 
their  own  cupidity,  in  full  harness  pulling  up  the  hill  of  their  own 
ambition,  when  death  kindly  interposes,  takes  the  burden  off  their 
galled  shoulders,  and  strips  them  for  the  shroud !  Yet  they  boast  of 
being  free !  Free ! — yes,  to  make  slaves  of  themselves  !  If  the  Son 
of  God  had  made  them  free,  they  would  not  thus  toil  till  the  last 
pulsation  of  their  hearts. 

Men  love  independence;  and  of  this  we  boast.  Yet  there  is  not 
a  perfect  consistency  in  our  assumptions  upon  this  subject.  We  have 
heard  men  boast  of  their  independence,  when  the  tailor,  the  cordwainer, 
the  merchant  and  the  physician  were  continually  called  upon  for  their 
services.  We  have  heard  our  citizens  boast  of  their  national  inde- 
pendence, when  almost  every  article  of  their  apparel,  even  to  the 
buttons  on  their  wrists,  was  of  foreign  growth  and  manufacture. 
And,  what  is  still  more  inconsistent,  we  have  heard  our  fellow-citizens 
boast  of  political  independence,  and  seen  them  content  to  import  their 
creed  from  Scotland,  to  yield  to  a  system  manufactured  in  Greneva,  and 
at  the  same  time  slavishly  serving  divers  lusts,  and  living  under  the 
dominion  of  the  fiercest  passions  and  most  grovelling  propensities  of 
human  nature. 

Conscience  makes  slaves  as  well  as  cowards  of  multitudes  who  boast  of 
being  free.  No  person  who  is  under  the  fear  of  death  ever  can  be  free. 
They  who  are  afraid  of  the  consequences  of  death  are  all  their  lifetime 
in  bondage.  To  escape  from  this  vassalage  is  worthy  of  the  greatest 
struggle  which  man  could  make.  This,  however,  is  the  first  boon  which 
Christianity  tenders  to  all  who  put  themselves  under  its  influence.  It 
proclaims  a  jubilee  to  the  soul — it  opens  the  prison-doors,  and  sets  the 
captives  free.  The  King  of  Saints  holds  not  one  of  his  voluntary 
dubjects  under  a  vassalage  so  cruel.  The  corruptions  of  antichristian 
systems  are  admirably  adapted  to  increase  and  cherish  this  fear,  which 
tends  to  bondage;  but  to  those  who  embrace  and  bow  to  the  rc.il 


THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY. 


377 


gospel,  there  is  bestowed  a  full  deliverance,  and  a  gracious  exemption 
from  this  most  grievous  bondage  of  the  soul. 

But  when  I  name  the  true  gospel,  the  proclamation  of  God's  phi- 
lanthropy, the  declaration  of  the  independence  of  the  kingdom  of  Jesus, 
I  am  constrained  to  remind  you,  my  fellow-citizens  of  the  Christian 
kingdom,  that  this  is  the  mighty  instrument  by  which  this  world  is  to 
be  revolutionized — this  is  the  sword  of  the  Eternal  Spirit — this  is  that 
weapon  which  is  mighty,  through  God,  to  the  demolition  of  all  the 
strongholds  of  the  man  of  sin,  as  well  as  of  that  strong  one  that  rules 
and  reigns  in  the  hearts  of  the  children  of  disobedience.  By  it  alone, 
proclaimed  and  proved  and  sustained  in  the  lives  of  its  advocates, 
were  the  Jewish  and  Pagan  institutions  of  former  ages  supplanted  by 
the  Christian,  and  that  great  change  in  society  effected  which  is  still 
blessing  the  earth  with  the  influences  of  peace  and  good  will.  By  its 
influences  the  leopard  and  the  kid,  the  lion  and  the  lamb,  have  in  innu- 
merable instances  been  made  most  friendly  associates  and  companions. 
It  imparts  courage  to  the  timid,  strength  to  the  infirm,  hearing  to  the 
deaf,  and  speech  to  the  dumb.  It  gives  peace  to  the  conscience,  rest  to 
the  soul,  ardor  to  the  affections,  and  animation  to  the  hopes  of  men. 
It  is  God's  wisdom  and  his  power,  btecause  it  is  his  philanthropy  drawn 
to  the  life,  and  exhibited  bv  the  strons-est  arsiument  in  the  universe 
— the  death  of  his  only  Son. 

To  introduce  the  last  and  most  beneficial  change  in  society,  it  is 
only  necessary  to  let  the  gospel,  in  its  own  plainness,  simplicity  and 
force,  speak  to  men.  Divest  it  of  all  the  appendages  of  human  phi- 
losophy, falsely  so  called,  and  of  all  the  traditions  and  dogmas  of  men; 
and  in  its  power  it  will  pass  from  heart  to  heart,  from  house  to 
house,  from  city  to  city,  until  it  bless  the  whole  earth.  See  how  fra- 
ternal it  is.  Since  it  began  to  be  proclaimed,  and  sustained  by  the 
ancient  order  of  things,  see  what  changes  it  has  made,  and  what  effects 
it  has  produced,  and  with  what  rapidity  it  has  spread  over  the  country. 
More  new  churches  have  been  formed  within  twelve  months,  where 
the  primitive  gospel  has  been  proclaimed  with  clearness  and  power, 
than  the  twelve  preceding  years  can  count  under  the  humanized  gospel 
of  the  sects. 

While  the  mere  politicians  of  the  land  and  the  children  of  the  flesh 
are  rejoicing  together  around  their  festive  boards,  and  in  toasts  and 
songs  boasting  of  their  heroes  and  themselves.,  we  ought  to  glory  in  the 
Lord,  rejoice  in  the  God  of  our  salvation,  and  sing  a  loftier  song  and  of 
purer  joy  than  they.  And  while  with  them  we  remember  with  gra- 
titude the  achievements  of  the  patriots  of  the  land,  we  ought  to  rejoice 


378 


THE  FOURTH  OF  JUJiY. 


with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory  in  recollecting  the  Christian 
Chief,  and  his  holy  apostles,  who  has  made  us  free  indeed,  and  given 
us  the  rank  and  dignity,  not  of  citizens  of  earthly  states,  but  of  heaven. 
Yes :  he  is  worthy  of  all  gratitude,  and  of  all  adoration,  who  has  made 
all  the  citizens  of  his  kingdom  not  citizens  only,  but  citizen-kings  and 
priests  to  God. 

While  they  extol  the  bloody  battles  of  the  warrior,  as  "every  battle 
of  the  warrior  is  with  confused  noise  and  garments  rolled  in  blood," 
let  us  not  forget  the  victories  of  Him  who  did  not  lift  up  his  voice  in 
the  streets — who  did  not  use  so  much  as  a  broken  reed,  nor  consume 
a  single  torch,  until  he  made  his  laws  victorious.  In  that  spirit  of 
mildness,  meekness  and  unostentatious  heroism,  let  us  fight  the  good 
fight  of  faith,  and,  as  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ,  let  us  all  be  friund 
faithful  at  our  posts. 

We  may  not  rejoice  once,  but  always.  We  may  have  our  feasts  of 
gratitude  and  love,  and  with  the  saints  of  olden  times  we  may  shout 
for  joy.  We  may  say,  with  Isaiah,  ''Sing,  0  heavens  !  and  be  joyful,  0 
earth !  and  break  forth  into  singing,  0  mountains !  for  the  Lord  has 
comforted  his  people,  and  will  have  mercy  upon  his  afflicted.  Sing 
unto  the  Lord,  for  he  has  done  excellent  things  !  Cry  out  and  shout, 
0  inhabitant  of  Zion  !  for  great  is  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  in  the  midst 
of  thee."  And  with  Habakkuk  let  us  say,  ''Although  the  fig-tree  shall 
not  blossom,  neither  shall  fruit  be  on  the  vine ;  though  the  labor  of 
the  olive  shall  fail,  and  the  fields  shall  yield  no  food ;  though  the  flocks 
shall  be  cut  off  from  the  fold,  and  there  shall  be  no  herd  in  the  stalls : 
yet  we  will  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  and  joy  in  the  God  of  our  salvation." 
"Let  the  heavens  rejoice;  let  the  earth  be  glad;  let  the  sea  roar;  let 
the  fields  be  joyful;  let  all  the  trees  of  the  forest  rejoice;  let  the  hills 
be  joyful  together  before  the  Lord,  because  he  comes  to  bless  his 
people.  Bless  the  Lord,  all  his  works,  in  all  places  of  his  dominions : 
bless  the  Lord,  0  my  soul  i" 


ADDRESS  ON  DEMONOLOGY. 


DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE  POPULAR  LECTURE  CLUB,  NASHVILLE,  TEN^ 
NESSEE,  MARCH  10,  1841. 


Mr.  President, 

And  Gentlemen,  members  of  the  Popular  Lecture  Club : — 
While  the  antiquary  is  gathering  up  the  mouldering  ruins  of  ancient 
temples,  palaces  and  cities,  or  poring  over  the  coins,  medals  and 
statues  of  other  ages,  seeking  to  prove  or  to  embellish  some  theory  of 
the  olden  times;  while  the  astronomer  is  directing  his  largest  telescope 
to  some  remote  ethereal  field,  far  beyond  the  Milky  Way,  in  search  of 
new  nebulae  unseen  hitherto,  in  hope  to  find  the  nucleus  of  some  incipient 
solar  system ;  while  the  speculative  geologist  is  delving  down  to  the 
foundations  of  the  eternal  mountains,  in  quest  of  new  evidences  of  his 
doctrine  of  successive  and  long-protracted  formations  of  the  massy 
strata  of  mother  earth,  "rock-ribbed  and  ancient  as  the  sun;"  while 
the  skeptic  is  exultingly  scanning  the  metaphysical  dream  of  some 
imaginary  system  of  nature,  or  seeking  in  the  desolations  of  the  ancient 
mythologies  arguments  against  the  mighty  facts  and  overwhelming 
demonstrations  of  the  Christian  faith — may  I  be  allowed,  gentlemen, 
to  invite  you  into  the  precincts  of  Demonology,  to  accompany  me 
in  a  brief  excursion  into  the  land  of  demons,  whence,  dark  and  mys- 
terious though  it  be,  we  may  perhaps,  guided  by  some  friendly  star, 
elicit  some  useful  light  on  that  grand  and  awful  world  of  spirits  which, 
as  we  descend  the  hill  of  life,  rises  higher  and  higher  in  its  demands 
upon  our  time  and  thoughts,  as  embracing  the  all-absorbing  interests 
of  human  kind  ? 

Think  not,  however,  that  I  intend  to  visit  the  fairy  realms  and 
enchanting  scenes  of  wild  romance,  or  that  I  wish  to  indulge  in  the 
fascinating  fictions  of  poets,  ancient  or  modern ;  think  not  that  I  am 
about  to  ascend  with  old  Hesiod  into  his  curious  theogony  of  gods  and 
demigods,  or  to  descend  with  the  late  Sir  Walter  Scott  to  the  phan- 
tasraatic  realms  of  Celtic  and  Scottish  ghosts  and  demons.    I  aim  at 

37d 


380 


DEMOXOLOGY. 


more  substantial  entertainment,  at  more  sober  and  grave  realities,  than 
the  splendid  fancies  of  those  gifted  and  fortunate  votaries  of  popular 
applause. 

The  subject  of  demons,  as  forming  a  portion  of  the  real  antiquities 
of  the  world — as  connected  with  Pagan,  Jewish  and  Christian  theology 
— the  subject  of  demons,  sometimes  called  devils,  not  in  their  fictitious, 
but  in  their  true  character,  is  that  which  I  propose  to  discuss;  for 
even  here,  as  in  every  thing  else,  there  are  the  fact  and  the  fable,  the 
true  and  the  false,  the  real  and  the  imaginary.  The  extravagant 
fancies  of  the  poets,  the  ghosts  and  spectres  of  the  dark  ages,  have 
spread  their  sable  mantles  upon  this  subject,  and  involved  it  either  in 
philosophical  dubiety  or  in  a  blind  iadiscriminate  infidelity. 

The  Chiistian  philosopher  in  this  department,  as  in  most  others, 
finds  truth  and  fable  blended  in  the  same  tradition;  and  therefore, 
neither  awed  by  authority,  nor  allured  by  the  fascinations  of  novelty, 
he  institutes  an  examination  into  the  merits  of  this  subject,  which,  if 
true,  cannot  but  deeply  interest  the  thoughtful,  and  if  false,  should  be 
banished  from  the  minds  of  all. 

That  a  class  of  beings  designated  demons  has  been  an  element  of  the 
faith,  an  object  of  the  dro; '1  and  veneration,  of  all  ages  and  nations,  as 
far  back  as  memory  reaches,  no  one  who  believes  in  a  spiritual  system 
— no  one  who  regards  the  volumes  of  divine  inspiration,  or  who  is  even 
only  partially  acquainted  with  Pagan  and  Jewish  antiquity,  can  reason- 
ably doubt.  But  concerning  these  demons,  of  what  order  of  intelli- 
gences, of  what  character  and  destiny,  of  what  powers  intellectual  and 
moral,  there  has  been  much  debate,  and  there  is  need  of  further  and 
more  satisfactory  examination. 

Before  entering  either  philosophically  or  practically  into  this  inves- 
tigation, it  is  necessary  that  we  define  the  true  and  proper  meaning  of 
the  term  demon.  This  word,  it  is  said,  is  of  Grecian  origin  and 
chai'acter — of  which,  however,  we  have  not  full  assurance.  In  that 
language  it  is  written  and  pronounced  daimoon,  and,  according  to 
some  etymologists,  is  legitimately  descended  from  a  very  ancient  verb, 
pronounced  daioo,  which  means  to  discriminate,  to  know.  Daimoon, 
or  demon,  therefore,  simply  indicates  a  person  of  intelligence — a  know- 
ing one.  Thus,  before  the  age  of  philosophy,  or  the  invention  of  the 
name,  those  were  called  demons,  as  a  title  of  honor,  who  afterwards 
assumed  the  more  modest  title  of  philosophers.  Aristotle,  for  his  great 
learning,  was  called  a  demon,  as  was  the  celebrated  Thucydides :  hence 
among  the  Platonists  it  was  for  some  time  a  title  of  honor.  But  this. 
It  must  be  observed,  was  a  special  appropriation,,  like  our  use  of  the 


DEMONOLOGY. 


381 


words  divine  and  reverend.  When  we  apply  these  titles  to  sinful  men, 
who,  because  of  their  calling,  ought  to  be  not  only  intelligent,  but  of  a 
divine  and  celestial  temper  and  morality,  we  use  them  by  a  special 
indulgence  from  that  sovereign  pontiff  with  whom  is  the  jus  et  norma 
loquendi. 

But  as  some  of  the  Platonists  elevated  the  spirits  of  departed  heroes, 
public  benefactors  and  distinguished  men  into  a  species  of  demigods 
or  mediators  between  them  and  the  Supreme  Divinity,  as  some  of  our 
forefathers  were  accustomed  to  regard  the  souls  of  departed  saints,  this 
term  began  to  be  used  in  a  more  general  sense.  Among  some  philoso- 
phers it  became  the  title  of  an  object  of  worship;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  degenerated  into  the  genii  of  poetry  and  imagination. 

In  tracing  the  popular  transitions  of  words,  permit  me,  gentlemen, 
to  say  that  we  are  not  to  imagine  that  they  ceremoniously  advance, 
like  our  naval  and  military  officers,  from  one  rank  to  another,  by  some 
systematic  or  conventional  agreement.  On  the  contrary,  the  transitions 
are  exceedingly  anomalous,  and  sometimes  inverted.  In  this  instance 
the  term  demon,  from  simply  indicating  a  knowing  one,  became  the 
title  of  a  human  spirit  when  divested  of  its  clay  tenement,  because 
of  its  supposed  initiation  into  the  secrets  of  another  world.  Thus  a 
separated  spirit  became  a  genius,  a  demigod,  a  mediator,  a  divinity  of 
the  ancient  superstition,  according  to  its  acquirements  in  this  state  of 
probation. 

But  we  shall  better  understand  the  force  and  import  of  this  myste- 
rious word  from  its  earliest  acceptation  among  the  elder  Pagans,  Jews 
and  Christians,  than  from  the  speculations  of  etymologists  and  lexico- 
graphers. Historical  facts,  then,  and  not  etymological  speculations, 
shall  decide  not  only  its  meaning,  but  the  character  and  rank  of  those 
beings  on  whom,  by  common  consent,  this  significavut  title  wa.s  con- 
ferred. 

To  whom,  then,  among  Pagan  writers  shall  we  make  our  first  appeal  ? 
Shall  we  not  at  once  carry  up  the  question  to  the  most  venerable 
Hesiod,  the  oldest  of  Grecian  bards,  whose  style  even  antedates  that 
of  Homer  himself  almost  one  hundred  years  ?  Shall  we  not  appeal  to 
the  genealogist  of  all  the  gods,  the  great  theogonist  of  Grecian  mytho- 
logy ?  Who  moro  likely  than  he  to  be  acquainted  with  the  ancient 
♦•.raditions  of  demons  ?  And  what  is  the  sum  of  his  testimony  in  the 
case?  Hear  him  speak  in  the  nvords  of  Plutarch: — ''The  spirits  of 
mortals  become  demons  when  separated  from  their  earthly  bodies." 
The  Grecian  biographist  not  only  quotes  with  approbation  the  views  of 
Hesiod,  but  c^-^roborates  them  by  the  result  of  his  own  researches, 


382 


DEMONOLOGY. 


avowing  his  conviction  that  the  demons  of  the  Greeks  were  the 
ghosts  and  genii  of  departed  men ;  and  that  they  go  up  and  down  the 
earth  as  observers,  and  even  rewarders,  of  men;  and  although  not 
actors  themselves,  they  encourage  others  to  act  in  harmony  with 
their  views  and  characters."  Zenocrates,  too,  as  quoted  by  Aristotle, 
extends  the  term  to  the  souls  of  men  before  death,  and  calls  them 
demons  while  in  the  body.  To  the  good  demons  and  the  spirits  of 
deceased  heroes  they  allotted  the  office  of  mediators  between  gods  and 
men.*  In  this  light  Zoroaster,  Thales,  Pythagoras,  Plato,  Plutarch, 
Celsus,  Apuleius,  and  many  others  regarded  the  demons  of  their 
times. 

Whoever,  indeed,  will  be  at  pains  to  examine  the  Pagan  mythologies, 
one  and  all,  will  discover  that  some  doctrine  of  demons,  as  respects 
their  nature,  abodes,  characters  or  employments,  is  the  ultimate  found- 
ation of  their  whole  superstructure ;  and  that  the  radical  idea  of  all 
the  dogmata  of  their  priests,  and  the  fancies  and  fables  of  their  poets, 
is  found  in  that  most  ancient  and  veritable  tradition — that  the  spirits 
of  men  survive  their  fallen  tabernacles,  and  live  in  a  disembodied  state 
from  death  to  the  dissolution  of  material  nature.  To  these  spirits,  in 
the  character  of  genii,  gods  or  demigods,  they  assigned  the  fates  and 
fortunes  of  men  and  countries.  With  them  a  hero  on  earth  became  a 
demon  in  hades,  and  a  demigod,  a  numen,  a  divinity,  in  the  skies.  It 
is  not  without  some  reason  that  the  witty  and  ingenious  Lucian  makes 
his  dialogist,  in  the  orthodoxy  of  his  age,  ask  and  answer  the  fol- 
lowing questions  : —  What  is  man  ?  A  mortal  god.  And  what  is 
God?  An  immortal  man.  In  one  sentence,  all  Pagan  antic uity 
affirms  that  from  Titan  and  Saturn,  the  poetic  progeny  of  Coelusm  and 
Terra,  down  to  ^sculapius,  Proteus  and  Minos,  all  their  divinities 
were  the  ghosts  of  dead  men,  and  were  so  regarded  by  the  most  erudite 
of  the  Pagans  themselves. 

Think  not,  gentlemen,  that  because  we  summon  the  Pagan  witnesses 
first,  we  regard  them  as  the  first  either  in  point  of  age  or  character. 
Far  from  it.  They  were  a  set  of  plagiarists,  frpm  Hesiod  to  Lucian. 
The  Greeks  were  the  greatest  literary  thieves  and  robbers  that  ever 
lived ;  and  they  had  the  most  consummate  art  of  concealing  the  theft. 
From  these  Pagans,  whether  Greeks  or  Eomans,  we  ascend  to  the  Jews 
and  to  the  Patriarchs,  whose  annals  transcend  those  of  the  most  ancient 
Pagans  many  centuries. 


^  Hence  the  saint-worship  and  saint  mediators  of  the  dark  ages,  and  of  the  les» 
farored  portions  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 


DEMONOLOGY. 


383 


In  the  times  of  the  Patriarchs,  in  the  infancy  of  the  Abrahamic 
family,  long  before  the  time  of  their  own  Moses,  we  learn  that  in  the 
land  of  Canaan,  almost  coeval  with  the  promise  of  it  to  Abraham, 
demons  were  recognized  and  worshipped.  The  consultation  of  the 
spirits  of  the  dead,  the  art  and  mystery  of  necromancy,  familiar  spirits, 
and  wizards,  are  older  than  Moses,  and  are  spoken  of  by  him  as  mat- 
ters of  ancient  faith  and  veneration.  Statutes,  indeed,  are  ordained, 
and  laws  are  promulged  from  Mount  Sinai  in  Arabia,  by  the  Eter- 
nal King,  against  the  worship  of  demons,  the  consultation  of  familiar 
spirits,  the  practice  of  necromancy,  and  all  the  arts  of  divination; 
of  which  we  may  speak  more  particularly  in  the  sequel.  Hence  we 
affirm  that  the  doctrine  of  a  separate  state — of  disembodied  ghosts, 
or  demons — of  necromancy  and  divination,  is  a  thousand  years  older 
than  Homer  or  Hesiod,  than .  any  Pagan  historian,  philosopher  or  poet 
whomsoever.  And  so  deeply  rooted  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  so  early  and 
80  long  cherished  and  taught  by  the  seven  nations,  was  this  doctrine  in 
all  its  branches,  that,  notwithstanding  the  severe  statutes  against  it, 
traces  of  it  are  found  among  the  Jews  for  almost  a  thousand  years 
after  Moses.  Of  the  wicked  Jeroboam  it  is  said,  "  He  ordained  priests 
for  the  high  places,  and  for  the  demons."*  Even  David  admits  that 
his  nation  ''learned  the  works  of  the  heathen,  served  their  idols,  and 
sacrificed  their  sons  and  daughters  to  demons ;"  and  he  adds,  "  they  ate 
the  sacrifices  of  the  dead;''  a  clear  intimation  that  worshipping  demons 
was  worshipping  the  dead.  Isaiah,  too,  lamenting  their  idolatry, 
asks  the  mortifying  question,  Shall  a  people  seek  the  living  to 
the  dead?" 

But  there  is  a  peculiarity  in  the  acceptation  of  this  term  among 
Jews  and  Pagans  which  demands  special  attention.  With  them 
the  term  demon  generally,  if  not  universally,  denoted  an  unclean, 
malign  or  wicked  spirit;  whereas  amongst  the  Pagans  it  as  often 
represented  a  good  as  an  evil  spirit.  Who  has  not  heard  of  the  good 
demon  of  Socrates,  and  of  the  evil  genius  of  Brutus?  while  among 
Jews  and  Christians  so  commonly  are  found  the  akatharta  pneumata 
or  the  ponera  pneumata — the  unclean  and  malign  spirits — that  our 
translators  have  almost  uniformly  translated  them  devils. 

In  the  Christian  Scriptures,  we  meet  the  term  demon,  in  one  form 
or  other,  seventy-five  times,  and  in  such  circumstances  as,  with  but 
one  or  two  exceptions,  constrain  us  to  regard  it  as  the  representative 
of  a  wicked  and  unclean  spirit.    So  general  is  this  fact,  that  Beelze- 


■*  Deuteronomy  xviii.  10:  LevitiouB  xvii.  7,  &c  ;  2  Chron.  xi.  15:  Psalm  CTi.  37 


384 


DEMOXOLOGY. 


bub  is  dignified  ''the  prince  of  the  demons'' — unfortunately  rendered 
devils.  This  association  of  the  idea  of  wickedness  with  the  word 
daimoon  may  have  induced  our  translators  to  give  us  so  many  devils 
in  their  authorized  version.  But  this  misapprehension  is  now  uni- 
versally admitted  and  regretted ;  for,  while  the  Bible  teaches  many 
demons,  it  nowhere  intimates  a  plurality  of  devils  or  Satans.  There  is 
but  one  devil  or  Satan  in  the  universe,  whose  lesrions  of  ano-els  and 
demons  give  him  a  sort  of  omnipresence,  by  acting  out  his  will  in  all 
their  intercourse  with  mortals.  This  evil  spirit,  whose  official  titles 
are  the  serpent,  the  devil  and  Satan,  is  always  found  in  the  singular 
number  in  both  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  Scriptures;  while  deynon  is 
found  in  both  numbers,  indicating  sometimes  one,  and  sometimes  a 
legion. 

But,  not  to  be  tedious  in  this  work  of  definition,  and  that  we  may 
enter  at  once  upon  the  subject  with  a  zeal  and  spirit  worthy  of  a 
topic  which  lays  the  axe  at  the  root  of  the  tree  of  modern  Saddn- 
cism,  materialism  and  skepticism,  we  shall  proceed  to  sum  up  the 
evidence  in  proof  of  the  proposition  which  we  shall  state  as  the  pecu- 
liar theme  of  this  great  literary  adventure.  That  proposition  is-  - 
The  demons  of  Paganism,  Judaism  and  Christianity  were  the  ghosts 
of  dead  men. 

But  some  of  you  may  say.  You  have  proposed  to  dismiss  this 
work  of  definition  too  soon;  for  here  is  the  horrible  word  ghost. 
Of  what  is  that  term  the  sign  in  your  style  ?  Well,  we  must  explain 
ourselves. 

Our  Saxon  forefathers,  of  whom  we  have  no  good  reason  to  be 
ashamed,  were  wont  to  call  the  spirits  of  men,  especially  when  sepa- 
lated  from  their  bodies,  ghosts.  This,  however^  they  did,  not  with  the 
associations  which  arise  in  our  minds  on  every  pronunciation  of  that 
startling  term.  Guest  and  ghost,  with  them,  if  not  synonyms,  were, 
at  least,  cousins-german.  They  regarded  the  body  as  the  house,  and, 
therefore,  called  the  spirit  the  guest;  for  guest  and  ghost  are  two 
branches  from  the  same  root.  William  Tyndale,  the  martyr,  of  excellent 
memory,  in  his  version  of  the  New  Testament — the  prototype  of  that 
of  King  James — very  judiciously  makes  the  Holy  Spirit  of  the  Old 
Testament  the  Holy  Ghost  of  the  New;  because,  in  his  judgment,  it 
was  the  promised  guest  of  the  Christian  temple. 

Still,  it  is  difficult,  I  own,  to  hear  the  word  ghost  or  demon 
without  the  recollection  of  the  nursery  tales  and  fictions  of  our 
irrational  systems  of  early  education.  We  suffer  little  children  to 
hear  so  much  of 


DEMONOLOGY. 


385 


"  apparitions  tall  and  ghastly, 
That  take  their  stand  o'er  some  new-open'd  grave, 
And,  strange  to  tell,  evanish  at  the  crowing  of  the  cock," 

that  tuey  become,  not  only  in  youth,  but  often  in  riper  years,  the  prey 
and  sport  of  idle  fears  and  terrors  which  scarce  the  firm  philosopher 
can  scorn."    Not  only  the  graveyard, 

"but  the  lonely  tower 
Is  also  shunn'd,  whose  mournful  cloisters  hold — 
So  night-struck  fancy  dreams — the  yelling  ghost." 

Imagination  once  startled, 

"  In  grim  array  the  nightly  spectres  rise  : 
Oft  have  we  seen  the  school-boy,  satchel  in  hand, 
When  passing  by  some  haunted  spot,  at  lonely  even, 
Whistling  aloud  to  bear  his  courage  up.    Suddenly  he  hears, 
Or  thinks  he  hears,  the  sound  of  something  purring  at  his  heels ; 
Full  fast  he  flies,  nor  does  he  look  behind  him. 
Till,  out  of  breath,  he  overtake  his  fellows, 
Who  gather  round  and  wonder  at  the  tale." 

Parents  are  greatly  in  fault  for  permitting  such  tales  to  disturb  the 
fancies  of  their  infant  offspring.  The  love  of  the  marvellous  and  of  th« 
supernatural  is  so  deeply  planted  in  human  nature,  that  it  needs  but 
little  cultivation  to  make  it  fruitful  in  all  manner  of  fairy-tales,  of 
ghosts  and  spectres.  But  there  is  an  opposite  extreme — the  denial  of 
spirits,  angels,  demons,  whether  good  or  bad.  Here,  too,  media  ibis 
tutissima — "the  middle  path  the  safer  is." 

But  to  our  proposition.  We  have,  from  a  careful  survey  of  the 
history  of  the  term  demon,  concluded  that  the  demons  of  Paganismy 
Judaism  and  Christianity  were  the  ghosts  of  dead  men.  But  we  build 
not  merely  upon  the  definition  of  the  term  or  on  its  philological  history, 
but  upon  the  following  seven  pillars : — 

1.  All  Pagan  authors  of  note,  whose  works  have  survived  the  wreck 
of  ages,  affirm  the  opinion  that  demons  were  the  spirits  or  ghosts  of 
dead  men.  From  Hesiod  down  to  the  more  polished  Gelsus,  historians, 
poets  and  philosophers  occasionally  express  this  opinion. 

2.  The  Jewish  historians,  Josephus  and  Philo,  also  avow  this  con- 
viction. Josephus  says,  ''Demons  are  the  spirits  of  wicked  men,  who 
enter  into  living  men  and  destroy  them,  unless  they  are  so  happy  as  to 
meet  with  speedy  relief."*  Philo  says,  ''The  souls  of  dead  men  are 
called  demons." 


*  De  Bello  Jud.,  cap.  viii.  25;  cap.  vi.  sect.  3. 
25 


386 


DEMONOLOGY. 


3.  The  Christian  fathers,  Justin  Martyr,  Irenaeus,  Origen,  &c.  depose 
to  the  same  eflPect.    Justin,  when  arguing  for  a  future  state,  says, 

Those  who  are  seized  and  tormented  by  the  souls  of  the  dead,  whom 
all  call  demons  and  madmen."*  Lardner,  after  examining  with  the 
utmost  care  the  works  of  these  and  all  the  other  fathers  of  the  first 
two  centuries,  says,  The  notion  of  demons,  or  the  souls  of  dead  men, 
having  power  over  living  men,  was  universally  prevalent  among  the 
heathen  of  these  times,  and  believed  by  many  Christians. "f 

4.  The  evangelists  and  apostles  of  Jesus  Christ  so  understood  the 
matter.  As  this  is  a  very  important,  and,  of  itself,  a  sufficient,  pillar 
on  which  to  rest  our  edifice,  we  shall  be  at  more  pains  to  illustrate  and 
enforce  it.  We  shall  first  state  the  philological  law  or  canon  of  criticism, 
on  the  generality  and  truth  of  which  all  our  dictionaries,  grammars  and 
translations  are  formed.  Every  word  not  specially  explained  or  defined 
in  a  particular  sense,  by  any  standard  writer  of  any  particular  age 
and  country,  is  to  be  taken  and  applied  in  the  current  or  commonly- 
received  signification  of  that  country  and  age  in  which  the  writer  lived 
and  wrote.  If  this  canon  of  translation  and  of  criticism  be  denied, 
then  we  affirm  there  is  no  value  in  dictionaries,  nor  in  the  acquisition 
of  ancient  languages  in  which  any  book  may  be  written,  nor  is  there 
any  confidence  to  be  placed  in  any  translation  of  any  ancient  work, 
sacred  or  profane ;  for  they  are  all  made  upon  the  assumption  of  the 
truth  of  this  law. 

"We  have,  then,  only  to  ask,  first,  for  the  current  signification  of  thi  \ 
term  demon  in  Judea  at  the  Christian  era;  and,  in  the  second  place, 
Did  the  inspired  writers  ever  give  any  special  definition  of  it  ?  We  have 
already  found  an  answer  to  the  first  in  the  Greeks  and  Jews  of  the  apos- 
tolic age,  and  of  the  preceding  and  subsequent  ages.  We  have  heard 
Josephus,  Philo,  Lucian,  Justin  and  Lardner,  from  whose  writings  and 
affirmations  we  are  expressly  told  what  the  universal  acceptation  of 
the  term  was  in  Judea  and  in  those  times.  In  the  second  place,  the 
apostles  and  our  Lord,  as  already  said,  use  this  word  in  various  forms 
seventy-five  times,  and  on  no  occasion  give  any  hint  of  a  special,  pri- 
vate or  peculiar  interpretation  of  it ;  which  was  not  their  method  when 
they  used  a  term  either  not  generally  understood,  or  understood  in  & 
special  sense.  Does  any  one  ask  the  meaning  of  the  words  Messiah, 
prophet,  priest,  elder,  deacon,  presbytery,  altar,  sacrifice,  sabbath, 
circumcision,  &c.  ?  We  refer  him  to  the  current  signification  of  these 
words  among  the  Jews  and  Greeks  of  that  age.    Why,  then,  should 


♦  JuB  Apology,  b.  i.  p.  65,  par  12,  p.  54. 


t  Vol.  viii.  p.  368 


DEMONOLOGY. 


387 


any  one  except  the  term  demon  from  the  universal  law  ?  Are  we  not, 
therefore^  sustained  by  the  highest  and  most  authoritative  decision  of 
that  literary  tribunal  by  whose  rules  and  decrees  all  works  sacred  and 
profane  are  translated  from  a  dead  to  a  living  tongue  ?  We  are,  then, 
fully  authorized  to  say  that  the  demons  of  the  New  Testament  were  the 
spirits  of  dead  men. 

5.  But  as  a  distinct  historic  evidence,  and  as  confirmatory  rather  of 
our  views  than  of  the  authority  of  the  inspired  authors,  I  adduce  a 
very  explicit  and  decisive  passage  from  the  epistle  to  the  Smyrneans, 
written  by  the  celebrated  Ignatius,  the  disciple  of  the  Apostle  John. 
He  quotes  the  words  of  the  Lord  to  Peter  when  Peter  supposed  he  saw 
a  spirit  or  a  ghost.  But  he  quotes  him  thus  : — Handle  me  and  see, 
for  I  am  not — daimoon  asomafon — a  disembodied  demon;" — a  spirit 
without  a  body.  This  places  the  matter  above  all  doubt  that  with 
those  of  that  day  demon  and  ghost  were  equivalent  terms. 

6.  But  we  also  deduce  an  argument  from  the  word  angel.  This 
word  is  of  Bible  origin,  and  confined  to  those  countries  in  which  that 
volume  is  found.  It  is  not  found  in  any  of  the  Grreek  poets,  orators  or 
historians,  so  far  as  known  to  me.  Of  that  rank  of  beings  to  whom 
Jews  and  Christians  have  applied  this  official  title,  the  Pagan  nations 
seem  never  to  have  had  the  first  conception.  It  is  therefore  certain 
that  they  could  not  use  the  term  demon  interchangeably  with  the  word 
angel,  as  indicative  of  an  order  of  intelligent  beings  above  men  and 
intermediate  between  them  and  the  Divinity.  They  had  neither  tho 
name  nor  the  idea  of  an  angel  in  their  mythology.  Philo  the  Jew 
has,  indeed,  said  that  amongst  the  Jews  the  word  demon  and  the  word 
angel  were  sometimes  used  interchangeably ;  and  some  have  thence  in- 
ferred that  lapsed  angels  were  called  demons.  But  this  is  not  a  logical 
inference ;  for  the  Jews  called  the  winds,  the  pestilence,  the  lightnings 
of  heaven,  &c.,  angels,  as  indicative  of  their  agency  in  accomplishing 
the  will  of  God.  In  this  sense,  indeed,  a  demon  might  be  officially 
called  an  angel.  But  in  this  sense  demon  is  to  angel  as  the  species  to 
the  genus :  we  can  call  a  demon  an  angel,  but  we  cannot  call  an  angel 
a  demon — just  as  we  can  call  every  man  an  animal,  but  we  cannot  call 
every  animal  a  man. 

Others,  indeed,  have  imagined  that  the  old  giants  and  heroes,  said 
to  have  been  the  fruit  of  the  intermarriage  of  the  sons  of  God  with 
the  daughters  of  men  before  the  flood,  were  the  demons  of  all  the 
world — Pagans,  Jews  and  Christians.  Their  most  plausible  argument 
is,  that  the  word  hero  and  the  word  love  are  identical ;  ana  that  the 
loves  ot  the  angels  for  the  daughters  of  men  was  the  reason  that  thoir 


388 


DEMONOLOGT. 


gigantic  offspring  were  called  heroes;  whence  the  term  was  after- 
wards appropriated  to  persons  of  great  courage  as  well  as  of  great 
stature.    This  is  simply  ridiculous. 

But  to  return  to  the  word  angel.  It  is  a  Bible  term,  and  not  being 
found  in  all  classic,  in  all  mythologic,  antiquity,  could  not  have  entered 
into  the  Pagan  ideas  of  a  demon.  Now,  that  it  is  not  so  used  in  the 
Chi'istian  Scriptures  is  evident  from  the  following  reasons : — 

1st.  Angels  were  never  said  to  enter  into  any  one. 

2d.  Angels  have  no  affection  for  bodies  of  any  sort,  either  as  habita- 
tions or  vehicles  of  action. 

3d.  Angels  have  no  predilection  for  tombs  and  monuments  of  the 
dead. 

In  these  three  particulai^s  angels  and  demons  stand  in  full  contrast, 
and  ai'e  contradistinguished  by  essentially  different  characteristics  : 
for— 

1st.  Demons  have  entered  into  human  bodies  and  into  the  bodies  of 
inferior  creatures. 

2d.  Demons  evince  a  peculiar  affection  for  human  bodies,  and  seem 
to  desire  them  both  as  vehicles  of  action  and  as  places  of  habitation. 

3d.  Demons  also  evince  a  peculiar  fondness  for  their  former  mortal 
tenements :  hence  we  so  often  read  of  their  carrying  the  possessed  into 
the  graveyards,  the  tombs  and  sepulchres,  where,  perchance,  their  old 
mortalities  lay  in  ruins.  From  which  we  argue,  as  well  as  from  the 
fact  that  the  Pagans  knew  nothing  of  a  devil,  nor  an  angel,  nor  Satan, 
before  the  Christian  era,  that  when  they,  or  the  Christians  or  Jews, 
spoke  of  demons,  they  could  not  mean  any  intermediate  rank  of  spirits 
apart  from  the  spii'its  of  dead  men.  Hence  in  no  instance  in  Holy 
-Writ  do  we  find  demon  and  angel  used  as  convertible  terms.  Is  it 
not  certain,  then,  that  they  are  the  ghosts  of  dead  men  ?  But  there 
yet  remains  another  pillar. 

7.  Among  the  evidences  of  the  Papal  defection  intimated  by  Paul, 
he  associates  the  doctrine  concerning  demons  with  celibacy  and  absti- 
nence from  certain  meats,  as  chief  among  the  signs  of  that  fearful 
apostasy.  He  warrants  the  conclusion  that  the  pui'gatorial  prisons 
for  ghosts  and  the  ghostly  mediators  of  departed  saints,  which,  equally 
with  the  command  to  abstain  from  lawful  meats  and  the  prohibition  of 
marriage  to  the  clergy,  characterize  the  times  of  which  he  spoke,  are 
attributes  of  the  same  system,  and  indicative  of  the  fact  that  demons 
and  ghosts  ai'e  two  names  for  the  same  things.  To  this  we  add  the 
testimony  of  James,  who  says  the  demons  believe  and  tremble  for  their 
doom.    Kow,  all  eminent  critics  concur  that  the  spirits  of  wicked  mew 


DEMONOLOGY. 


389 


are  here  intended;  and  need  I  add  that  oft-repeated  affirmation  of  the 
demoniacs  ? — "  "We  know  thee,  Jesus  of  Nazareth :  art  thou  come  to 
torment  us  before  the  time?"  Thus,  all  the  scriptural  allusions  to  this 
subject  authorize  the  conclusion  that  demons  are  wicked  and  unclean 
spirits  of  dead  men.  A  single  saying  in  the  Apocalypse  makes  this 
most  obvious.  When  Babylon  is  razed  to  its  foundation,  it  is  said  to 
be  made  the  habitation  of  demons — of  the  ghosts  of  its  sepulchred 
inhabitants.  From  these  seven  sources  of  evidence — viz.  the  Pagan 
authors,  the  Jewish  historians,  the  Christian  fathers,  the  four  Evan- 
gelists, the  epistle  of  Ignatius,  the  acceptation  of  the  term  angel  in  its 
contrast  with  demon,  and  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament — we  con- 
clude that  the  demons  of  the  New  Testament  were  the  ghosts  of  wicked 
men.  May  we  not  henceforth  reason  from  this  point  with  all  assurance 
as  a  fixed  and  fundamental  principle  ? 

It  ought,  however,  to  be  candidly  stated  that  there  have  been  in 
later  times  a  few  intellectual  dyspeptics,  on  whose  nervous  system  the 
idea  of  being  really  possessed  by  an  evil  spirit  produces  a  frenzied 
excitement.  Terrified  at  the  thought  of  an  incarnate  demon,  they 
have  resolutely  undertaken  to  prove  that  every  demon  named  in  Holy 
Writ  is  but  a  bold  Eastern  metaphor,  placing  in  high  relief  dumbness, 
deafness,  madness,  palsy,  epilepsy,  &c. ;  and  hence  that  demoniacs  then 
and  now  were  and  are  a  class  of  unfortunates  laboring  under  certain 
physical  maladies  called  unclean  spirits.  Credat  Judcem  Apella,  non 
ego. 

On  the  principle  that  every  demon  is  an  Eastern  metaphor,  how 
incomparably  more  eloquent  than  Demosthenes  or  Cicero,  was  he  that 
had  at  one  time  within  him  a  legion  of  Eastern  metaphors  struggling 
for  utterance !  No  wonder,  then,  that  the  swineherds  of  Qadara  were 
overwhelmed  by  the  moving  eloquence  of  their  herds  as  they  rushed 
with  such  pathos  into  the  deep  waters  of  the  dark  Galilee ! 

Great  men  are  not  always  wise.  The  seer  of  Mesopotamia  was  not 
only  admonished,  but  reformed,  by  the  eloquence  of  an  ass;  and  I  am 
sure  that  the  Gadarene  speculators  were  cured  of  their  belief  in  Eastern 
metaphors  when  they  saw  their  hopes  of  gain  forever  buried  in  the 
Lake  of  Gennesareth.  It  requires  a  degree  of  gravity  bordering  on  the 
superlative,  to  speculate  on  an  hypothesis  so  singularly  fanciful  and 
baseless  as  that  which  converts  reason  and  eloquence,  deafness  and 
dumbness,  into  one  and  the  same  metaphor. 

Without  impairing  in  the  least  the  strength  of  the  arguments  in 
favor  of  actual  possession  by  the  spirits  of  dead  men,  it  may  be  con- 
ceded, that  because  of  the  similarity  of  some  of  the  effects  of  demo- 


390 


DEMOiTOLOGY. 


niacal  possession  with  those  of  maladies  of  the  paralytic  and  epileptic 
character,  it  may  have  happened  on  some  occasions  that  persons  simply 
afflicted  with  these  diseases,  because  of  the  difficulty  of  always  dis- 
criminating the  remote  causes  of  these  maladies,  were  by  the  common 
people  regarded  as  demoniacs,  and  so  reported  in  the  New  Testament. 
Still,  the  fact  that  the  Great  Teacher  himself  distinguishes  between 
demons  and  all  human  maladies,  in  commanding  the  apostles  not  only 
to  "  heal  all  manner  of  diseases — to  cleanse  the  lepers  and  raise  the 
dead, "  but" also  to  "cast  out  demons;" — and  the  fact,  still  more  palpable, 
that  in  number  and  power  these  demons  are  represented  as  transcending 
all  physical  maladies,  preclude  the  possibility  of  contemplating  them 
as  corporeal  diseases. 

"  When  I  read  of  the  number  of  demons  in  particular  persons,"  says 
a  very  distinguished  Biblical  critiQ,  "  and  see  their  actions  expressly 
distinguished  from  those  of  the  man  possessed ;  conversations  held  by 
the  demons  about  their  disposal  after  their  expulsion,  and  accounts 
given  how  they  were  actually  disposed  of;  when  I  find  desires  and 
passions  ascribed  peculiarly  to  them,  and  similitudes  taken  from  their 
manners  and  customs,  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  deny  their  existence, 
without  admitting  that  the  sacred  historians  were  themselves  deceived 
in  regard  to  them,  or  intended  to  deceive  their  readers." 

Were  it  not  in  appearance  like  killing  those  that  are  dead,  I  should 
quote  at  length  sundry  passages  which  speak  of  "  unclean  spirits  crying 
with  loud  voices"  as  they  came  out  of  many  that  were  possessed,  which 
represent  unclean  spirits  falling  down  before  Jesus,  and  crying,  "  Thou 
art  the  Son  of  God,"  and  of  Jesus  charging  them  not  to  make  him 
known  ;"  but  I  will  only  cite  a  single  parable  framed  upon  the  case 
of  a  demoniac.  It  is  reported  by  Matthew  and  Luke,  and  almost  in 
the  same  words.  "When  the  unclean  spirit,"  says  Jesus,  "is  gone  out 
of  a  man,  he  walketh  through  dry  places,  seeking  rest  and  finding 
none.  Then  he  saith,  I  will  return  into  my  house  from  whence  I  came 
out ;  and  when  he  is  come,  he  findeth  it  empty,  svrept  and  garnished. 
Then  he  goeth  and  taketh  with  him  seven  other  spirits  more  wicked 
than  himself,  and  they  enter  in  and  dwell  there ;  and  the  last  state  of 
that  man  is  worse  than  the  first.  Even  so  shall  it  be  also  to  this 
wicked  generation."  On  this  observe,  that  "unclean  spirits"  is 
another  name  for  demons — that  is,  a  metaphor  of  a  metaphor;  for,  if 
demons  are  metaphors  for  diseases,  the  unclean  spirits  are  metaphors 
of  metaphors,  or  shadows  of  shades.  Again,  the  Great  Teacher  is  found 
not  only  for  once  departing  from  himself,  but  also  from  all  human 
teachers  of  renown,  in  basing  a  parable  upon  a  parable,  or  a  shadow 


DEMONOLOGY. 


391 


upon  a  shade,  in  drawing  a  similitude  from  a  simile.  His  object  was  ta 
illustrate  the  last  state  of  the  Jews.  This  he  attempts  by  the  adventures 
of  a  demon — first  being  dispossessed,  finding  no  rest,  and  returning,  with 
others  more  wicked  than  himself,  to  the  man  from  whom  he  was  driven. 
Now,  if  this  was  all  a  figure  to  illustrate  a  figure,  the  Saviour  has  done 
that  which  he  never  before  attempted,  inasmuch  as  his  parables  are 
all  founded  not  upon  fictions,  but  upon  facts — upon  the  actual  manners 
and  customs,  the  incidents  and  usages,  of  society. 

That  must  be  a  desperate  position  to  sustain  which  degrades  the 
Saviour  as  a  teacher  below  the  rank  of  the  most  ordinary  instructors 
of  any  age.  The  last  state  of  the  Jews  compared  to  a  metaphor! — 
compared  to  a  nonentity ! — compared  to  a  fiction !  This  is  even  worse 
than  representing  a  trope  coming  out  of  a  man's  mouth,  crying  with 
a  loud  voice,"  ''wandering  through  dry  places" — unfigurative  language, 
I  presume — seeking  a  period,  and  finding  a  comma — and  at  length,  tired 
and  fatigued,  returning  with  seven  fiercer  metaphors  more  wickedly 
eloquent  than  himself,  repossessing  the  orator,  and  making  him  inter- 
nally more  eloquent  than  before.  It  will  not  help  the  matter  to  say 
that  when  a  disease  leaves  a  man  it  wanders  through  dry  or  wet  places, 
through  marshes  and  fens,  through  deserts  and  prairies,  and,  finding 
no  rest  for  its  foot,  takes  with  it  seven  other  more  violent  diseases, 
seeks  for  the  unfortunate  man  from  whom  the  doctors  expelled  it, 
and,  re-entering  his  improved  constitution,  makes  that  its  eternal  abode. 

In  one  sentence,  then,  we  conclude  that  there  is  neither  reason  nor 
fact — there  is  no  canon  of  criticism,  no  law  of  interpretation — there  is 
nothing  in  human  experience  or  observation — there  is  nothing  in  all 
antiquity,  sacred  or  profane — that,  in  our  judgment,  weighs  against  the 
evidence  already  adduced  in  support  of  the  position  that  the  demons 
of  Pagans,  Jews  and  Christians  were  the  ghosts  of  dead  men,  and,  as 
such,  have  taken  possession  of  mens  living  bodies,  and  hajoe  moved, 
influenced  and  impelled  them  to  certain  courses  of  action. 

Permit  me,  gentlemen,  to  demonstrate  that  this  is  no  abstract  and 
idle  speculation,  by  stating  a  few  of  the  practical  aspects  and  bearings 
of  this  doctrine  of  demonology : — 

1st.  It  relieves  the  Bible  from  the  imputation  of  promulging  laws 
against  non-entities  in  its  legislation  against  necromancers,  diviners, 
soothsayers,  wizards,  fortune-tellers,  &c.  When  Jehovah  gave  this 
law  to  Israel,  he  legislated  not  against  mere  pretences : — "  You  shall  not 
permit  to  live  among  you  any  one  that  useth  divination,  an  enchanter, 
a  witch,  a  consul ter  of  familiar  spirits,  a  wizard  or  a  necromancer ;  for 
all  that  do  these  things  are  an  abomination  to  the  Lord :  and  because 


39? 


DEMONOLOGY. 


of  these  iibominations  the  Lord  thy  God  doth  drive  these  nations  out 
before  thee."  A  Divine  law  demanding  capital  punishment  because  of 
a  mere  pretence !  The  most  incredible  thing  in  the  world !  The  ex- 
istence of  such  a  statute,  as  before  intimated,  implies  not  merely  the 
antiquity  of  the  fact  of  demoniacal  influence,  but  supposes  it  so  pal- 
pable that  it  could  be  proved  by  at  least  two  witnesses,  and  so  satis- 
factorily as  to  authorize  the  taking  away  of  human  life  without  the 
risk  of  shedding  innocent  blood. 

That  there  have  been  pretenders  to  such  mysterious  arts,  impostors 
and  hypocrites  in  necromancy,  witchcraft  and  divination,  as  well  as  in 
every  thing  else,  I  doubt  not ;  but  if  the  pretence  to  work  a  miracle  or 
to  utter  a  prediction  be  a  proof  that  there  were  true  miracles  and  true 
prophets,  the  pretence  of  necromancy,  witchcraft  and  divination  is  also 
a  proof  that  there  were  once  true  necromancers,  wizards  and  diviners. 
The  fame  of  the  Egyptian  Jannes  and  Jambres  who  withstood  Moses  in 
the  presence  of  Pharaoh — the  fame  of  the  woman  of  Endor,  who  evoked 
Samuel,  or  some  one  that  personated  him — and  of  the  Pythonic  damsel 
who  followed  Paul  and  Barnabas,  and  who  enriched  her  master  by  her 
diVination,  stand  on  the  pages  of  eternal  truth  as  imperishable  monu- 
ments not  merely  of  the  antiquity  of  the  pretence,  but  of  the  reality 
of  demoniacal  power  and  possession. 

May  I  be  permitted  further  to  observe,  on  this  mysterious  subject,  that 
necromancy  was  the  principal  parent  of  all  the  arts  of  divination  ever 
practised  in  the  world,  and  was  directly  and  avowedly  founded  on  the 
fact  not  only  of  demoniacal  influence,  but  that  demons  are  the  spirits 
of  dead  men,  with  whom  living  men  could,  and  did,  form  intimacies? 
This  the  very  word  necromancy  intimates.  The  necromancer  predicted 
the  future  by  means  of  demoniacal  inspiration.  He  was  a  prophet  in- 
spired by  the  dead.  His  art  lay  in  making  or  finding  a  familiar  spirit, 
in  evoking  a  demon  from  whom  he  obtained  superhuman  knowledge. 
So  the  Greek  term  imports  and  all  antiquity  confirms. 

There  are  two  subjects  on  which  God  is  silent,  and  man  most  soli- 
citous to  know — the  world  of  spirits,  and  his  own  future  destiny.  On 
these  two  subjects,  ghosts  who  have  visited  the  unseen  world,  and  whose 
horizon  is  so  much  enlarged,  are  supposed  to  be  peculiarly  intelligent, 
and  on  this  account  were  originally  called  demons,  or  knowing  ones. 
But,  this  knowledge  being  forbidden — kindly  forbidden — man  to  seek  it 
at  all,  and  especially  by  unlawful  means,  has  always  been  obnoxious 
to  the  anathema  of  Heaven.  Hence  the  popularity  of  the  profession  of 
evoking  familiar  spirits,  and  hence  also  the  indignation  of  Heaven 
against  those  who  consulted  them. 


DEMONOLOGY. 


393 


Still,  we  will  be  asked,  Has  any  spirit  of  man,  dead  or  alive,  powei 
to  foresee  and  foretell  the  future?  Does  any  one  know  the  future  but 
God?  To  which  we  cheerfully  respond,  The  living  and  inspired  pro- 
phets knew  only  a  part  of  the  future.  God  alone  knows  all  the  future. 
But  angels  or  demons  may  know  much  more  of  it  than  man.  How  this 
is,  analogy  itself  will  suggest.  Suppose,  for  example,  that  one  man,  pos- 
sessed of  the  discriminating  powers  of  a  Bacon,  a  Newton  or  a  Locke, 
only  of  a  more  capacious  and  retentive  memory,  had  been  coeval  with 
Cain,  Noah  or  Abraham,  and,  with  a  deathless  vigor  of  constitution,  had 
lived  with  all  the  generations  of  men  from  their  day  till  now:  how 
great  would  be  his  comparative  power  of  calculating  chances  and  con- 
tingencies— the  laws  of  cause  and  effect — and  of  thence  anticipating  the 
future !  Still,  compared  with  one  who  had  passed  that  mysterious 
bourn  of  time,  he  would  be  but  the  infant  of  a  day,  knowing  compara- 
tively nothing  of  human  destiny.  Indeed,  the  powers  of  knowing  pecu- 
liar to  disembodied  spirits  are  to  us  as  inscrutable  as  the  elements  of 
their  being.  But  that  they  know  more  of  a  spiritual  system  and  more 
of  human  destiny  than  we  do,  all  antiquity,  sacred  and  profane,  fully 
reveals  and  confirms. 

2.  But  a  second  practical  aspect  of  this  theory  of  demons  demands  our 
attention.    It  is  a  palpable  and  irref  ragable  proof  of  a  spiritual  system. 

The  gross  materialists  of  the  French  school,  when  atheism  triumphed 
over  reason  and  faith,  proclaimed  from  their  own  metropolis,  and  cut 
it  deep  in  marble,  that  death  was  an  eternal  sleep  of  body,  soul  and 
spirit.  Since  their  day,  the  species  has  been  refined  and  sublimated 
into  an  intermediate  sleep  of  only  some  six  or  seven  thousand  years 
oetween  our  earthly  exit  and  the  resurrection-morn.  These  more 
speculative  materialists  convert  demons  into  metaphors,  lapsed  angels, 
or  devils — into  any  thing,  rather  than  the  living  spirits  of  dead  men. 

Our  premises  being  admittted,  they  see  that  there  must  be  a  renun- 
ciation not  only  of  the  grosser  but  of  the  more  ethereal  forms  of 
materialism,  as  held  by  those  who  lull  the  spirit  to  repose  in  the  same 
sepulchre  with  its  kindred  mortality.  They  gain  but  little  who  assume 
that  demons  are  lapsed  angels  rather  than  human  ghosts ;  for  who  will 
not  admit  that  it  may  be  more  easy  for  a  demon,  than  for  an  angel  who 
has  a  spiritual  body  of  his  own,  to  work  by  the  machinery  of  a  human 
body,  and  to  excite  the  human  passions  to  any  favorite  course  of  action  ? 
Were  not  this  the  fact,  they  must  have  tenanted  the  human  house  to 
little  purpose,  if  a  perfect  stranger  to  all  its  rooms  and  doors  could,  on 
its  first  introduction,  move  through  them  as  readily  as  they. 

"If  weak  thy  faith,  why  choose  the  harder  side?" 


394 


DEMONOLOGY. 


To  allegorize  demoniacal  influences,  or  to  metamorphose  them  into 
rhetorical  imagery,  is  the  shortest  and  the  most  desperate  escape  from 
all  spiritual  embarrassment  in  the  ca&e.  But  the  harder  you  press  the 
skeptical  philosopher  on  the  subject  of  his  peculiar  dogmas,  the  more 
bold  his  denial  of  all  spiritual  influences,  celestial  or  infernal ;  and  the 
more  violently  he  affirms  that  demoniacal  possessions  were  physical 
diseases;  that  necromancy,  familiar  spirits  and  divination,  though 
older  than  Moses  and  the  seven  nations  of  Canaan,  were  mere  pretences 
and  an  imposition  on  the  credulity  of  man,  as  idle  as  the  legends  of 
Salem  witchcraft,  or  the  fairy  tales  of  the  mother-land  of  sprites  and 
apparition.  But  this,  let  me  tell  you,  skeptical  philosopher,  relieves 
not  the  hard  destiny  of  your  case.  Whether  necromancy  in  all  its 
forms  was  real  or  pretended,  true  or  false,  affects  not  the  real  merits 
of  the  question  before  us. 

In  this  branch  of  the  argument,  it  is  perfectly  indifi'erent  to  me 
whether  it  was  a  pretence  or  a  reality ;  for,  had  there  not  been  a  senior 
and  more  venerated  belief  in  the  existence  of  a  spiritual  system — a 
general  persuasion  that  the  spirits  of  the  dead  lived  in  another  world 
while  their  bodies  lay  in  this,  and  that  disembodied  spirits  were  demons 
or  knowing  ones  on  those  peculiar  points  so  interesting  and  so  unap- 
proachable to  man — who  would  ever  have  thought  of  consulting  them, 
of  evoking  them  by  any  art,  or  of  pretending  to  have  had  any 
familiarity  with  them  ?  I  gain  strength  either  by  the  denial  or  by  the 
admission  of  the  thing,  so  long  as  its  high  antiquity  is  conceded.  I 
contend  that  a  belief  in  demons,  in  a  separate  existence  of  the  spirits 
of  the  dead,  is  more  ancient  than  necromancy,  and  that  it  is  a  belief 
and  a  tradition  older  than  the  Pagan,  the  Jewish,  or  the  Christian 
systems — older  than  Moses  and  his  law — older  than  any  earthly  record 
whatever. 

Not  a  few  of  our  modern  sages  ascribe  to  a  Pagan  origin  that  which 
antedates  Paganism  itself.  They  must  have  a  Grecian,  Roman  or 
Egyptian  origin  for  ideas,  usages  and  institutions  existent  ages  before 
the  founders  of  those  states  or  the  inventors  of  their  superstitions  were 
born.  No  earthly  record,  the  Bible  alone  excepted,  reaches  within 
hundreds  of  years  of  the  origin  of  the  idea  of  demons,  necromancy,  and 
of  infernal  as  well  as  of  supernal  agency. 

Others  there  are  who  have  more  faith  in  what  is  modern  than  in 
what  is  ancient.  They  would  rather  believe  their  children  than  their 
fathers.  The  moderns,  indeed,  in  most  of  the  physical  sciences,  and 
in  some  of  the  arts,  greatly  excel  the  ancients,  as  they  excelled  us  in 
architecture,  sculpture,  painting,  poetry,  &c.    But  though  we  excel 


DEMONOLOGY. 


395 


tiiem  so  much  iu  many  new  discoveries  and  arts,  in  traditionary  and 
spiritual  knowledge  they  greatly  excelled  us ;  excepting  always  that 
portion  of  the  moderns  fully  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  the  Bible. 
Some  seem  to  reason  as  if  they  thought  that  the  farther  from  tho 
fountain  the  more  pure  are  the  waters — the  longer  the  channel  the 
freer  from  pollution.  With  me  the  reverse  is  the  fact.  Man  was 
more  intelligent  at  his  creation  and  his  fall,  respecting  his  own  being 
and  destiny,  than  he  has  ever  been  since,  except  so  far  as  he  has  been 
the  subject  of  a  new  revelation.  Would  it  not  appear  waste  of  time  to 
attempt  to  prove  that  our  national  Government  is  purer  now  than  it 
was  while  its  founders  were  all  living  amongst  us?  Equally  futile  the 
attempt  to  prove  that  the  Patriarchal,  Jewish  and  Christian  institu- 
tions were  purer  five  hundred  or  a  thousand  years  after  than  at  their 
commencement.  With  Tertullian,  I  assert  that  in  faith,  religion  and 
morality,  whatever  is  most  ancient  is  most  true.  Therefore  the 
Patriarchs  knew  more  of  man  living  and  dead,  and  of  the  ancient  order 
of  things  in  nature,  society  and  art,  than  we,  their  remote  posterity. 

The  age  of  philosophy  was  the  era  of  hypotheses  and  doubts.  Man 
never  began  to  form  hypotheses  till  he  lost  his  way.  Having  then 
traced  the  belief  in  demons  and  necromancy  beyond  the  age  of  conjec- 
ture and  speculative  reasoning,  and  located  it  amongst  the  oldest  tra- 
ditions in  the  world,  we  are  compelled  by  the  dicta  of  our  inductive 
philosophy  to  admit  its  claims  to  an  experience,  observation  and  testi- 
mony properly  authenticated  and  documented  amongst  the  earliest 
fathers  of  mankind.  One  of  the  oracles  of  true  science  is,  that  all  our 
ideas  are  the  result  of  sensation  and  reflection,  or  of  experience  and 
observation;  that  the  archetypes  of  all  our  natural  impressions  and 
views  are  found  in  material  nature;  and  therefore  man  could  as  easily 
create  a  world  as  a  ghost,  either  by  imagination,  volition  or  reason. 
Supernatural  ideas  must  therefore  have  a  supernatural  origin.  So 
speaks  the  Baconian  system;  and  therefore  its  author  believed  in 
demons,  spirits  and  necromancy,  as  much  as  your  humble  servant,  or 
any  other  living  Baconian. 

When  any  man  proves  he  can  have  faith  without  hearing  and  testi- 
mony— the  idea  of  color  without  sight,  or  of  hardness  and  softness, 
of  heat  and  cold,  without  feeling,  and  understand  all  the  properties  of 
material  nature  without  any  of  his  five  senses — then,  hut  not  till  then, 
he  may  explain  how,  without  supernatural  influence,  he  may  form 
either  the  idea  or  the  name  of  a  spirit,  a  ghost,  or  a  demon — of  a 
spiritual,  invisible  and  eternal  system  of  intelligences  of  a  supernatural 
mould  and  temper.    He  who  can  create  the  idea  of  an  abstract  spirit. 


396 


DEMOXOLOGY. 


or  of  a  spiritual  system  of  any  sort,  may  create  matter  by  volition,  and 
a  universe  out  of  nothing. 

Dispose  of  the  matter  as  she  may,  we  affirm  it  as  our  conviction  that 
Philosophy  herself  is  compelled  to  admit  the  existence  of  demons, 
familiar  spirits,  and  the  arts  of  necromancy  and  divination,  which  all 
ancient  literature  and  ancient  tradition,  all  Patriarchal,  Jewish  and 
Christian  records,  assert.  In  this-  instance,  as  in  many  others,  faith  is 
easier  than  unbelief;  and  Eeason  voluntarily  places  herself  by  the  side 
of  Faitb  as  her  handmaid  and  coadjutor  in  s attaining  a  spiritual 
system,  of  which  demons  in  their  proper  nature  and  character  are  an 
irrefi'agable  proof. 

3.  A  third  practical  tendency  of  this  view  of  demoniacal  influence  is 
to  exalt  in  our  esteem  the  character  of  the  Supreme  Philanthropist. 

We  will  be  asked.  Whence  have  all  the  demons  fled  ?  What  region 
do  they  now  inhabit?  Have  they  not  power  to  possess  mankind  as 
formerly?  Are  necromancy,  divination  and  witchcraft  forever  exiled 
from  the  abodes  of  men  ? 

Many  such  questions  may  be  propounded,  which  neither  philosophy, 
experience  nor  religion  can  infallibly  determine.  But  we  may  say  in 
general  and  in  truthful  terms,  that  the  heralds  of  salvation,  from  the 
day  of  their  first  mission  to  the  end  of  their  evangelical  labors,  cast  out 
demons,  restrained  Satanic  influence,  and  made  inroads  upon  the  power 
and  empire  of  Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  the  demons.  The  mighty 
chieftain  of  this  holy  war  had  a  personal  rencounter  with  the  malignant 
chief  of  all  unclean  spirits,  angelic  and  human,  and  so  defeated  his 
counsels  and  repelled  his  assaults,  divesting  him  of  much  of  his  sway, 
and  thus  gave  an  earnest  of  his  ultimate  triumph  over  all  the  powers 
of  darkness.  His  success  and  that  of  his  ambassadors  called  from  his 
lips  two  oracles  of  much  consolation  to  all  his  friends:  ''I  saw,"  said 
he,  "  Satan  fall  like  lightning  from  heaven."  This  he  spake  when  they 
told  him,  The  demons  are  subject  to  us  through  thy  word."  Be- 
hold," he  adds,  "  I  give  you  power  to  tread  on  serpents  and  scorpions, 
and  on  all  the  power  of  the  enemy,  and  nothing  shall  by  any  means 
hurt  you."  The  partial  dethronement  of  Satan,  prince  of  the  demons, 
is  here  fully  indicated.  The  Eoman  orator  uses  this  style  when  speak- 
ing of  Pompey's  overthrow.  His  words  are,  ^'He  has  fallen  from  the 
stars."  And  again,  of  the  fall  of  the  colleague  of  Antonius,  ''Thou 
hast  pulled  him  down  from  heaven."  So  spake  the  Messiah : — "  I  beheld 
Satan  as  lightning  fall  from  heaven."  His  empire  over  men  from  that 
day  began  to  fall.  And  on  another  occasion  he  says,  "  Now  is  the 
prince  of  this  world  cast  out."    These,  together  with  .-.imilar  indica- 


DEMONOLOGY. 


397 


tions,  allow  the  conclusion  that  the  power  of  demons  is  wholly  destroyed 
as  far  as  Christians  are  concerned,  and,  if  not  wholly,  greatly  restrained 
in  all  lands  where  the  gospel  has  found  its  way.  With  an  old  prophet 
or  diviner  who  tried  his  hand  against  God's  people  once,  we  may  say, 
There  is  no  enchantment  against  Jacob ;  there  is  no  divination  against 
.Israel."  Some  arrogate  to  human  science  what  has  been  the  preroga- 
tive of  the  gospel  alone.  They  say  the  light  of  science  has  driven 
ghosts  and  witches  from  the  minds  of  men;  whereas  they  ought  to 
have  said  the  gospel  and  power  of  its  Author  have  driven  demons  out 
of  the  hearts  and  dispossessed  them  of  their  power  over  the  bodies  of 
men. 

The  error  of  these  admirers  of  human  science  does  not  differ  much 
from  that  of  some  European  theologists  concerning  Mary  Magdalene. 
They  think  her  to  have  been  an  infamous  rather  than  an  unfortunate 
woman  out  of  whom  were  driven  seven  devils.  They  have  disgraced 
her  memory  by  erecting  "Magdalene  Hospitals"  for  infamous,  rather 
than  for  unfortunate,  females ;  not  knowing  that  it  was  the  misfortune 
rather  than  the  crime  of  Mary  of  Magdala,  that  seven  demons  had 
been  permitted  to  assault  her  person. 

As  to  the  abodes  of  the  demons,  we  are  taught  in  the  Bible  what  the 
most  ancient  dogmatists  have  said  concerning  their  residence  in  the 
air :  I  say  we  are  taught  that  they  dwell  pro  tempore  in  the  ethereal 
regions.  Satan,  their  prince,  is  called  ''the  prince  of  the  power  of 
the  air."  The  great  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  taught  believers  to  wrestle 
against  "wicked  spirits  that  reside  in  the  air;"  "for,"  says  he,  "you 
fight  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities  and  powers, 
against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world;  against  spiritual 
wickedness  in  high  places" — properly  rendered  against  wicked  spirits 
in  the  regions  of  the  air.''  Paul's  shipwreck  at  Malta  by  the  Euro- 
clydon,  and  Job's  misfortunes  by  an  Arabian  tempest,  demonstrate  the 
aerial  power  of  this  great  antagonist  when  permitted  to  exert  it  against 
those  whom  he  envies  and  calumniates. 

Evident  it  is,  then,  from  such  testimonies,  facts  and  allusions,  that 
the  atmosphere,  or  rather  the  regions  above  it,  the  ethereal  or  empyreal, 
and  not  heaven,  nor  earth,  nor  hell,  is  the  proper  residence  of  the 
ghosts  of  wicked  men.  They  have  repeatedly  declared  their  perfect 
punishment  or  torment  as  yet  future,  to  be  after  the  coming  of  the  Lord, 
when  he  shall  send  the  devil  and  his  emissaries  into  an  eternal  fire. 
How  often  did  they  say  to  Jesus,  "Art  thou  come  to  torment  us  before 
the  time  V  That  they  are  miserable,  wretchedly  miserable,  is  infer- 
rible from  the  abhorrence  of  their  nudity  and  their  awful  forebodings 


398 


DEMONOLOGY. 


of  the  future.  They  vehemently  desire  to  be  embodied  again.  They 
seek  rest,  but  find  none,  and  would  rather  possess  any  corporeity,  even 
that  of  the  swine,  than  continue  naked  and  dispossessed.  Their  prison 
is  called  by  the  Messiah  "  outer  darkness by  Paul  it  is  called  epou- 
rania,  high  places,  aerial  regions.  This  is  the  Hebrew- Greek  name  of 
that  region  in  which  there  is  neither  atmosphere  nor  light ;  for,  strange 
as  it  may  appear,  the  limits  of  our  atmosphere  are  the  limits  of  all 
terrestrial  light.  These  intervals  between  the  atmospheres  of  the 
planets  are  what  we  would  cdX\^' outer  darkness.''  Could  a  person 
ascend  some  fifty  miles  above  the  earth,  he  would  find  himself  \sur- 
rounded  by  everlasting  night — no  ray  from  sun,  or  moon,  or  stars 
could  find  him  where  there  is  no  medium  of  reflection. 

That  demons  may  still  give  oracles,  as  they  were  wont  to  do  before 
the  Christian  era,  and  possess  living  men  in  heathen  lands,  or  in  places 
where  Christianity  has  made  little  progress,  is  not  altogether  impro- 
bable. Of  this,  indeed,  we  have  not  satisfactory  evidence,  and  there- 
fore ought  not  to  speak  dogmatically.  Many  affect  to  regard  the  whole 
subject  as  a  piece  of  childish  superstition,  as  did  our  two  great  poets 
Scott  and  Byron,  who,  nevertheless,  like  them,  are  under  the  influence 
of  that  same  childish  superstition.  One  thing  is  abundantly  evident, 
that  although  the  number  of  such  spirits  is  vast  and  overwhelming, 
and  their  hatred  to  the  living  intense  and  enduring,  the  man  of  God, 
the  true  Christian,  has  a  guardian  angel,  or  a  host  of  sentinels  around 
him  that  never  sleep;  and,  therefore,  against  him  the  fiery  darts  of 
Satan  are  employed  in  vain.  For  this  we  erect  in  our  hearts  a  monu- 
ment of  thanks  to  Him  who  has  been,  and  still  is,  the  Supreme  Phi- 
lanthropist and  Redeemer  of  our  race. 

This  view  of  demonology  not  only  vindicates  the  law  of  Moses  from 
the  imputation  of  catering  to  the  superstitious  prejudices  of  mankind, 
and  justifies  Paul  in  placing  witchcraft  amongst  the  works  of  the  flesh; 
it  not  only  affords  to  weak  and  doubting  minds  new  and  striking  evi- 
dences of  a  spiritual  system,  and  shows  our  great  indebtedness  to  the 
Author  of  the  Christian  faith  for  rescuing  man  from  the  tyranny  of 
the  arch-apostate,  the  prince  of  demons;  but  it  also  inducts  us  into 
more  grand  and  sublime  views  of  the  magnitude,  variety  and  extent 
of  the  world  of  spirits — of  our  relations  to  them — and  of  our  present 
liability  to  impressions,  suggestions  and  influences  from  classes  of 
agents  wholly  invisible  and  inappreciable  by  any  of  those  senses  which 
connect  us  with  external  and  sensible  existence.  That  we  are  thus 
susceptible  it  were  foolish  and  infidel  to  deny.  How  many  woll- 
authenticated  facts  are  found  in  the  volumes  of  human  experience 


DEMONOLOGY. 


399 


singular,  anomalous  and  inexplicable  impulses  and  impressions  wholly 
beyond  all  human  associations  of  ideas,  yet  leading  to  actions  evidently 
connected  with  the  salvation  of  the  subjects  of  them,  or  of  those  under 
their  care !  And  how  many  have,  by  some  malign  agency,  been  sud- 
denly and  unexpectedly  led  into  the  most  fatal  positions  and  precipitated 
to  ruin,  when  such  exigencies  prove  to  be  exceptions  to  all  the  known 
laws  of  cause  and  effect,  and  contrary  to  all  their  wonted  courses  of 
action  !  To  assign  to  these  any  other  than  a  spiritual  cause,  it  seems 
to  me,  were  to  assign  a  non  causa  pro  causa;  for  on  no  theory  of 
mind  or  body  can  they  be  so  satisfactorily  explained,  and  so  much  in 
harmony  with  the  Bible  method  of  representing  such  incidents.  Thus 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  smote  Herod  that  he  died,  and  in  dreams  has  he 
admonished  the  faithful  of  the  ways  and  means  of  escaping  impending 
evils. 

Will  it  not  be  perceived  and  admitted  that  if  evil  demons  can  enter 
into  men's  bodies  and  take  away  their  reason  and  excite  them  to  various 
preternatural  actions,  and  if  in  legions  they  may  crowd  their  influences 
upon  one  unhappy  victim,  spirits,  either  good  or  bad,  may  make  milder 
and  more  delicate  approaches  to  the  fountains  of  human  action,  and  stir 
men  up  to  efforts  and  enterprises  for  weal  or  woe,  according  to  their  re- 
spective characters  and  ruling  passions  ? 

Certain  it  is  that  angels  have  not  only  demonstrated  their  ability  to 
assume  the  human  form,  but  to  exert  such  influence  upon  the  outward 
man  as  to  prompt  him  to  immediate  action — as  in  the  case  of  Peter, 
who  was  suddenly  stricken  on  the  side  by  the  hand  of  an  angel  when 
fast  asleep  between  a  Eoman  guard,  and  roused  to  action.  The  gates 
and  bars  of  the  prison  open  at  his  approach  and  shut  on  his  escape, 
touched  by  the  same  hand;  and  thus  the  apostle  is  rescued  from  the 
malice  of  his  foes. 

What  an  extended  view  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  universe  opens 
to  our  contemplation  from  this  point!  We  see  an  outward,  visible  uni- 
verse, studded  with  constellations  of  suns  and  their  attendant  systems, 
circling  in  unmeasured  orbits  around  one  invisible  and  omnipotent  centre 
which  controls  them  all.  Amazed  and  overwhelmed  at  these  stupendous 
displays  of  creative  power,  wisdom  and  goodness,  in  adoring  ecstasy 
we  inquire  into  the  uses  of  these  mighty  orbs,  which,  in  such  untold 
millions,  diversify  and  adorn  those  undefined  fields  of  ethereal  beauty 
that  limit  our  ideas  of  an  unbounded  and  inconceivable  space.  Rea- 
soning from  all  our  native  analogies,  and  from  the  scattering  rays  of 
supernal  light  that  have  from  suns  unseen  reached  our  world,  we  must 
infer  that  all  these  orbs  are  the  mansions  of  social  beings,  of  every  con- 


400 


DEMONOLOGY. 


ceivable  variety  of  intelligence,  capacity  and  employment,  and  that  ic 
organized  hierarchies,  thrones,  principalities  and  lordships,  they  con- 
stitute each  within  itself  an  independent  world — of  which  societies  we 
are  allowed  to  conclude  that  there  are  as  many  varieties  as  there  are 
planets  for  their  residence. 

In  all  these  intellectual  assemblages,  spread  over  the  area  of  uni- 
versal being,  there  are  but  two  distinct  and  essentially  diverse  con- 
federations— one  under  the  rightful  sovereignty  of  Messiah,  the  Lord 
of  all,  the  other  under  the  usurped  dominion  of  that  spirit  who  has 
spread  over  our  planet  all  the  anarchy  and  misrule,  all  the  darkness 
and  gloom,  all  the  sorrow  and  death,  which  have  embittered  life,  and 
made  countless  millions  groan  in  spirit  and  sigh  for  a  discharge  from 
a  conflict  between  good  and  evil,  pleasure  and  pain,  so  unequal  and 
oppressive. 

This  rebel  angel,  of  such  mysterious  character,  is  always  found  in 
the  singular  number — as  the  Satan,  the  Devil  and  the  Ajpollyon  of  our 
race.  With  him  are  confederate  all  disloyal  spirits  that  have  con- 
spired against  Heaven's  own  will  in  adoration  of  their  own.  In  refer- 
ence to  this  usurper  and  his  angelic  allies  against  the  Lord's  Anointed, 
we  are  obliged  to  consider  those  unhappy  spirits  who  during  their 
incarnation  took  sides  with  him  in  his  mad  rebellion  against  the  Eternal 
King.  The  number  of  angels  that  took  part  with  him  in  his  original 
conspiracy  remains  amongst  the  secrets  of  eternity,  and  will  not  be 
divulged  till  the  devil  and  his  angels,  for  whom  Tophet  was  of  old  pre- 
pared, shall  be  separated  from  the  social  systems  of  the  universe  and 
publicly  sentenced  to  the  bottomless  gulf  of  irremediable  ruin. 

The  whole  human  race,  at  one  time  or  another,  have  been  involved  in 
this  war  against  Heaven.  Many  have,  indeed,  deserted  the  dark  banners 
of  Beelzebub,  and  have  become  sons  of  light.  Hitherto,  alas !  the  great 
majority  have  perished  in  the  field  of  rebellion  and  gone  down  to  the 
pit  with  all  their  armor  on.  These  spirits,  shown  to  be  the  demons  of 
all  antiquity,  sacred  and  profane,  are  now  a  component  part  of  the 
empire  of  Satan,  and  as  much  under  his  control  as  the  conspirators 
that  took  part  with  him  in  his  primeval  defection  and  rebellion. 

How  numerous  they  are,  and  how  concentrated  are  their  efforts, 
may  be  gleaned  from  sundry  allusions  in  the  inspired  writings,  espe- 
cially from  the  melancholy  history  of  the  unfortunate  Gadarene  who 
dwelt  among  the  tombs,  tortured  by  a  legion  of  them — not,  perhaps, 
by  six  thousand  demons,  according  to  the  full  standard  of  a  Eoman 
legion,  but  by  an  indefinite  and  immense  multitude.  How  innu- 
merable, then,  the  agents,  demoniac  and  angelic,  on  Satan's  side ! 


DEMOXOLOGY. 


401 


What  hosts  of  fallen  men  and  angels  have  conspired  against  the 
happiness  of  God's  moral  empir® !  No  wonder  that  Satan  is  some- 
times spoken  of  as  omnipresent!  If  Napoleon,  in  the  day  of  his  power, 
while  in  the  palace  of  the  Tuileries,  was  said  to  be  at  work  in  Spain, 
in  Portugal,  in  Belgium  and  in  France  at  the  same  moment,  with  how 
much  less  of  the  figurative  may  Satan,  whose  agents  are  incomparably 
more  numerous  and  diversified,  as  well  as  of  vastly  superior  agility 
and  power,  be  represented  as  wielding  a  sort  of  omnipresent  power 
yi  all  parts  of  our  terraqueous  habitation  1  And  how  malignant, 
too !  The  fabled  Furies  were  not  more  fierce  than  those  unclean 
and  mischievous  spirits  whose  pleasure  it  was  to  torture  with  the 
direst  agonies  the  unhappy  victims  whom  they  chose  to  mark  out  for 
themselves.  • 

But  here  we  must  pause ;  and,  with  this  awful  group  of  exasperated 
and  malicious  demons  in  our  horizon,  it  is  some  relief  to  remember 
that  there  are  many  good  spirits  of  our  race,  allied  with  ten  thousand 
times  ten  thousand,  and  thousands  of  thousands,  of  angels  of  light,  all 
of  whom  are  angels  of  mercy  and  sentinels  of  defence  around  the 
dwellings  of  the  righteous,  the  true  elite,  of  our  race.  These,  we  learn 
from  high  authority,  are  ministering  spirits  waiting  on  the  heirs  of 
salvation.  These  attending  spirits  know  our  spiritual  foes  and  are 
able  to  cope  with  them ;  for  when  Satan  and  Michael  fought  for  the 
;  'ody  of  Closes,  the  fallen  seraph  was  driven  to  the  wall  and  lost  the 
'lay.  For  how  many  services  rendered,  for  how  many  deliverances 
from  evil  spirits  and  from  physical  disasters,  we  are  indebted  to  the 
good  and  benevolent,  though  invisible,  agents  around  us,  will  never  be 
known,  and  therefore  never  told,  on  earth ;  but  it  may  nevertheless  be 
known  hereafter. 

With  what  unspeakable  pleasure  may  some  happy  being  in  this 
assembly  yet  sit  down,  side  by  side,  with  his  own  guardian  spirit  under 
the  eternally  verdant  boughs  of  the  life-restoring  tree  in  the  paradise 
of  God,  and  listen  to  the  ten  thousand  deliveiances  efiected  for  him  by 
the  kind  ministrations  of  that  generous  and  beneficent  minister  of  grace, 
that  watched  his  path,  numbered  his  steps,  and  encamped  around  his 
bed  from  the  first  to  the  last  moment  of  his  terrestrial  day  I  Y\'ith 
what  grateful  emotions  will  the  ransomed  spirit  listen  to  the  bold 
adventures  and  the  triumphant  rencounters  with  belligerent  foes  of 
his  deliverer !  and  while  in  the  midst  of  ^.uch  social  raptures  he 
throws  his  immortal  arms  around  his  kind  benefactor,  he  will  lift  his 
aright  and  beaming  eye  of  grateful  piety  to  Him  who  gave  him  such 
a  friend  and  deliverer  in  the  time  of  peril  and  of  need,  and  who, 

26 


402 


DEMONOLOGY. 


through  such  a  scene  of  trials  and  of  conflicts,  brought  him  safely  to 
the  city  of  eternal  rest  !* 


*  The  preceding  essay  is  an  almost  extemporaneous  effusion  on  a  subject  requiring 
mucli  and  profound  thought.  The  invitation  to  address  The  Popular  Lecture  Club 
of  the  city  of  Nashville  was  received  but  a  few  evenings  before  it  was  spoken.  Mean- 
while, having  almost  daily  lectures  on  portions  of  the  Christian  system,  I  had  leisure 
only  to  sketch,  with  much  rapidity,  at  various  intervals,  the  preceding  remarks.  True, 
indeed,  the  subject  had  been  often  on  my  mind,  especially  since  the  time  of  my  writing 
a  few  essays  on  that  skeptical  and  abstract  something  called  Materialum.  The  facts 
and  observations  crowded  together  in  thi«  popular  lecture  are  matters  of  grave  and 
serious  import,  and  not  hasty  or  crude  imaginations,  occurring  at  the  impulse  of  the 
moment.  I  would  rather  have  given  them  under  a  more  logical  and  philosophical  form; 
but  this  is  not  the  most  popular  nor,  to  the  great  mass,  the  most  intelligible  form.  At 
the  request  of  some  who  heard  them,  and  of  many  who  heard  of  them,  I  am  induced 
to  publish  the  identical  draft  which  I  read  to  the  audience,  with  only  a  very  few  verbal 
alterations. 

I  think  the  subject  of  demons  is  one  that  fairly  comes  in  the  path  of  every  student  of 
the  New  Testament,  and  ought  to  be  well  understood ;  and  as  the  reader  will  doubtless 
have  observed,  I  regard  it  as  constituting  an  irrefragable  proof  of  a  spiritual  system,  a 
full  refutation  of  that  phantasm  called  Materialism,  to  those  who  admit  the  authority 
of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  twelve  apostles.  To  such  it  is  more  than  a  mere  refutation  of 
materialism:  it  is  a  demonstration  of  a  separate  existence  of  the  spirits  of  the  dead — 
an  unequivocal  evidence  of  a  spiritual  system,  and  of  a  future  state  of  rewards  and 
puBifihments.  A.  C. 


ESSAY. 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


Any  theory  of  a  future  state  founded  upon  human  wisdom  and 
science,  however  elevated  the  rank  and  standing  of  its  author  and  its 
adherents,  wanting  the  sanction  of  Divine  authority  and  scriptural 
demonstration,  can  afford  neither  confidence  nor  comfort  to  any  re- 
flecting mind.  If,  indeed,  it  be  a  truth  worthy  of  the  assertion  of  an 
apostle,  that  "the  world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God,"  equally  true  and 
worthy  of  the  same  authority  is  the  declaration  that  Jesus  Christ 
"hath  abolished  death  and  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light  by 
the  gospel."  Philosophy,  in  her  wisdom  and  modesty,  has  at  length 
confessed  that  the  soul  of  man,  as  to  its  origin,  nature  and  destiny,  is 
wholly  beyond  the  precincts  of  her  jurisdiction ;  and  thereibre  she 
utterly  refuses  to  dogmatize  or  reason  on  the  subject.  We  are,  there- 
fore, thrown  upon  the  Bible  and  faith  for  all  that  we  can  know  or  learn 
of  this  most  mysterious  and  absorbing  subject.  Till  we  have  "shuflied 
off  this  mortal  coil,"  and  have  learned  the  first  lessons  of  tiiat  "  great 
teacher,  death,"  we  must  be  content  with  what  the  Bible  teaches  on 
the  spiritual  nature  of  man,  and  on  the  future  destiny  of  the  righteous 
and  the  wicked. 

But  that  volume  must  be  subjected  to  the  same  laws  of  interpreta- 
tion by  which  we  ascertain  the  meaning  of  the  words  of  other  works 
addressing  us  from  ancient  times  and  in  languages  long  since  dead. 
Eegardless  of  that  rule,  we  are,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  with- 
out a  revelation  in  human  language,  and,  still  worse,  we  never  can 
have  one.  It  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  very  idea  of  a  Divine  com- 
munication in  the  form  of  a  revelation,  that  its  words  and  sentences 
be  understood  according  to  their  usual  sense  at  the  time  when  that 
communication  was  made,  and  amongst  the  people  to  whom  it  was 
addressed  and  to  whose  care  it  was  committed.  Since  the  apparel  of 
thought  changes  as  the  apparel  of  our  persons,  and  words  in  the  lapse 
of  time  vary  from  their  original  and  primitive  meaning,  a  very  strict 

403 


404 


LIFE  A^'D  DEATH. 


regard  must  always  be  had  to  their  received  acceptation  and  sense  in 
the  age  and  country  in  which  they  were  employed  as  the  vehicle  of  a 
Divine  revelation. 

Through  ignorance  of  these  facts  or  a  disregard  of  them,  it  has 
come  to  pass  that  we  now  have  very  dissimilar  and  contradictory 
theories  of  the  future  state  amongst  those  who  profess  to  believe  in 
and  teach  from  the  Bible.  Take,  for  example,  the  future  state  of  the 
disobedient  and  unjust,  and  how  dissimilar  are  the  representations  of 
it  given  by  the  Universalis t,  .the  Kestorationist,  the  Destructionist,  the 
Eomanist,  and  the  Christian,* — all  professing  to  hold  the  same  book  as 
a  Divine  revelation ! 

The  Universalist  proper  teaches  that  a  full  retribution  of  sin  takes 
place  in  this  life,  and  hence,  after  death,  the  wicked  are  as  holy  and  as 
happy  as  the  righteous.  With  him,  the  scriptures  that  speak  of  future 
punishment  speak  in  metaphors,  inasmuch  as  there  can  be  no  future 
punishment  either  according  to  his  theory  of  the  Divine  attribute 
or  according  to  the  gospel.  Hence  the  words  of  Jesus,  He  that 
shall  have  believed  and  shall  have  been  baptized  shall  be  saved,  and 
he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  condemned,"  mean  "he  that  belie veth, 
(fee.  and  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  saved." 

The  Universal  Bestorationist  teaches  that  there  will  be  punishment 
of  a  disciplinary  character  after  death,  which  shall,  in  all  cases,  issue 
in  perfect  reformation,  holiness  and  happiness.  Hence  there  will  be, 
hereafter,  a  continual  egress  from  hell  to  heaven,  until  the  latter  shall 
have  received  the  entire  population  of  the  former. 

The  Destructionist  teaches  that,  ultimately,  the  souls  and  the  bodies 
of  all  the  wicked  shall  be  destroyed ;  that  is,  reduced  to  perfect  non- 
entity. Some  of  them  (for  there  is  less  unanimity  among  them  than 
among  the  theorists  above  mentioned)  teach  that  the  soul  and  body 
die  together,  and  are  never  again  conscious,  any  more  than  a  vulture 
or  a  dove,  a  horse  or  a  lamb.  Others  teach  that  the  souls  of  the  wicked 
sleep  from  death  to  the  final  resurrection,  and  that  then,  with  their 
bodies,  they  shall  revive  and  undergo  a  second  death,  proportioned  to 
their  former  sins.  Some  will  suffer  more,  others  less,  both  in  duration 
and  in  intensity,  but  finally  they  shall  all  be  annihilated.  This,  with 
them,  is  ''the  second  death." 

These  thi'ee  theories  agree  in  one  great  point — viz.  that  the  wicked 
shall  all  be  destroyed  out  of  the  universe,  not  one  left.  The  Univer- 
salist and  Kestorationist  destroy  their  character,  and  make  them  saints, 


*  I  use  the  word  Christian  in  its  sectarian  sense,  and  not  in  its  general  sense. 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


405 


while  the  Destructionist  reduces  them  to  nothing — giving  them  neither 
sense  nor  reason,  neither  person  nor  name,  neither  habitation  nor 
existence — thus  making  them  absolute  nonentities. 

The  Eomanist  has,  for  some  of  the  dead,  an  intermediate  state  of 
purgatorial  purification.  All  men  die  under  certain  liabilities  to 
punishment  because  of  venal  offences  which  disqualify  them  for  heaven. 
They  must,  therefore,  pass  through  purgatory — an  imaginary  place, 
concerning  which  an  infant  knows  just  as  much  as  Grregory  XVL  with 
all  his  ecclesiastic  conclaves.  Their  residence  and  sufferings  in  purga- 
tory are  to  be  commensurate  with  the  number  and  character  of  their 
various  offences ;  for  which,  indeed,  they  must  make  expiation.  Still, 
their  passage  through  that  imaginary  region  will  be  much  shortened 
and  alleviated  by  reason  of  the  masses  said  for  the  dead,  which  are 
always  repeated  in  number  and  efficiency  according  to  the  contributions 
given  to  the  priests.  Hence,  the  rich  pass  through  on  steam-cars, 
while  the  poor  trudge  along  on  crutches.  Ultimately,  indeed,  all  its 
inmates  get  through;  the  irremediably  wicked  passing  directly  into 
punishment. 

The  Christian  believes  that  the  wicked  suffer  an  everlasting  punish- 
ment,'' and  that,  therefore,  they  never  cease  to  exist.  He  believes 
that  the  wicked  are  cast  into  hell  and  there  suffer  ''an  everlasting 
destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  and  from  the  glory  of  his 
power;"  that  in  that  state  "the  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not 
quenched." 

Now,  as  the  Universalist,  the  Restorationist,  the  Destructionist,  the 
Romanist  and  the  Christian  equally  profess  to  believe  the  Bible,  and, 
therefore,  equally  profess  to  build  their  respective  theories  on  Divine 
revelation,  follows  it  not  that  they  have  adopted  different  methods  of 
interpreting  and  applying  the  words  of  that  sacred  record?  The 
difference  is  not  in  the  standard  to  which  they  all  appeal,  (for  they  all 
have  the  same  Bible,)  but  in  the  mode  of  interpreting  it.  Can  any  fact 
more  convincingly  demonstrate  the  necessity  and  importance  of  having 
some  fixed  canons  or  rules  of  interpretation  ? 

Now,  as  it  frequently  happens  that  words  have  different  significa- 
tions, as  literal  and  as  figurative,  and  are  consequently  used  in  diverse 
acceptations,  sometimes  meaning  this  and  sometimes  that,  the  first 
and  most  necessary  inquiry  must  always  be.  How  shall  we,  in  any  par- 
tit'i.dar  case,  ascertain  whether  the  literal  or  the  figurative  use  of  any 
given  term  shall  he  regarded  as  its  proper  signification  ?  To  which 
important  inquiry  we  give  this  answer : — The  particular  writer  or 
speaker,  or  the  particular  subject  on  which  he  writes  or  speaks,  or  the 


406 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


particular  context  or  the  particular  adjuncts  or  words  m  construction 
with  it,  will  generally,  if  not  universally,  ascertain  and  limit  the  mean- 
ing beyond  any  reasonable  doubt. 

There  are  four  words,  in  this  controversy,  of  cardinal  importance. 
These  are  destruction,  life,  death  and  punishment.  To  ascertain  their 
grammatical  or  historical  and  their  tropical  or  figurative  meaning, 
is  indispensable  to  any  correct  knowledge  of  the  passages  in  which 
they  occur.  The  most  palpable  error  of  those  whose  views  of  the 
future  state  of  wicked  and  impenitent  men  we  are  now  about  to 
review  and  examine  is  that  they  generally  commence  the  proof  by 
assuming  or  taking  for  granted  the  very  question  in  debate.  For 
example,  the  destruction ists,  in  arguing  for  the  entire  and  eternal  ex- 
tinction of  the  unconverted,  assume  that  the  term  destruction  means 
the  absolute  extinction  of  personal  being  and  existence.  Now,  if  the 
term  destruction  always  means,  in  the  sacred  usage,  the  absolute  ex- 
tinction of  personal  existence,  or,  in  other  words,  personal  annihilation, 
then,  indeed,  there  might  be  some  excuse  for  such  a  palpable  and 
daring  assumption ;  but  if  such  be  not  the  fact,  or  if  the  word  destruc- 
tion has  other  meanings  than  absolute  extinction  of  personal  exist- 
ence, then  we  need  scarcely  show  that  their  foundation  is  a  mere 
assumption,  or  a  mere  begging  of  the  question. 

We  shall,  then,  institute  a  scriptural  induction  and  examination  of 
the  words  destruction  and  destroy  as  found  in  the  New  Testament. 
And,  first,  of  the  noun,  destruction:  it  occurs  in  the  English  Con- 
cordance twelve  times.  These  are — Matt.  vii.  13  ;  Rom.  iii.  16,  ix.  22; 
1  Cor.  V.  5 ;  2  Cor.  x.  8,  xiii.  10;  Phil.  iii.  19 ;  1  Thess.  v.  3 ;  2  Thess. 
i.  9 ;  1  Tim.  vi.  9 ;  2  Peter  ii.  1,  iii.  16.  In  these  places  in  which 
we  have  destruction  in  the  common  version,  we  have  in  the  original 
Greek  four  terms — viz.  apooleia,  olethros,  kathairesis  and  suntrimma. 
The  first  is  found  in  Matt.  vii.  13;  Rom.  ix.  22;  Phil.  iii.  19;  2 
Peter  ii.  1,  iii.  16 :  in  all,  five  times.  Olethros  is  found  in  1  Cor. 
V.  5 ;  1  Thess.  v.  3 ;  2  Thess.  i.  9 ;  1  Tim.  vi.  9 :  in  all,  four  times. 
Kathairesis  is  found  in  2  Cor.  x.  8,  xiii.  10.  Suntrimma  in  Rom. 
Iii.  16.  There  are,  then,  four  varieties  of  destruction  in  the  Greek 
original,  all  represented  by  one  and  the  same  word  in  the  common 
version.  This  is  a  startling  fact  to  those  who  assume  that  the  terra 
destruction  uniformly  represents  the  same  thing. 

How  dangerous  those  guides  who  assume,  as  the  basis  of  theii  theory,, 
that  destruction  means  only  absolute  extinction  of  personal  existence, 
or  personal  annihilation !  And  yet  such  men  have  we  amongst  us,  pre- 
tending to  be  learned  men !    Even  Dr.  Watts  and  Dr.  Priestley  were 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


407 


among  the  number.  But  neither  poets  nor  philosophers  are  safe  guides 
in  theology. 

Now,  our  method  is,  in  the  second  place,  to  examine  each  of  these 
four  terms,  translated  destruction,  by  considering  them  in  every  passage 
in  which  they  occur,  and  by  observing  how  they  are  translated  in  the 
common  version.  To  begin  with  the  first  and  chief  of  these — viz. 
apooleia — we  discover  that  this  word  is  found  in  the  New  Testament 
in  this  form,  as  a  noun-substantive,  only  twenty  times.  In  these,  it  is 
translated  eight  times  perdition,  five  times  destruction,  twice  waste, 
and  once  by  each  of  the  following  words : — die,  perish,  damnation, 
damnable,  pernicious  ways.  Here  are,  then,  in  our  common  version, 
eight  versions  of  the  noun-substantive  apooleia  in  only  twenty  occur- 
rences of  the  word;  of  these,  the  most  common  are  perdition  and 
destruction. 

But  we  have  the  verb  apollumi,  ("  to  destroy,")  from  which  the  noun 
is  derived,  occurring  in  the  New  Testament  no  less  than  ninety -two 
times.  From  these  ninety-two  cases  we  cannot  fail  to  arrive  at  a 
radical  conception  of  the  meaning  of  this  word.  We  shall,  then, 
classify  and  enumerate  its  various  significations.  Of  these,  the  most 
common  is  perish,  and  sometimes  perished.  In  this  sense  it  is  found 
no  less  than  thirty-two  times.  It  is  also  found  thirty-one  times  trans- 
lated lose  and  lost,  and  twenty-seven  times  destroy  and  destroyed.  It  is 
only  once  translated  marred,  and  once  die. 

Now,  as  this  is  the  term  most  frequently  used  indicative  of  the  des- 
tiny of  wicked  men,  it  is  all-important  that  its  various  acceptations  be 
very  strictly  observed  and  considered.  Its  derivative,  aioonios  ole- 
thros,  is  found  (2  Thess.  i.  9)  translated  "  everlasting  destruction."  We 
have  also,  (1  Thess.  v.  3,)  "Then  sudden  destruction  (olethros)  cometh;" 
1  Cor.  V.  5,  "  for  the  destruction  of  the  flesh and  1  Tim.  vi.  9,  ''drown 
men  in  destruction."* 

Kathairesis  is  found  only  three  times: — 2  Cor.  x.  4,  translated 
"  pulling  down  of  strong  holds 2  Cor.  x.  8,  "  not  for  your  destruc- 
tion;'' and  2  Cor.  xiii.  10,  "edification,  and  not  destruction."  This 
word  etymologically  indicates  "  pulling  down,"  and,  figuratively,  it  in- 
dicates "  destruction."  In  the  latter  sense  it  is  found  but  twice  in  the 
New  Testament. 


*  To  those  who  can  appreciate  it,  we  would  state  that  from  ollumi,  or,  anciently,  oUuoOf 
(whereof  oleso,)  come  also  apollumi^  apooleia  and  olethros.  The  radical  meaning  of  them 
all  is,  to  lose;  in  L&tin,  perdo.  Eence,  perdition  is  the  first  meaning  of  olethros— four 
times  found  in  the  New  Testament ;  and  in  classic  use  it  denotes  death,  or  any  thinf 
pemioioos  or  damnable. 


408 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


Suntrimma  is  found  but  once,  and  literally  indicates  destruction  by 
attrition  or  breaking  down. 

We  have  now  exhibited  every  passage  in  the  Christian  Scriptures  in 
which  the  English  words  ''destroy"  and  "  destruction"  are  found,  and  also 
all  the  words  in  the  Greek  New  Testament  which  are  supposed  either 
grammatically  or  rhetorically  to  authorize  such  a  translation.  It  will 
next  be  important  to  notice  some  other  versions  of  the  same  words 
found  in  the  common  version. 

First,  then,  apooleia  is  applied  to  a  waste  of  ointment.  Matt.  xxvi.  8 ; 
Mark  xiv.  4:  "To  what  purpose  is  this  waste  (or  destruction)  of  the 
ointment?"  It  is  also  translated _per(ii2^ion  in  immediate  contrast  with 
iplethros)  destruction,  showing  that  olethros  denotes  a  still  higher 
punishment  than  apooleia.  It  is  also  applied  to  "pernicious  ways,"  and 
to  "damnable  sects,"  2  Peter  ii.  2;  also  to  destruction  (Phil.  iii.  19) 
in  the  abstract. 

The  verb  apoUumi,  in  the  original,  whose  New  Testament  history 
we  have  given,  is  applied  both  to  persons  and  things,  as  well  as  its 
derivatives  olethros  and  apooleia.  It  is  applied  to  persons,  members 
of  the  body,  bottles,  sheep,  soul  and  body,  life,  reward,  those  who  take 
the  sword,  money,  nation,  and  even  to  Jesus,  the  Messiah,  himself. 

Bottles,  by  one  evangelist,  are,  in  the  common  version,  said  "to  be 
destroyed,"  and  "to  perish,"  and  by  another  evangelist  the  same 
bottles  are  said  to  "be  marred."  In  these  cases  apoUumi  is  found 
in  the  original :  A  sheep  that  was  destroyed  or  lost  is  said  to  live  and 
to  be  brought  back  to  the  fold ;  a  man  is  said  to  destroy  his  life,  and 
again  to  find  it ;  "I  am  sent,"  says  the  Messiah,  "to  the  destroyed  sheep 
of  the  house  of  Israel."  This  resembles  a  passage  in  the  Old  Testament, 
viz.  "0  Israel,  thou  hast  destroyed  thyself,  but  in  me  is  thy  help 
found!"  "I  have  come  to  seek  and  to  save,"  says  Jesus,  "that  which 
was  destroyed;"  "Ask  Barabbas,  and  destroy  Jesus ;"" This  my  son 
was  destroyed,  but  is  now  found;"  "Our  gospel  is  hid  to  them  that  are 
destroyed." 

Such  are  a  few,  and  but  a  few,  of  the  cases  in  which  this  word  is  so 
used  as  to  demonstrate  to  the  most  undiscriminating  that  it  cannot 
mean,  either  primarily  or  generally,  the  absolute  extinction  or  annihi- 
lation of  persons  and  animals  at  one  time  said  to  be  destroyed,  and 
afterwards  represented  as  living  and  happy.  "  This  my  son  was  dead, 
and  is  now  alive,  was  lost,  and  is  found."  Such  applications  of  the 
words  dead,  lost,  destroyed,  &c.  are  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the 
judgment  of  those  acquainted  with  the  usm  loquendi  of  the  Jewish 
and  Christian  Scriptures. 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


409 


Should  any  one  demur  at  an  appeal  to  the  original  text  in  explana- 
tion of  the  force  of  words  in  the  Christian  records,  wo  will  refer  him  to 
Cruden's  Concordance,  in  which  he  may  examine  from  three  to  four 
hundred  passages  of  Scripture  in  which  some  branch  of  this  numerous 
family  of  words  will  be  found.  In  these  he  will  find  abundant  proof 
of  the  facts  already  offered ;  or,  in  other  words,  he  will  discover  how 
exceedingly  hazardous  and  reckless  are  those  innovators  who,  from  the 
mere  force  of  the  phrase  destruction  of  ungodly  men,  confidently  affirm 
their  absolute  and  utter  personal  extinction  or  annihilation. 

To  conclude  our  dissertation  on  this  family  of  words,  we  must  remark 
that  the  words  destroy  and  destruction  have,  like  many  other  words, 
besides  a  grammatical  or  literal  definition,  a  figurative  one,  and  arc 
sometimes  used  in  a  relative  and  subordinate  as  well  as  in  an  absolute 
and  unqualified  sense.  For  example :  Jesus  is  said  to  have  assumed 
our  nature  '^that  he  might  destroy  him  that  had  the  power  of  death, 
that  is,  the  devil,''  and  to  have  been  ''manifested  that  he  might 
destroy  the  works  of' the  devil."  Has  he  yet  accomplished  either? 
Does  not  Satan  yet  live  ?  do  not  his  works  still  exist  ?  His  power  has 
truly  been  crippled,  but  not  annihilated.  But  it  may  be  asked,  Will 
he  not  finally  annihilate  Satan  and  destroy  his  works?  If  so,  we  will 
respond  by  asking,  Would  it  not  have  been  better  to  have  absolutely 
and  forever  destroyed  the  arch-apostate  at  the  moment  of  his  rebellion, 
than  after  he  had  done  all  the  evil  that  he  could — after  he  had,  at 
least  relatively,  destroyed  millions  of  millions  of  our  tempted  and 
beguiled  race  ?  Into  what  singular  predicaments'  will  some  persons 
precipitate  themselves  by  the  infatuation  of  some  new  theory,  under 
the  captivating  spell  of  some  brilliant  novelty ! 

The  assumption  that  when  this  word  is  applied  to  the  future  state 
of  the  wicked,  it  always  means  absolute  destruction,  or  the  entire  and 
eternal  extinction  of  the  subject,  will  be  reprobated  by  every  well- 
educated  man,  nay,  by  every  sane,  uncommitted  man,  in  the  world. 
If  such  had  been  the  current  and  common  use  of  the  term,  then  we 
might,  indeed,  listen  with  approbation  to  the  disquisitions  of  the  critic 
who,  from  its  current  signification,  would  seek  to  show  that  when  it 
applies  to  the  future  state  of  the  wicked  it  must  be  taken  in  its  common 
meaning,  and  must  then,  also,  denote  the  absolute  cessation  of  their 
being.  But  a  position  directly  contrary  to  this  is  selected  by  those 
now  called  destructionists.  They  do  not  pretend  to  argue  that  such  is 
the  common  meaning  of  the  word,  but  that  such  must  be  its  meaning 
in  this  particular  case,  for  no  other  reason  than  that  it  comports  more 
agreeably  with  their  notions  of  expediency  and  consistency.    They  are 


410 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


80  clearly  and  profoundly  penetrated  with  the  singularity  of  their 
position,  that  few  of  them  will  allow  themselves  to  be  designated 
annihilationists,  because,  say  they,  nothing  can  be  said  to  be  anni- 
hilated ;  every  thing  continues  to  exist  in  some  mode  or  form  of  being. 
But  when  pressed  with  argument,  they  do  admit  that  the  wickeel  man 
ceases  forever — that  he  is  no  more  a  man.  Of  course,  then,  he  is  a 
nonentity.  The  wicked  are  to  all  eternity  what  Adam  was  before  God 
made  him.  The  elements  of  his  being  were  in  the  earth  and  in  the 
universe,  but  he  was  not.  So  these  destroyed  wicked  men  exist  not  in 
any  sense,  only  in  the  elements  of  their  constitution  as  those  are  dis- 
persed throughout  the  universe.  They  exist  no  more ;  and  this  is  all 
that  we  mean  by  annihilation. 

Our  first  objection,  therefore,  to  the  destructionism  now  being  taught, 
is,  that  its  teachers  take  for  granted  what  they  neither  have  proved  nor 
can  prove — viz.  That  the  phrase  "everlasting  destruction'  necessarily 
means  the  everlasting  extinction  of  the  person  of  an  ungodly  man. 

Our  second  objection  to  this  new- vamped  old  theory,  is,  that  it 
assumes  that  eternal  life  and  eternal  death  mean  eternal  being  and 
eternal  not-being.  Or,  in  other  words,  that  simple  existence  is  life, 
and  simple  non-existence  death. 

We  shall,  then,  bestow  some  attention  on  the  Biblical  use  of  them 
all-important  words,  life  and  death. 

But  who  can  define  life  ?  It  is  neither  a  person  nor  a  thing,  yet  it 
may  be  affirmed  of  both.  We  have  a  living  man  and  a  living  tree. 
Logicians,  however,  say  we  cannot  have  a  dead  man,  nor  yet  a  dead 
tree ;  because  when  life  is  extinct,  of  the  man  we  have  but  a  corpse, 
and  of  the  tree  but  wood.  This  is  just  as  good  sense  as  good  logic; 
for  in  a  corpse  there  is  not  a  man,  nor  in  wood  a  tree :  they  are  but 
remainders  of  both;  the  tree  or  the  man  is  not  where  life  is  not. 
Life,  then,  we  may  venture  to  say,  is  a  connection  with  God  through 
the  system  called  nature,  and  death  is  a  disseverance  from  that 
system.  Union  with  nature,  or  union  with  God,  is  life,  separation 
from  nature  or  from  God  is  death.  If  this  be  not  a  definition  of  life, 
it  will  be  at  least  an  essential  element  of  a  true  definition,  whenever 
that  definition  shall  have  been  completed. 

A  man  lives  while  he  inhales  the  atmosphere,  or  while  the  air  is 
in  his  lungs.  This  is  the  connecting  link  between  him  and  external 
nature.  He  dies  when  that  connection  is  broken  up  :  this  is,  however, 
but  animal  life.  A  tree  lives  while  its  leaves  or  bark  absorb  from 
the  atmosphere  so  many  of  its  elements  as  are  in  harmony  with  its 
nature.   This  is  vegetable  life.   A  spirit  lives  while  in  connection  with 


LIFE  AND  DEATEc 


.411 


the  Spirit  of  God :  its  death  consists  in  the  v/ithdrawal  of  that  Spirit. 
But  as  the  Spirit  of  God  produces  all  sorts  of  life — animal,  vegetable 
and  spiritual — it  must  communicate  of  itself  various  gifts  and  powers, 
adapted  to  any  one  of  these  living  organizations.  So  that  connection 
with  the  Spirit  of  God  is  essential  to  all  sorts  of  life,  animal,  vegetable 
or  spiritual.  There  is  no  life  but  in  God.  He  alone  "hath  life  in 
himself."  Now,  the  withdrawal  of  any  specific  influence  eventuates  in 
a  death  analogous  to  the  influence  withheld.  Hence,  we  have  three 
sorts  of  life,  and,  of  course,  as  many  sorts  of  death.  We  have  vegetable, 
animal  and  spiritual  life  and  death. 

But  a  spirit  may  live  in  one  sense  and  be  dead  in  another ;  or,  in 
other  words,  a  spirit  may  have  connection  or  communion  with  God  in 
one  sense,  and  not  in  another.  Thus,  a  tree  has  connection  with  God, 
but  not  as  an  animal  has ;  and  an  animal  has  connection  with  God,  but 
not  as  a  spirit  has ;  and  a  spirit  has  connection  with  God,  but  not  as 
an  animal  has;  and  spirits  have  coiiiie(3tion  with  God  in  a  twofold 
sense — merely  as  beings,  and  then  as  holy  or  moral  beings.  Hence, 
the  connection  of  a  spirit  with  the  natural  perfections  of  God  gives 
men  intellectual  life,  such  as  that  possessed  by  Satan  and  evil  spirits ; 
and  connection  with  the  moral  attributes  of  God  gives  moral  or  spi- 
ritual life,  such  as  that  which  good  angels  and  good  men  possess. 
Wherever,  then,  there  is  organization  and  union  with  God  there  is 
life — according  to  the  nature  of  that  organization  and  union;  and 
where  there  is  neither  organization  nor  union  of  any  kind,  there  is  no 
sort  of  life  whatever. 

In  Scripture  style,  a  man  is  living  in  one  sense  and  dead  in  another^ 
or  dead  in  one  sense  and  living  in  another,  at  the  same  time.  Of  men 
in  the  flesh,  yet  living,  John  said, "  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  life,  and 
he  that  hath  not  the  Son  hath  not  life."  Here,  then,  is  the  case  fairly 
made  out — viz.  a  dead  living  man,  and  a  living  dead  man ;  alive  in  one 
sense  and  dead  in  another,  at  one  and  the  same  moment. 

"He  that  hath  the  Son"  not  only  retains  the  life  which  he  had 
before  he  had  the  Son,  but,  superadded,  he  has  the  life^spiritual  and 
divine ;  and  what  is  this  but  the  incipiency  of  eternal  life  or  immor- 
tality ?  There  is  a  life  more  than  human,  possessed  by  every  Christian,, 
so  that  the  Christian  man  has  at  the  same  time  the  human  and  the 
divine  life.  A  few  specimens  of  the  proof  of  this  fundamental  view, 
fundamental,  indeed,  as  respects  the  entire  superstructure  of  the 
arguments  between  us  and  all  annihilationists  or  destructionists, 
shall  now  be  given.  We  shall  begin  with  the  words  of  the  Great 
Teacher : — 


412 


LIFE  A^'D  DEATH. 


1st.  ^'Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  lie  who  lieareth  my  word,  and 
believeth  on  him  who  sent  me,  hath  everlasting  life,  and  cometh  not 
into  condemnation,  hut  hath  passed  from  death  to  life,''  (John  v.  24.) 
Such  a  one  was  dead  and  is  now  alive ;  and  yet  he  possessed  human 
life  while  dead  in  that  sense  in  which  he  is  now  made  alive.  He  has 
now  a  new  and  divine  life  superadded  to  his  former  merely  human  life. 
There  is,  then,  a  merely  human  life,  and  there  is  a  spiritual  and  divine 
life,  resident  in  the  same  person  at  the  same  time.  But  there  must 
also  be  two  sorts  of  death  as  well  as  two  sorts  of  life :  the  one  unavoid- 
ably implies  the  other.  Hence  we  have,  according  to  the  Messiah,  a 
living  man  passing  from  death  to  life.  So  that  he  who  possesses 
human  life  may  at  the  same  time  be  dead  in  some  sense.  Such  is  the 
antithesis  which  he  places  before  us.  He  exhibits  a  man  both  alive 
and  dead,  passing  fi'om  death  into  life.  The  transition  is  effected  by 
obeying  his  word  and  confiding  in  Him  that  sent  him ;  or,  to  quote  his 
own  words,  He  that  heareth  my  word  and  believeth  on  him  that  sent 
me  .  .  .  hath  passed  from  death  to  life." 

Our  second  proof  is  from  the  same  source.  Jesus  said  to  one  who 
sought  leave  of  absence  from  his  work  for  the  purpose  of  interring 
his  lather,  "Let  the  dead  bury  their  own  dead,  and  follow  me,"  (Matt, 
viii.  22;  Luke  ix.  60.)  How  could  a  dead  man  bury  a  dead  man, 
unless  he  can  be  alive  in  one  sense  while  dead  in  another  ?  Is  it  not  as 
clear  as  demonstration  that  one  may  possess  human  life,  and  at  the 
same  time  be  as  dead  to  God  as  a  man  void  of  human  life  is  dead  to 
the  world  ? 

The  words  of  Jesus  to  a  rich  young  man  in  the  prime  and  vigor  of 
Life,  ''This  do,  and  thou  shalt  live,"  together  with  many  other  sayings 
of  his,  confirm  this  important  view  of  the  subject.  But  we  must  hear 
his  apostles,  also,  in  proof  that  this  is  no  peculiar  nor  idiomatic  ex- 
pression of  his. 

The  Apostle  John  says,  ''  We  know  that  we  have  passed  from  death 
unto  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren.  He  that  loveth  not  his 
brother  abide th  in  death."  Here,  certainly,  is  indisputable  evidence 
that  John  understood  this  matter  as  we  are  now  contemplating  it. 
Here  is  a  person  living  who  has  passed  from  death  spiritual  to  life 
spiritual,  while  possessing,  before  and  since,  human  life. 

To  these  we  may  add  a  definition  of  spiritual  life  and  spiritual  death 
drawn  fi'om  the  writings  of  Paul,  (Eom.  viii.  6.)  This  great  apostle 
says,  ''The  minding  of  the  flesh  is  death,  the  minding  of  the  spirit  is 
life;"  or,  according  to  the  common  version,  "For  to  be  carnally  minded 

death,  but  to  be  spiritually  minded  is  life  and  peace."    This  is  a 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


413 


definition  in  fact,  and  not  a  merely  verbal  definition.  Again,  (Rom.  vi 
21,)  ''The  end  of  those  things  is  death,"  and  ''the  end  or  fruit  of 
holiness  is  everlasting  life."  Still  more  strongly  affirms  this  same 
apostle  that  one  may  be  dead  and  alive  at  the  same  time,  though  not 
in  the  same  sense,  in  the  following  words,  (1  Tim.  vi.  6  :) — "She  that 
lives  in  pleasure  is  dead  while  she  lives.''  It  is  unnecessary  to  array  the 
whole  host  of  evidence  which  the  Bible  furnishes  in  proof  of  these  facts. 
Much  more  evidence  of  the  same  kind  may  be  found  by  consulting 
parallel  passages.  We  shall,  then,  regard  it  as  established  by  the 
highest  authority,  that  life  and  existence  are  not  the  same  thing — that 
a  man  may  have  human  life  or  existence  without  spiritual  life — that 
he  may  be  alive  and  dead^at  the  same  time,  in  difierent  but  proper 
meanings  of  the  words  "  death"  and  "  life" — and  that  intellectual  life 
and  spiritual  life  are  ais  much  realities  as  animal  life  or  animal  death. 

In  this  sense  only  could  Adam  die  the  day  he  violated  the  Divine 
precept,  "In  the  day  on  which  thou  eatest  of  it,  thou  shalt  surely  die." 
That  day  he  did  die,  though  afterwards  he  may  have  lived  nine  hun- 
dred years.  The  "  angels  that  kept  not  their  first  estate"  have  all  died 
in  the  sense  in  which  Adam  died  when  he  departed  from  his  first  estate ; 
though  they  still  live  in  another  sense.  Death,  indeed,  as  the  original 
word  intimates,  signifies  separation  from  Grod :  this  is  its  true  and 
divinely-authenticated  meaning.  A  tree,  a  man,  an  angel,  can,  there- 
fore, die  in  just  as  many  senses  as  they  can  be  separated  from  God,  or 
from  any  system  of  communication  with  him.  A  tree  has  but  a  physical 
connection  with  God,  through  the  system  of  material  nature,  conse- 
quently it  is  susceptible  of  but  one  death ;  a  man  has  connection  with 
God  through  physical  and  spiritual  nature,  and  therefore  he  may  die 
physically  or  spiritually. 

We,  therefore,  legitimately  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  as  life  and 
death  are  necessarily  contrasted  with  each  other,  as  indicative  of  con- 
trary states,  we  can  have  just  as  many  varieties  of  death  as  there  are 
varieties  of  life.  Have  we  physical,  intellectual  and  spiritual  or  moral 
life  ?  then  have  we  physical,  intellectual  and  spiritual  or  moral  death. 
Have  we  temporal  and  eternal  life?  then  have  we  temporal  and  eternal 
death. 

But  some  of  these  terms  indicate  the  essential  and  some  the  acci- 
dental attributes  of  life  and  death.  Thus,  physical,  intellectual  and 
spiritual  denote  the  nature  or  essential  characteristics  of  life  and  death ; 
while  temporal  and  eternal  denote,  not  the  natui-e,  but  the  accidental 
attributes,  of  life  and  death.  The  former  denotes  the  kind  of  life,  while 
the  latter  denotes  merely  the  continuance  of  it.    Whether  a  person 


414 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


have  a  landed  estate  for  a  term  of  years,  or  ''forever,"  as  our  deeds 
run,  affects  not  the  character  or  nature  of  the  estate,  but  the  mere 
continuance  of  the  possession.  Hence,  ''eternal"  prefixed  to  life  or 
death,  intimates  not  the  nature  of  either,  but  their  mere  continuance. 

It  is,  however,  with  some,  a  question  of  uncertain  decision  whether 
eternal  life  be  not  a  different  sort  of  life  from  spiritual  life,  or  from  any- 
life  enjoyed  on  earth,  or  by  man  as  he  now  exists.  With  some,  mere 
existence  is  life ;  and  such  persons  are  wont  to  speak,  not  of  eternal 
existence,  but  of  eternal  life,  in  misery ! 

But,  while  mere  animal  existence  or  vegetable  existence  is  life  animal 
or  vegetable,  such  is  not  spiritual  life.  It  is  not  mere  existence,  but 
spiritual  existence,  enjoyed;  it  is  a  perennial  communication  between 
an  angelic  or  a  human  spirit,  and  the  eternal  Spirit  of  God,  ''in  whose 
presence  there  is  fulness  of  joy  and  at  whose  right  hand  are  pleasures 
for  evermore."  Hence,  in  New  Testament  language  we  have  the  phrase 
*' eternal  life'  forty-four  times,  d^xidi  forty -four  times  only,  and  never 
used  to  indicate  mere  eternal  existence,  but  the  eternal  enjoyment  of 
life  and  of  the  God  of  life. 

An  analysis  of  these  several  passages  in  their  proper  contextual 
circumstances  certainly  indicates  that  eternal  life  is  only  another  name 
for  eternal  happiness.  When  the  Messiah  says  to  his  faithful  disciples 
that  in  this  world  they  shall  receive  a  hundredfold  more  than  they 
lose,  and  in  the  world  to  come  eternal  life,  can  any  one  be  so  simple 
as  to  imagine  that  he  means  mere  eternal  existence?  What  an 
anticlimax  do  they  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  Messiah  on  such  a  view. 
(Mark  x.  29,  30.) — "  There  is  no  one  who  hath  left  house,  or  brethren, 
or  sisters,  or  father,  or  mother,  or  wife,  or  children,  or  lands,  for  my 
sake  and  the  gospel's,  but  shall  receive  a  hundredfold  more  in  this 
world ;  houses,  and  brethren,  and  sisters,  and  mothers,  and  children,  and 
lands,  with  persecutions,  and  in  the  world  to  come  something  greatly 
less — eternal  life — mere  eternal  existence!"  Can  any  one  think  the 
Messiah  was  ever  guilty  of  such  a  deception  under  pretence  of  holding 
out  something  greater  in  the  world  to  come,  truly,  and  in  fact,  holding 
out  something  greatly  less  ?  He  does  not  promise  his  followers  mere 
existence  in  this  world,  but  a  hundredfold  more  enjoyments  than  they 
have  lost  for  his  sake.  But  there  are  some  amongst  us  who,  in  their 
self-esteem,  imagine  that  they  have  discovered  that  eternal  life  is  mere 
eternal  existence,  and  who  present  the  Gieat  Teacher  in  the  singular 
attitude  of  saying  to  hiie  followers,  "  My  friends,  in  this  world  you  shall 
have  a  hundredfold  more  than  mere  existence,  and,  in  the  world  to 
come,  eternal  existence  only." 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


415 


Having  shown  that  eternal  life  is  not  eternal  existence,  (and  if  that 
be  not  shown,  then  nothing  can  be  ascertained  from  the  lips  of  the 
Messiah,)  follows  it  not  that  the  second  death,  in  contrast  with  eternal 
life,  cannot  possibly  intimate  second  non-existence?  Indeed,  is  not  the 
very  definition  absurd  ?  The  first  death,  first  non-existence ;  the  second 
death,  second  non-existence  !  Did  any  human  writer  ever  speak  greater 
nonsense!  And  yet  we  have  amongst  us  some  men  so  full  of  the 
conceit  of  sup^.rior  wisdom  as  to  make  the  inspired  writers  utter  such 
nonsense. 

Are  not  eternal  life  and  eternal  punishment  placed  in  contrast  by  our 
Saviour?  ''These,"  says  he,  ''shall  go  away  into  eternal  punishment, 
and  the  righteous  into  eternal  life."  That  is,  according  to  the  new 
school  of  destructionism,  the  wicked  shall  go  away  into  eternal  non- 
existence, and  the  righteous  shall  enter  into  eternal  existence.  And 
yet  they  had  entered  into  eternal  existence  when  they  were  first  born ! 
From  such  doctors  may  the  Lord  preserve  his  Church  !  But  hearken 
to  Paul.  "  To  them,"  says  he,  "  who  seek  for  glory,  honor  and  immor- 
tality, he  will  bestow  eternal  life."  Simple  existence?  mere  being ^ 
Nay,  verily,  eternal  life  is  here  made  the  sum  of  glory,  honor  and 
immortality.  These  are  the  three  grand  items  that  make  up  the 
aggregate  called  eternal  life.  God,  says  Paul,  will  grant  them  then 
what  they  now  seek.  They,  by  a  "patient  continuance  in  doing  well, 
are  seeking  for  glory,  honor  and  immortality:"  therefore  God  will 
bestow  upon  them  eternal  life. 

We  shall  henceforth  regard  it  as  an  established  fact,  that  eternal 
life  is  not  existence,  but  eternal  happiness,  and  that  consequently  the 
second  death,  or  everlasting  punishment,  is  not  merely  second  non- 
existence. Meantime,  we  shall  only  add  a  fact  in  confirmation  of  oui' 
definitioit^ — viz.  there  are  two  classes  of  angels  as  well  as  two  classes 
of  men.  There  are  the  holy  and  happy  angels,  and  there  are  the 
unholy  and  unhappy  angels.  There  are  Michael  and  his  angels, 
and  Satan  and  his  angels.  There  are  angels  that  kept  their  first 
estate,  and  "angels  who  have  sinned."  Now,  seeing  both  classes  yet 
exist,  do  they  exist  in  one  state  ?  Does  not  one  class  exist  in  happi- 
ness, while  the  other  exists  in  misery?  Satan  and  his  angels  have 
lived  six  thousand  years  in  rebellion,  and  consequently  in  comparative 
misery,  waiting  condemnation  at  the  judgment  of  the  great  day.  How 
instructive  the  language  of  the  demons,  those  wicked  spirits  of  fallen 
men,  when  beseeching  the  Lord  not  to  torment  them  before  the  time! 
They  are  said  to  be  reserved  in  chains  of  darkness  until  the  judgment 
of  the  great  day.    We  have,  then,  angels  existing  and  sufi'ering  misery, 


416 


Life  and  deatr. 


and  angels  existing  and  enjoying  eternal  life.  Simple  existence  and  non- 
existence are,  therefore,  not  the  ultimate  conditions  of  human  nature. 
The  possibility  of  existence  in  misery  we  have  in  fallen  angels,  and  the 
possibility  of  existence  in  happiness  we  have  in  the  angels  that  sinned 
not.  There  is  a  fire  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels,  as  well  as 
a  heaven  for  the  Messiah  and  his  angels.  The  former  constitutes 
''everlasting  punishment,"  and  is,  therefore,  called  "the  eternal  fire 
the  other  is  called  "  eternal  life"  and  "  the  salvation  to  be  revealed 
when  the  Lord  comes." 

We  presume  it  to  be  unnecessary  to  multiply  evidences  in  this 
portion  of  our  essay  on  the  mere  meaning  of  the  phrases  eternal  life  or 
eternal  ^punishment,  designing  at  this  time  only  to  demonstrate  that  in 
the  sacred  style  simple  existence  is  not  life,  nor  continued  existence 
eternal  life. 

But  we  have  said  that  eternal  life  is  only  the  consummation  of 
spiritual  life — that  it  is  only  the  full  development  of  the  life  we  now 
have,  in  having  union  and  communion  with  the  Lord  Jesus.  The  life 
of  an  adult  man  is  not  different  from  the  life  of  the  embryo  or  the 
infant  man.  So  eternal  life  is  but  the  full  development  and  perfect 
enjoyment  of  that  new  life  which  we  have  begun  in  us  by  the  Spirit 
of  G-od  when  united  to  Christ.  For  "we  are  dead,  and  our  life  is  hid 
in  Christ  by  God,"  And,  therefore,  "when  Christ  our  life  shall  appear, 
we  also  shall  appear  with  him  in  glory." 

We  are  not,  however,  in  speaking  of  spiritual  ot  eternal  life,  to 
imagine  that  either  of  these  is  any  distinct  substantive  life  superadded 
to  human  life,  like  the  addition  of  one  substance  or  principle  to  another; 
for  life  is  not  any  substance,  but  merely  a  sensitive  intellectual  or 
moral  enjoyment  of  ourselves  and  of  God.  It  is  a  state  or  condition 
of  existence,  and  not  existence  itself.  It  is  the  state  of  the  soul  or  of 
mind  as  capable  of  receiving  and  using  Divine  communications.  Hence 
the  same  mind  may  at  one  time  be  in  one  state,  and  at  another  time  in 
another  state,  as  respects  any  person  or  thing.  The  same  body  is 
susceptible  of  various  conditions  or  states  of  existence ;  and  why  should 
not  the  same  mind  be  susceptible  of  similar  changes  and  modes  of 
existence  ?  How  often  are  we  disposed  and  indisposed  to  one  and  the 
same  thing !  We  hate  and  love,  and  love  and  hate,  the  same  person 
under  different  views  of  his  character  or  of  his  actions  towards  us. 
The  mind  loving  is  not  really  one  life,  nor  the  mind  hating  another  life. 
It  is  the  same  r.-ind  in  different  states. 

Very  analogous  are  the  various  lives  of  which  we  have  been  speak- 
ing.   It  is  one  and  the  same  hving  spirit  that  is  the  subject  of  them 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


417 


all.  The  same  angelic  spirit  may  be  at  one  time  a  seraph,  and  at 
another  a  devil.  Paul  was  at  one  time  the  enemy,  at  another  the 
friend,  of  the  Lord.  The  same  mind  in  one  state  constitutes  a  friend, 
and  in  another  state  an  enemy.  In  these  states  he  may  be  said  to  be 
alive  or  dead  to  the  same  person,  as  he  feels  towards  him. 

But  it  must  be  emphatically  stated  that  this  is  not  the  whole  mys- 
tery, but  only  a  part  of  the  mystery,  of  the  new  life.  The  sunflower 
turns  its  face  to  the  sun ;  while  the  sun  in  return  pours  his  genial  rays 
of  light  and  life  into  its  bosom.  In  this  case,  then,  there  is  more  than 
a  single  change  of  position.  The  sunflower  opens  its  bosom  as  well  as 
turns  its  face  to  the  sun ;  and  the  sun  not  only  lifts  its  full-orbed  face 
and  looks  upon  it,  but  it  also  sheds  abroad  within  its  bosom  its  vital 
power.  Thus,  when  a  sinner  turns  to  the  Lord,  attracted  to  him,  as  the 
sunflower  is  to  the  sun,  by  an  emanation  from  him,  then  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  and  of  Mercy,  by  his  good  spirit,  pours  out  into  his  soul 
the  love  of  God;  and  then,  indeed,  he  begins  to  live  to  God  and  to 
enjoy  him,  not  only  through  nature  and  providence,  but  through  his 
spiritual  favor  and  love.  This  is  my  conception  of  spiritual  life,  and 
this  is  the  embryo  blossom  of  eternal  life  in  the  immediate  presence  of 
God  for  ever  and  ever. 

This  spiritual  connection  is  very  appositely  and  beautifully  set  forth 
by  the  Saviour  himself  under  the  similitude  of  a  vine  and  its  branches. 
Addressing  his  disciples,  he  said,  I  am  the  vine ;  you  are  the  branches. 
He  that  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same  bringeth  forth  much 
fruit :  for  without  me  you  can  do  nothing."  The  vital  fluid  that  is  in 
the  root  and  in  the  stem  circulates  through  all  the  branches.  To  this 
they  owe  their  verdure,  their  odor  and  their  fruitfulness.  The  life 
that  is  in  the  root  is  in  the  branches.  Dissevered  from  that,  they 
wither  and  perish.  Connection  with  the  vine  is  life,  if  life  be  in  the 
vine ;  separation  from  it  is  death.    Thus  reasoned  the  Great  Teacher. 

On  another  occasion  he  said,  I  am  the  bread  that  came  down  from 
heaven.  If  any  man  eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall  live  forever ;  and  the 
bread  that  I  will  give  him  is  my  flesh,  which  I  will  give  for  the  life  of 
the  world."  Of  this  bread  he  said,  "  Except  you  eat  the  flesh  of  the 
Son  of  man,  and  drink  his  blood,  you  have  no  life  in  you.  Whoso 
eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh  my  blood  hath  eternal  life,  and  I  will 
raise  him  up  at  the  last  day."  On  another  occasion  he  said,  "  I 
pray  ...  for  them  who  shall  believe  on  me,  that  thei/  all  may  be  one; 
as  thou.  Father,  art  in  me  and  I  in  thee ;  that  they  also  may  be  one  in 
ILS."  This  is  that  uriion  and  communion  with  the  Divine  Father  and 
his  beloved  Son  which  constitutes  spiritual  and  eternal  life.    And  to 

27 


418 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


him  that  is  alive  to  God  there  is  no  eternal  life,  no  eternal  glory,  no 
immortality  greater,  more  desirable,  more  blissful,  than  this.  How 
truly,  then,  may  it  be  said  that  "  Christ  is  our  life' — that  he  is  the 
way,  the  truth  and  the  life — that  we  are  dead,  and  that  our  life  is 
laid  up  in  him  by  God! 

Still,  the  new  constitution,  in  all  its  sublime  developments,  exhibits 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  as  the  immediate  source  and  fountain  of  all 
spiritual  life  in  us.  God  alone  has  life  in  himself,''  underived,  un- 
originated,  uncreated.  He  is  life's  fountain,  its  eternal  spring,  its  un- 
wasting  fulness.  He  imparted  it  to  the  Messiah.  He  was  the  earthen 
vessel  in  which  this  treasure  was  deposited.  Without  measure  or  limit 
THE  Spirit  was  communicated  to  him ;  and  ultimately,  on  his  ascension, 
he  received  the  Holy  Spirit  as  its  administrator  to  and  for  the  human 
race.    He  is  now  sole    Lord  of  the  spirit." 

As  the  life  that  is  in  all  mankind  was  once  in  Adam,  and  is  derived 
from  him,  and  as  the  life  that  is  in  the  human  body  is  in  its  head,  as 
its  primitive  source,  so  is  our  spiritual  life  in  the  second  Adam,  the 
living  head  of  the  mystic  body,  animated  by  the  Holy  Spirit  with 
impartations  of  a  Divine  and  eternal  life.  By  faith,  then,  we  are  united 
to  him,  and  instantly  that  life  Divine  is  imparted  to  us  by  which  we 
are  prepared  for  the  enjoyments  of  heaven  and  immortality.  With 
the  greatest  propriety,  then,  he  said,  I  am  the  resurrection  and 
THE  life."  He  quickens  the  dead,  reanimates  their  bodies,  and  is  to 
them  the  fountain  of  eternal  blessedness.  Such  is  the  life  we  have  in 
him.  With  Paul,  we  may  individually  say,  ''I  am  crucified  with 
Christ,  nevertheless  I  live;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me." 

Now,  as  before  shown,  death  is  just  the  contrary  of  life  :  hence  there 
is  a  species  of  death  for  every  species  of  life.  The  Gentile,  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins,  is  merely  a  son  of  Adam ;  while  he  that  is  in  Christ 
is  a  new  creature  and  a  son  of  God  through  Adam  the  second.  Con- 
nection with  Adam  the  first  is  but  human  life  and  spiritual  death; 
while  connection  with  Adam  the  second  is  divine  life  and  eternal 
blessedness. 

But  in  this  age  and  country,  and  especially  amongst  those  whose 
minds  have  been  carried  away  with  the  new  theories  of  the  world's  age 
and  end,  and  with  new  schemes  of  apocalyptic  interpretation,  a  new 
theor}'  of  Divine  judgment  has  become  very  rife,  and  has  found  favor 
amongst  some  excellent  persons  who  have  been  much  enamored  with 
the  splendors  of  a  celestial  paradise  during  a  terrestrial  millennium — 
not,  indeed,  well  defined  by  its  most  learned  and  eloquent  advocates ;  for 
it  seems  no  one  can  tell  much  about  it,  save  that  the  living  wicked  shall 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


419 


be  destroyed  at  its  commeDcement^  and  in  the  second  resurrection  all 
that  shall  be  accounted  worthy  of  it  shall  be  punished  with  a  very 
painful  and  extended  dissolution,  or  with  a  mysterious  and  ignominious 
transition  into  nothing.  These  are,  now-a-days,  generally  called  De- 
structionists.  A  more  special  and  methodical  examination  and  exposi- 
tion of  this  common  speculation  is  imperiously  called  for,  and  shall  now 
be  attempted  with  all  possible  brevity  and  perspicuity. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  the  extinction  of  the  unjust  is  alleged  to  be 
a  Bible  doctrine,  because  in  the  New  Testament  the  term  destruction 
is  applied  in  direct  reference  to  the  ultimate  destiny  of  the  wicked. 
But  we  have  already  shown  that  the  Christian  Scriptures  authorize 
various  acceptations  of  this  word,  and  that,  indeed,  no  case  can  be 
adduced  in  which  it  must  signify  an  absolute  extinction,  or  annihilation 
of  a  human  person. 

There  is,  moreover,  in  fact,  both  a  relative  and  an  absolute  destruc- 
tion. A  leather  bottle,  for  example,  is  said  to  be  destroyed  when  only 
rent  by  new  wine ;  a  thoughtless  prodigal  is  said  to  have  been  destroyed 
when  he  had  squandered  his  fortune  in  riotous  living ;  and  a  box  of 
precious  ointment  is  said  to  be  destroyed  when  wasted,  &c.  Now,  in 
none  of  these  examples  can  it  be  said  that  the  subject  is  absolutely 
destroyed, — it  is  only  wasted,  lost  or  abused ;  and  this  is  but  relative 
destruction,  and  by  no  means  the  utter  and  eternal  extinction  of  the 
person  or  thing  so  destroyed. 

In  the  second  place,  the  foundation  of  the  theory  of  destructionism, 
when  closely  analyzed,  is  found  to  consist  in  an  imaginative  expediency. 
Some  very  benevolent  and  humane  persons  think  that  it  would  be  much 
more  expedient  that  the  universe  were  rid  of  all  sin  and  misery,  and 
that  eternal  existence  in  misery  would  be  an  eternal  annoyance  to 
all  the  friends  of  the  unfortunate  sufferers.  Who,  says  the  pious 
Destructionist,  could  feel  happy  in  heaven,  if  he  knew  that  the  once 
beloved  wife  of  his  bosom,  and  the  dear  objects  of  his  paternal  love 
and  tenderness,  were  suffering  the  vengeance  of  an  eternal  fire  ?  To 
get  rid  of  this  apprehension,  the  Universalist  annihilates  hell,  and 
the  Destructionist  the  wicked.  These  benevolent  enthusiasts,  in  their 
respective  notions  of  expediency,  remove  both  eternal  misery  and  the 
irreclaimably  wicked  from  the  creation  of  God.  They  imagine  there 
is  no  necessity  whatever  for  eternal  punishment,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
that  a  universe  wholly  occupied  and  enjoyed  by  pure  and  righteous 
persons  would  be  just  such  a  universe  as  would  be  both  expedient  and 
suited  to  the  character  of  an  all-wise,  all-powerful  and  all-merciful 
Creator.    The  only  difficulties  they  have  to  encounter  are  those  scrip- 


420 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


tures  that  speak  of  the  future  destinies  of  the  wicked,  and  these  can, 
by  a  new  code  of  laws  of  interpretation  recently  enacted  by  themselves, 
very  satisfactorily  (at -least  to  themselves)  be  disposed  of. 

It  is  hard  to  reason  with  those  who  feel  themselves  competent  to 
build  a  new  universe,  or,  at  least,  to  arrange  and  improve  one  already 
in  being.  Some  of  our  modern  world-makers  amuse  us  with  very 
splendid  imaginations  of  what  ought  to  be,  and  then  gravely  proceed 
to  teach  us  what  will  and  must  hereafter  be.  Even  in  the  incipiency 
of  their  endeavors,  they  object  to  our  own  terraqueous  habitation  as 
encumbered  with  so  much  sea,  so  many  large  deserts,  so  many  bleak 
mountains,  and  subjected  to  the  dread  extremes  of  frigid  and  torrid 
zones.  They  would  have  made  an  earth  whose  surface  should  have 
been,  at  worst,  but  a  series  of  inclined  planes,  widely  extended  and 
gently  sloping  in  all  directions.  These  would  have  been  interspersed 
with  a  few  small  lakes  and  rivers,  occasionally  variegated  with  a  pyra- 
midal peak  or  a  beautifully  grotesque  little  mountain,  forming  Elysian 
landscapes.  No  rocky  deserts,  no  Libyan  sands,  no  dismal  swamps, 
would  have  disfigured  their  rich  and  beautiful  earth,  fanned  with  balmy 
breezes  mild  as  Eden,  and  refreshed  with  delicious  odors  emanating 
from  the  garden  of  God. 

No  burning  mountains,  no  volcanic  fires,  no  desolating  earthquakes, 
would  have  frightened  any  inhabitant  of  their  blest  earth.  No  mighty 
cataracts,  no  fierce  tempests,  no  appalling  thunders,  would  have  terrified 
the  most  flagrant  transgressor.  Nay,  they  would  have  prevented 
transgression  by  absolute  fate,  and  enacted  virtue  by  an  invincible 
necessity.  Their  heavens  would  have  been  studded  with  alternating 
suns  of  magnificent  dimensions;  while  planets  of  every  variety,  and 
comets  of  orbits  the  most  eccentric,  would  have  perpetually  sported  in 
fields  of  ether  for  the  amusement  of  its  laughing  inhabitants.  And  as 
for  hell — the  dread  "elsewhere,''  no  such  ungracious  lake  of  boiling 
sulphur,  no  such  fathomless  gulf  of  pitchy  darkness,  would  have  dis- 
turbed the  imagination  of  the  sons  of  pleasure.  And  should  sin  or 
folly,  by  any  unforeseen  casualty,  have  appeared  in  their  system  of 
nature,  it  would  have  been  instantly  annihilated,  and  thus  prevented 
from  spreading  its  dire  contagion  through  the  unaff'ected  regions  of 
rational  intelligence. 

Amongst  the  stricter  sort  of  religionists,  such  speculators  are  not, 
indeed,  of  much  reputation.  But  instead  of  this  bold  and  presumptuous 
class  of  real  skeptics,  we  have,  under  the  banner  of  the  Christian 
Bible,  a  few  rare  philosophers  of  much  intellectual  pride,  who  can  so 
manage  both  prophetf^  -^nd  apostles  as  to  oblige  them  to  depose  in 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


421 


favor  of  any  assumption  they  may  choose  to  commend  to  public 
patronage.  These  subject  the  testimonies  of  saints  and  martyrs  to 
the  torture  of  an  illogical  and  ungrammatical  criticism,  much  to  the 
annoyance  of  less  pretending  and  more  modest  professors.  But  before 
we  examine  any  of  their  learned  labors,  we  must  hastily  glance  at  the 
philosophic  scheme  which  has  given  rise  to  all  these  efforts. 

It  is  assumed  that  in  a  future  life  men  will  have  their  present 
animal  affections  and  feelings,  at  least  the  same  personal  attachments  to 
relatives  and  friends,  that  they  now  have,  and  also  the  same  reluctance 
to  acquiesce  in  the  will  of  God  and  in  the  results  of  the  final  judgment. 
The  Sadducean  puzzle,  that  in  the  resurrection  we  shall  have  the  old 
relations  of  husbands  and  wives,  parents  and  children,  and  attachments 
corresponding  with  them,  is  at  the  bottom  of  all  these  speculations. 
Our  Saviour,  to  such  persons,  in  vain  teaches  that  then  we  shall  be 
like  the  angels,  without  sex,  without  animal  attachments,  as  without 
mortality.  But- to  those  who  think  with  him,  there  can  be  no  difficulty 
on  this  view  of  the  subject.  The  fact  that  God  himself  is  infinitely 
more  merciful  than  man,  and  that  the  whole  human  race  is  nearer  and 
dearer  to  him  than  ever  were  to  each  other  husband  and  wife,  parent 
or  child,  is  now,  and  ever  will  be,  to  every  intelligent  being,  an  omni- 
potent argument  to  reconcile  all  God's  children  to  his  judgment  in 
every  particular  case.  No  human  being  ever  loved  another  as  much 
as  God  once  loved  the  devil  and  his  angels ;  and  yet  he  has  not  only 
expelled  them  from  heaven,  but  bound  them  fast  in  chains  of  darkness, 
to  the  judgment  of  the  great  day,  and  has  prepared  for  them  an 
unquenchable  fire,  a  punishment  everlasting.  So  the  Messiah  himself 
unequivocally  declares. 

The  relation  of  Creator  and  creature  is  a  relation  we  cannot  comprehend. 
It  is  incomparably  nearer  than  that  of  parent  and  child.  And  as  affec- 
tion and  love  are  measured  by  the  nearness  of  relation,  we  have  reason 
to  presume  that  for  all  those  creatures  to  whom  our  Father  Creator 
has  imparted  so  much  of  himself  as  intelligence  and  moral  susceptibility, 
he  has  a  love  inconceivable  and  ineffable.  From  all  such  premises,  as 
well  as  from  express  scriptural  declarations,  we  have  reason  to  in»fer 
that  there  will  be  such  a  perfect  acquiescence  in  his  final  adjudication 
of  the  whole  intellectual  and  moral  universe  as  to  fill  every  pure  heart 
with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory;  even  when  that  judgment  may 
condemn  to  eternal  anguish  a  relation  now  dear  to  us  as  that  seraph 
once  was  to  God  whose  name  and  character  have  been  changed  to  Satan. 
And  yet  this  view  of  the  subject  is  by  no  means  irreconcilable  with 
the  persuasion  that,  as  Paul  anticipated  an  eternal  joy  and  an  unfading 


422 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


crown  from  the  relation  subsisting  between  him  and  those  by  him  con- 
verted to  God,  so  we  shall  have  a  peculiar  pleasure  and  felicity  in  those 
of  our  kindred  who  have  been  by  our  instrumentality,  or  by  that  of 
others,  redeemed  to  God.  From  which  considerations  and  reflections 
we  may  readily  perceive  how  little  philosophy  or  reason  there  is  in  the 
assumption  of  those  who  plead  for  absolute  destruction  on  the  ground 
that  it  will  contribute  more  to  the  eternal  happiness  of  the  saved,  than 
a  belief  of  the  eternal  existence  of  sinners  in  torment! 

In  the  third  place : — It  is  assumed  by  some  of  the  advocates  of  de- 
structionism  that  an  annihilation  of  personal  existence  is  a  greater 
punishment  than  eternal  existence  in  misery.  This  is  an  assumption  so 
ultra  as  to  require  but  little  reflection.  To  me  it  has  always  appeared 
that  were  immediate  annihilation  or  eternal  fire  presented  to  any  human 
being  as  objects  of  choice,  no  one,  compos  mentis,  could  for  a  moment 
hesitate  which  to  prefer.  ISTay,  indeed,  an  escape  from  a  lake  of  fire, 
or  from  any  punishment  set  forth  under  that  imagery,  into  a  gulf  of 
personal  extinction,  would  appear  rather  as  happiness  than  as  torment. 
It  may,  indeed,  with  much  propriety,  be  inquired  whether  annihilation, 
or  a  literal  destruction  of  consciousness  and  of  personal  existence,  could 
be  called  punishment  for  sin,  or  whether  sin  could  be  punished  by  anni- 
hilation. If  so,  the  reptiles  and  beasts  of  every  class  that  were  burnt 
in  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  or  that  were  drowned  in  the  deluge,  were  as 
much  punished  as  the  wicked  men  and  women  who  perished  in  the  flood 
or  in  the  fire.  In  the  universal  conflagration,  will  not  the  pigeon  and 
the  dove,  the  calf  and  the  lamb,  sufi'er  as  much  as  the  wicked — if,  indeed, 
both  are  then  finally  and  forever  deprived  of  consciousness  and  person- 
ality? If,  then,  the  threatenings  of  the  Bible  addressed  to  wicked  men 
involving  their  eternal  destiny  amount  to  no  more  than  the  fate  of  the 
most  innocent  and  harmless  animals,  what  shall  we  think  of  the  sincerity 
of  the  author  of  Christianity,  who,  in  holding  up  the  terrors  of  the 
Lord  "  as  a  caveat  against  sin,  as  an  inducement  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come, "  representing  them  as  proportioned  to  the  number,  magnitude 
and  malignity  of  transgressions,  only,  in  unexaggerated  fact,  meant  that 
they  should  have  the  same  fate  as  the  most  innocent  birds,  beasts  and 
fishes — suffer  an  hour  or  a  minute,  and  then  pass  into  eternal  uncon- 
sciousness !  I  have  certainly  misconceived  the  whole  Bible  and  the 
character  of  its  author,  if,  like  a  weak  nurse,  he  has  been  terrifying  us 
by  ghosts  and  spectres  of  horrible  stature,  himself  well  knowing  that 
they  are  but  mere  phantoms,  innocent  frauds  practised  for  our  good  !  In 
this  attitude  do  those  place  the  great  Messiah  who,  with  all  the  awful 
judgments  denounced  against  the  wicked  by  himself  and  his  apostles 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


423 


before  their  minds,  represent  these  judgments  and  denunciations  ter- 
minating in,  and  amounting  to,  no  more  than  the  annihilation  of  a  kid 
or  a  lamb — a  moment's  pain  and  eternal  unconsciousness. 

But,  in  the  fourth  place,  I  argue  against  this  assumption  from  the 
fact  that  it  amounts  to  an  annihilation  of  the  sanctions  of  the  gospel, 
and  directly  contradicts  the  positive  declarations  of  the  Saviour  con- 
cerning eternal  punishment.  With  destructionists  there  can  be  no  eternal 
punishment ;  for  with  them  there  is  no  eternal  fire. 

This  is  truly  a  very  grave  charge  against  any  system  of  doctrine,  and 
requires  to  be  well  sustained.  What,  then,  let  me  inquire,  is  indicated 
by  the  term  punishment  f  It  is  not  mere  animal  suffering ;  for  then  the 
lamb  would  be  punished  for  its  innocence,  and  the  dove  for  its  meek- 
ness. Both  these  frequently  endure  great  animal  sufferings.  There 
must,  then,  be  some  other  pain  than  animal  sufferings  to  constitute  pun- 
ishment. There  is  mental  pain  as  well  as  physical  pain.  But  mental 
pain  presupposes  guilt  or  crime ;  for  in  the  absence  of  crime  there 
can  be  no  mental  pain.  The  martyr  at  the  stake,  though  enduring 
much  animal  pain,  suffers  no  mental  agony.  There  must  always  be 
consciousness  of  guilt,  or  a  sense  of  crime  committed,  in  order  to 
punishment. 

Punishment,  it  appears,  begins  and  ends  with  the  feeling  of  pain 
inflicted  for  the  commission  of  crime.  If,  then,  at  any  time  conscious- 
ness of  guilt,  or  the  feeling  of  pain,  mental  or  physical,  because  of  sin, 
should  cease,  that  moment  punishment  ceases.  Punishment  begins 
and  ends  with  the  consciousness  of  pain  inflicted  because  of  guilt  con- 
tracted through  the  violation  of  law  or  the  neglect  of  duty.  Now,  as  the 
destructionists  assign  an  end  to  the  endurance  of  pain  because  of  sin, 
they  of  course  incontrovertibly  deny  ^^everlasting  punishment.''  Bui 
Jesus  Christ  says,  "The  wicked,"  at  the  final  judgment,  "shall  go  away 
into  everlasting  punishment,"  and  the  righteous  "into  life  eternal." 
The  same  word — aiooinos,  everlasting — determines  the  continuance  of 
the  punishment  and  of  the  life.  Can  any  thiug,  then,  be  more  evident 
than  that  the  destructionists  have  formed  a  direct  issue  with  Jesus 
Christ  on  the  subject  of  eternal  punishment?  The  Messiah  says  it 
is  everlasting;  the  destructionist  says  it  will  come  to  an  end  at  the 
second  death. 

For  the  sake  of  a  few  mere  pretenders  to  sound  argumentative  dis- 
crimination and  great  logical  acumen,  I  shall  give  this  argument  the 
regular  form,  that  any  one  disposed  to  attack  it  may  immediately  per- 
ceive what  he  has  to  encounter.    Logically  expressed,  it  stands  thus : — 

No  one  dispossessed  of  conscious  guilt  can  be  punished.    But  per- 


424 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


sons  annihilated  are  dispossessed  of  conscious  guilt:  therefore,  no  one 
annihilated  can  be  punished. 

Annihilation  or  personal  extinction  may,  indeed,  be  an  end  of  pun- 
ishment, but  never  the  beginning  of  it.  This  single  argument,  unless 
fairly  met  and  refuted,  annihilates  the  whole  theory  of  destructionism. 
We  build  this  argument  upon  no  ambiguous  premises.  We  have  the 
word  of  the  Saviour  and  Judge  of  the  world  for  it.  In  giving  an  ac- 
count of  the  final  judgment,  he  says  that  all  on  his  left  hand  shall 
depart  '4nto  everlasting  punishment."  He  uses  the  word  kolasis  to 
indicate  what  sort  of  punishment  he  means.  The  word  occurs  but 
twice  in  the  New  Testament.  In  1  John  iv.  18,  it  is  translated  torment." 
They  shall  go  into  everlasting  torment.  How  weak  or  how  vicious  the 
head  which  thence  infers  that  torments  are  to  end  in  a  second  death ! 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  eternal  life,  as  the  reward  of  the  right- 
eous, is  contrasted  with  eternal  punishment,  as  the  reward  of  the  wicked ; 
and  that  this  is  infinitely  greater  than  death,  we  learn  from  another 
passage,  which  we  ought  to  regard  as  a  distinct  argument  for  or  evi- 
dence of  the  doctrine  of  everlasting  punishment. 

Argument  5. — Paul  says  to  the  Hebrews,  ''He  that  despised  Moses' 
law  died  without  mercy  at  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses :  of  how 
much  sorer  punishment  [than  death  without  mercy]  shall  he  be  thought 
worthy  who  has  trodden  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,"&c.  The  doc- 
trine of  the  New  Testament  is,  that  men  shall  be  rewarded  according 
to  their  works.  Hence  there  are  diverse  honors  and  diverse  punish- 
ments awaiting  both  the  righteous  and  the  wicked.  Now,  death  is  but 
a  separation  from  life,  or  from  God ;  and,  whatever  may  precede  it  or 
succeed  it,  it  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  such  a  separation.  But 
Paul  intimates  a  vengeance  greatly  surpassing  a  death  without  mercy 
— a  ''sorer  punishment"  by  far  than  mere  separation  from  life.  Hence 
the  sentence  inflicted  upon  sinners  at  the  ultimate  judgment  is  not  a 
mere  extinction  of  life  or  of  physical  identity,  but  an  everlasting 
punishment,  set  forth  under  the  imagery  of  "eternal  fire." 

This  suggests  a  sixth  argument,  furnished  by  our  Lord  himself, 
in  evidence  that  something  much  worse  than  death  awaits  the  finally 
impenitent: — "Fear  not  them  that  kill  the  body,  and  after  that  can  do 
no  more;  but  fear  Him  who,  when  he  hath  killed  the  body,  has  power 
to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in  hell.  Yea,  I  say  unto  you,  fear  him." 
The  destruction  of  the  soul  is  not  annihilation,  as  before  shown;  for 
simple  annihilation  could  be  effected  as  easily  without  hell  as  with  it. 
Aji  eternal  destruction  calls  for  an  everlasting  fire.  Hence  our  Lord, 
more  than  any  other  speaker  in  the  Bible,  dwells  upon  the  "fire  un- 


LIFE  AlN'D  DEATH. 


425 


i^uenchable,"  the  undying  worm,  and  the  destruction  of  the  whole  pirson 
by  being  cast  into  hell. 

This  view  of  hell  as  the  ultimate  prison  of  wicked  men,  in  which 
they  are  to  be  "tormented  day  and  night  forever,"  is  corroborated  by 
another  saying  of  our  Lord,  which  we  must  place  as  a  seventh  argu- 
ment in  confirmation  of  everlasting  punishment.  He  says  to  those  on 
his  left  hand,  "Depart,  ye  cursed,  into  the  eternal  fire  prepared  for  the 
devil  and  his  angels''  The  eternal  vengeance  into  which  wicked  men 
are  driven  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  was  originally,  it  seems,  a 
place  prepared  for  fallen  angels.  Now,  as  angels  cannot  die,"  accord- 
ing to  the  words  of  the  Messiah,  and  as  wicked  men  are  doomed  to  the 
same  punishment  with  them,  follows  it  not  that  the  continuance  of  their 
torment  is  the  same?  The  punishment  of  those  who  reject  the  gospel 
is  set  down  as  equal  to  the  punishment  of  apostate  angels  who  would 
not  have  God  to  reign  over  them.  Will  any  materialist,  destructionist 
or  soul-sleeper  affirm  that  angels  will  die — will  cease  to  live?  If  he 
presume  so  to  affirm,  we  then  ask,  in  what  portion  of  revelation  does  he 
read  of  the  death  of  angels?  And  if  he  can  find  no  such  passage,  we 
ask,  how  then  can  he  affirm  that  evil  spirits  die,  while  their  jpunishment 
is  coram ensur ate  with  that  of  immortal  angels  f  This  is,  I  presume,  an 
insuperable  difficulty  lying  in  the  way  of  the  whole  scheme  of  substi- 
tuting a  temporal  for  an  everlasting  punishment :  at  least,  I  must  regard 
it  as  unanswerable  till  some  one  furnish  something  in  the  form  of  a  reply. 

But  here  is  a  pamphlet  of  no  less  than  four  small  pages,  pur- 
porting to  prove  that  man  is  all  soul !  The  first  sentence  is,  "  What, 
in  the  language  of  the  Bible,  constitutes  the  living  soul?"  Answer: 
"  The  man,"  The  next,  "  Is  not  the  soul  distinct  from  the  man  as  the 
jewel  from  the  casket?  And  does  it  not  reside  in  the  body  as  a  bird 
in  a  cage?  No;  for  the  Lord  God  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the 
ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  and  ma2^  be- 
came a  LIVING  SOUL.  (Gen.  ii.  7;  1  Cor.  xv.  44,  45.)"  "This,"  he  adds, 
"is  God's  definition."  So  publishes  to  the  world  a  very  sincere  Ad- 
ventist  of  the  Miller  school,  baptized  into  Elder  Storrs's  newly-improved 
system  of  spiritual  mortality,  enlarged  and  improved  by  one  of  our 
most  gifted  "  investigators  "of  the  school  of  Dr.  Priestley.  It  is,  then, 
the  quintessence  of  what  was  formerly  called  "materialism"  refined 
and  condensed  into  a  single  tract  of  four  small  pages,  from  the  pen  of 
Elder  J.  B.  Cook,  a  good  and  excellent  man,  for  whom  I  entertain  a 
very  high  regard. 

But  our  friend  Cook,  in  the  warmth  of  his  feelings,  assures  us  that 
lie  gives  us  "  God's  definition"  of  the  soul.    It  is  neither  Storrs's,  nor 


426 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


Priestley's,  nor  the  more  profound  Thomas's,  but  ''God's  own  defiiition.' 
Of  course,  in  that  view  of  it,  it  is  scarcely  a  proper  subject  of  examina- 
tion. I  must,  then,  powerful  though  it  be,  respectfully  say  that  God 
has  never  g-iven  us  a  definition  of  the  human  soul,  much  less  sucn  a 
one  as  defines  man  to  be  the  soul,  and  then  the  soul  to  be  the  man.  I 
am  obliged  to  take  this  ground  before  I  dare  to  object  to  a  definition 
purporting  to  be  of  such  awful  authority.  It  is,  then,  but  Elder  Cook's 
definition — unless  we  may  suppose  that  every  definition  is  God's  own 
definition  to  which  any  one  may  choose  to  append  a  passage  of 
scripture. 

We  shall,  therefore,  presume  to  show  that  it  is  Elder  Cook's,  or 
Elder  Storrs's,  or  Dr.  Priestley's  definition.  God  has  not  said  that  the 
living  soul  is  man;  but  he  has  said  that  ''man  became  a  living  soul." 
Now,  when  any  one  says,  "  Mary  became  his  wife,"  does  it  not  mean 
that  Mary  existed  before  she  became  a  wife  ?  As  this  expression  inti- 
mates that  Mar]/  and  wife  are  not  convertible  terms,  or  that  the 
one  is  the  meaning  of  the  other,  why  should  we  conclude  that  man  and 
living  soul  are  convertible  terms,  or  that  the  one  is  the  meaning  of  the 
other?  Such,  how^ever,  is  the  license  which  this  school  of  Biblical 
expositors  assume  to  themselves — a  license  which  no  literary  tribunal 
can  possibly  concede  to  them.  If,  therefore,  the  constitution  of  man  is 
to  be  inferred  from  the  words  cited,  we  must,  according  to  every  law 
of  interpretation,  consider  that  moan  existed  before  he  was  possessed 
of  a  living  soul,  or  before  God  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of 
lives.  These  words,  then,  are  to  be  qualified  by  some  other  explana- 
tions. And,  as  much  capital  has  been  sought  to  be  manufactured  out 
of  these,  I  may  perhaps  be  indulged  in  a  somewhat  extended  examina- 
tion of  their  current  acceptation. 

The  phrase  breath  of  life  occurs  but  four  times  in  the  Bible.  These- 
are.  Gen.  ii.  7,  vi.  17,  and  vii.  15,  22.  In  the  Hebrew  Bible  we  find 
uniformly  the  same  phrase,  Ruach  Chaiyim,  in  the  plural  form — viz. 
"  breath  of  lives ^ 

Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  Bishop  Patrick,  Matthew  Henry,  and  other 
commentators,  infer,  from  Gen.  ii.  7,  that  God  did  inspire  Adam  with 
vegetative,  animal  and  spiritual  life  at  one  and  the  same  moment, 
because  we  are  told  that  "God  formed  man  out  of  the  dust  of  the- 
ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  lives,''  (as  the 
Hebrew  word  Chaiyim,  in  the  plural  number,  might  import,)  and  h,e 
became  a  living  soul.  This  very  superficial  view  of  Ruach  Chaiyim 
lias  arrested  the  critical  attention  of  those  mathematical  Christians  who 
suppose  that  words  on  moral  subjects  must  have  the  same  fixedness  and 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


pre^nsion  of  signification  as  the  technical  terms  of  necessary  or  mathe- 
matical truth.  Hence,  with  them,  the  words  soul,  life,  death,  like 
triangle,  square  and  circle,  are  exactly  and  immutably  the  representa- 
tives of  one  and  the  same  idea. 

This  new  class  of  destructionists  are  very  adroit  in  this  mode  of 
assault  upon  the  citadel  of  truth.  But  their  logic  is  as  frail  as  their 
tenets  are  discreditable  to  human  nature.  They  presume  that  the 
human  constitution  is  wholly  revealed  and  developed  in  these  words  : — 
''The  Lord  God  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed 
into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  lives,  and  man  became  a  living  soul." 
This  "living  soul"  is  immediately  placed  before  their  inquisition,  and 
tried  by  scourging.  It  is  clearly  proved  that  this  living  soul  is  a  mortal 
soul  and  a  mortal  body.  That  the  whole  man  is  but  one  living  soul  is 
again  reiterated,  and  a  text  summoned  that  convicts  it  of  a  sin  worthy 
of  death.  Then  come  the  words,  "  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall 
die."  Thus  the  human  soul  is  easily  decomposed,  dissipated  and  anni- 
hilated by  the  sheer  force  of  one  or  two  philological  criticisms. 

A  little  Hebrew  would  have  much  facilitated  the  operation.  The 
gloss  put  upon  RuacK  Chaiyim  by  the  aforesaid  commentators  could 
be  shown  ofi"  to  great  advantage  by  citing  three  passages — indeed,  the 
only  three  other  passages  found  in  the  Bible — in  which  this  word 
Chaiyim,  in  construction  with  Euach,  is  found.  And  in  these  three 
(Gren.  vi.  17 ;  Gen.  vii.  15  and  22)  it  is  applied  to  the  animals  destroyed 
by  the  flood.  I  will,"  says  God,  "  destroy  all  flesh  wherein  is  the 
breath  of  life  (Huach  Chaiyim,  breath  of  lives)  from  under  heaven." 
Again,  (chap.  ix. :) — "  And  they  went  into  the  ark,  two  and  two,  of  all 
flesh  wherein  was  the  breath  of  life,"  {Ruach  Chaiyim,  breath  of  lives.) 
One  more,  (chap.  vii.  22  :) — All  in  whose  nostrils  was  the  breath  of 
life,  {Ruach  Chaiyim,)  of  all  that  was  on  the  dry  land,  died."  Might 
not  a  shrewd  destructionist  here  say,  with  an  air  of  triumph,  Now, 
if  breath  of  lives  indicate  intellectual  and  immortal  spirits,  then  were 
they  imparted  to  dumb  brutes,  then  did  they  perish  in  the  flood  f 

But  we  must  help  them  a  little  further  on  the  words,  man  became  a 
living  soul."  Here  the  word  nepesh  is  found  generally,  and  correctly, 
translated  soul.  But,  unfortunately,  it  is  found,  for  the  first  time  in 
the  world,  in  the  twentieth  verse  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis;  and, 
again,  in  the  thirtieth  verse  of  the  same  chapter,  descriptive  of  the 
souls  of  fish,  birds  and  reptiles.  God  said,"  (Gen.  i.  20,)  ''Let  the 
waters  bring  forth  abundantly,  the  moving  creatures  that  have  life," 
(a  soul,  nepesh.)  Again,  verse  30,  "I  have  given  every  green  herb 
for  foo'^  ^0  every  beast  of  the  earth,  to  every  bird,  and  to  every  reptile 


428 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


that  hath  a  soul/'  (nepe^h  here  rendered  life.)  We  could  give  niau^ 
instances  in  which  nejpesh,  so  often  translat-ed  soul,  denotes  the  blood,* 
the  animal  body,  alive  or  dead.  In  these  respects  it  exactly  resembles 
its  Greek  representative  jpsuchee,  and  its  Latin  converse  anima. 

It  often  denotes  any  creature  that  lives  by  breathing.  Parkhuret 
judiciously  observes  that  this  word  does  not,  "  certainly,  in  any  other 
passage,  (than  Gen.  ii.  and  vii.,  if  there !)  signify  the  spiritual  part  of 
man,  usually  called  his  soul."  From  all  which,  and  much  more  to  the 
same  effect,  we  may  logically  conclude,  that  so  soon  as  God  breathed 
into  the  nostrils  of  Adam  the  breath  of  lives,  he  became  a  living 
creature.  But  yet,  in  fact,  all  this  makes  nothing  for  those  who  will 
have  Adam  a  mere  biped  animal  with  a  superior  organization,  but  as 
susceptible  of  death,  in  his  entire  constitution,  as  any  other  creature. 
For  this  reason  : — It  is  not  a  definition  of  body,  soul  or  spirit,  in  their 
technical  meaning.  It  presumes  not  to  define  man  either  as  respects 
body  or  soul,  but  simply  states  the  singular  manner  of  his  creation,  aa 
different  from  all  God's  other  works.  God  speaks  on  this  occasion  in  a 
language  wholly  different  from  that  employed  in  any  other  creation. 

When  all  this,  and  much  to  the  same  effect,  is  stated  and  conceded, 
nothing  is  gained  by  the  whole  class  of  destructionists — by  all  who 
plead  for  the  soul's  materiality  and  mortality.  Man  has  a  spirit.  And 
Moses  gives  no  direct  account  how  he  obtained  it.  He  tells  of  the 
formation  of  his  body,  and  of  the  impartation  of  animal  life,  but  says 
not  one  word  upon  the  subject  of  his  spirit.  True,  the  word  soul  is, 
by  many,  supposed  to  be  synonymous  with  the  word  spirit.  This  is. 
indeed,  assumed  by  all  materialists  and  destructionists,  ancient  and 
modern.  They  build  upon  a  false  assumption.  They  are  not  synonym- 
ous. Sometimes,  indeed,  the  word  soul  is  substituted  for  the  words 
spdrit  and  mind.  Hence,  the  soul  is  immortal  in  one  sense,  and  mortal 
in  another.  The  word  'nepesh  in  Hebrew,  psv.chee  in  Greek,  and  soul 
in  English,  as  often  signify  life,  mere  animal  life,  as  any  thing  else. 

Of  one  hundred  and  five  times  in  which  the  word  psuchee  is  found  in 
the  New  Testament,  it  is  forty -one  times  tramlated  life,  and  might 
have  been  much  oftener.  It  is  twice  translated  mind,  and  once  heart, 
while  at  other  times  it  is  distinguished  from  them,  thus : — "  With  all 
thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind."  (Matt.  xzii. 
37;  Mark  xii.  30.)  Again,  "To  love  him  with  all  the  heart,  and  with 
all  the  understanding,  and  with  all  the  soul,"  &c.  (Mark  xii.  33.)  In 


*  Virgil,  ^neid,  ix.  1.  349.  Purpuream  vomit  ille  animam :  Hie  purple  soul  be  Tomiti 
forth. 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


429 


these  instances,  and  such  like,  there  is,  virtually,  a  contrasted  difference 
between  the  mind,  the  understanding  and  the  soul. 

Soul  J  and  souls,  frequently  stand  for  persons.  For  example: — "  Fear 
fell  upon  every  soul;"  "There  were  added  three  thousand  souls;" 
"  Every  soul  that  shall  not  hear  will  be  destroyed ;"  "  Threescore  and 
fifteen  souls."  &c.  Substituting  such  instances  as  these,  we  have  a 
majority  of  cases  in  which  it  does  not  mean  the  spirit,  or  understand- 
ing, or  mind  of  man.  True,  it  is  sometimes  used  as  equivalent  to  the 
word  spirit;  though  7iever  translated  spirit  in  the  New  Testament. 
When  the  Saviour  spake  in  the  Jewish  idiom,  he  said,  ''Fear  not 
them  that  can  kill  the  body,  but  who  cannot  kill  the  soul."  Here  some 
immortal  part  of  man  is  called  soul ;  which,  upon  the  whole,  is  a  Jewish 
idiom.  It  is  evident  that  in  this  case  it  cannot  mean  the  animal  soul 
or  life;  for  man  can  kill  that.  A  few  instances  occur,  however,  in 
which  it  clearly  indicates  the  spirit  of  a  man;  such  as,  "I  saw  under 
the  altar  the  souls  of  them  that  were  slain  for  the  word  of  Grod,"  (Rev. 
vi.  9.)  Again,  (Rev.  xx.  4,)  ''I  saw  the  souls  of  them  that  were 
beheaded."  These  are  disembodied  souls,  or  spirits.  These,  of  course, 
are  immortal  souls.  Still,  in  the  same  book  we  have  this  word  used  in 
the  same  sense  as  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis.  When  speaking  of 
the  fish  of  the  sea,  John  said,  ''  Every  living  soul  that  was  in  the  sea 
died." 

But,  to  have  all  the  premises  before  us,  we  must  have  a  short  dissert- 
ation upon  the  word  spirit ;  for,  as  before  observed,  certainly  man  has 
a  spirit  as  well  as  a  soul-busing  the  word  soul  in  its  primary  and  un- 
figurative  sense.  Of  the  creation  of  this  spirit  Moses  gives  no  account 
further  than  that  God  made  man  in  his  own  image  and  likeness.  Now, 
as  God  is  spirit,  and  as  man  was  made  in  his  image,  he  too  must  have  a 
spirit.  But  that  he  has  a  spirit  is  distinctly  and  frequently  averred 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  speaking  to  us  in  the  living  oracles.  The  spirit  of 
a  man  is  wholly  intellectual.  "  Who  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man,  bul- 
the  spirit  of  man  that  is  in  him  ?  And  who  knoweth  the  things  of 
God,  but  the  spirit  of  God?"  Here  the  spirit  of  man  and  the  spirit 
of  God  are  introduced  as  intelligent  spirits,  each  knowing,  and  alone 
knowing,  the  things  of  the  person  to  whom  he  belongs.  This  is  the 
reason  why  mortality,  or  death,  or  destruction,  is  never  once  alleged  of 
a  spirit — any  spirit,  good  or  bad.  Spirits  belong  not  to  the  precincts  of 
mortality.  No  expression  could  be  more  incongruous  or  revolting  than 
that  "a  spirit  died,  or  can  die.''  Indeed,  it  is  said,  they  cannot  die," 
when  it  is  said  that  angels  cannot  die.  For  the  reason  that  angels 
cannot  die  is  not  because  they  are  angels,  or  messengers,  (for  this  is  an 


430 


LIFE  AXD  DEATH. 


official  name,)  but  because  they  are  spirits.  Perhaps  this  is  the  reason 
why  these  two  words,  soul  and  spirit,  are  never  interchanged  or  sub- 
stituted the  one  for  the  other  in  any  version  of  their  originals. 

In  the  Sacred  Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament  we  find  pneuma, 
spirit,  nearly  four  hundred  times.  We  have  before  said  that  we 
find  psuchee  one  hundred  and  five  times.  Now,  pneuma  is  never 
translated  soul,  nor  psuchee  spirit,  in  any  version  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment that  I  have  seen — certainly  not  once  in  our  common  version. 
Does  not  this  fact  speak  a  volume  to  those  who  confound  the  animal 
soul  with  the  human  spirit,  in  their  speculations  upon  the  mortality  of 
the  soul,  and  who  thence  infer  the  mortality  of  the  whole  man  ? 

Of  the  whole  number  of  three  hundred  and  ninety-three  occurrences 
of  pneuma,  in  the  apostolic  writings,  it  is  applied  to  the  spirit  of  God 
some  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  times ;  to  evil  spirits  some  thirty 
times ;  to  the  human  spirit  forty  times ;  and  figuratively,  to  indicate 
temper  or  disposition,  some  seventeen  times.  From  an  analysis  of  the 
numerous  occurrences  of  the  word  spirit,  and  its  difi'erent  acceptations, 
we  ha\^  ascertained  one  very  important  fact,  of  much  significance  in 
this  controversy  with  modern  destructionists.  It  is  this  : —  When  any 
one  in  dying  gives  up  or  commends  himself  to  the  Lord,  or  to  the 
Father,  in  such  words  as,  He  go.ve  up  the  ghost,''  or,  Lord  Jesus, 
receive  my  spirit,''  or,  Father,  into  thy  hands  L  commit  my  spirit," 
PSUCHEE  or  soul  is  never  used,  hut  always  pkeuma.  This,  more  than 
any  other  fact,  shows  the  marked  difi"erence,  the  essential  difi'erence, 
between  soul  and  spirit.  The  literal  soul  dies,  the  literal  spirit  lives, 
at  the  dissolution  of  man.  The  body  returns  to  the  dust  with  its 
animal  life,  or  soul;  'Hhe  spirit  returns  to  God  who  gave  it."  Ought 
we  not,  then,  as  Paul  says  the  word  of  God  does,  divide  asunder,"  or 
separate  between  the  soul  and  spirit,  as  well  as  ''between  the  joints 
and  marrow  of  the  spine"?  The  word  of  God  is  truly  ''sharper  than 
any  two-edged  sword,"  when  thus  separating  matters  so  much  alike 
in  so  many  particulars.  The  same  discriminating  word  of  the  Lord 
taught  Paul  to  pray  for  the  Thessalonians  that  God  would  preserve 
their  "whole  spirit,  soul  and  body,  blameless,  to  the  coming  of  the 
Lord."    What  God  thus  hath  separated,  let  not  man  confound. 

There  is  a  clear  and  weU-defined  difference  between  these  three,  in 
the  strict  interpretation  of  them,  indicated  in  this  summary  of  our 
persons  by  this  great  apostle.  With  him  it  is  spirit,  and  soul,  and 
body,  and  not  spirit,  or  soul,  and  body.  True,  indeed,  inasmuch  a."^ 
soul  and  body  are  equally  expressive  of  one  idea,  so  far  as  mere  life  is 
contemplated,  it  has  come  to  pass  that  soul  is  sometimes  used  to  com- 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


431 


prehend  all  that  is  set  forth  under  the  term  spirit ;  though,  as  before 
declared,  they  are  never  used  in  the  original  as  convertible  terms. 
When  any  one  of  sense  and  reflection  speaks  of  the  immortality  of  the 
soul,  he  employs  the  word  as  equivalent  to  spirit,  and  not  as  it  is 
employed  in  Genesis,  first  and  second  chapters,  to  indicate  animal  life 
or  a  living  creature. 

The  sophistry  of  the  materialists  and  the  destructionists  of  every 
school  who  acknowledge  the  Bible,  so  far  as  they  seek  to  prove  their 
doctrine  from  Gen.  ii.  7,  i.  20,  30,  vi.  17,  vii.  15,  22,  and  1  Cor.  xv. 
44,  45,  consists  in  this: — They  select  one  meaning  of  the  word  soul 
as  its  universal  and  immutable  meaning ;  and  because  in  certain 
passages  it  denotes  animal  life,  which  is  essentially  mortal,  they  infer 
that  all  souls  are  mortal.  And  because  the  words  soul  and  spirit  are 
sometimes  used  as,  in  their  opinion,  synonymous,  spirits  also  die. 
Hence  wicked  men  will  be  wholly  and  forever  annihilated  in  body, 
soul  and  spirit ;  so  far,  at  least,  as  is  essential  to  their  personal  extinc- 
tion and  perpetual  unconsciousness.  All  of  which  they  confirm  by  the 
same  illegal  process  of  reasoning  on  the  terms  destroy  and  destruction 
— assuming  that  these  words  must  be  taken  in  a  special  sense  in  this 
case,  though  by  no  means  in  accordance  with  their  current  and  popular 
acceptation. 

The  passage  in  1  Cor.  xv.  44,  45,  deserves  a  special  remark.  It 
thus  reads,  (the  human  body  being  the  subject  of  development:) — "It 
is  sown  an  animal  body ;  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body.  There  is  an 
animal  body,  and  there  is  a  spiritual  body;  and  so  it  is  written^  the 
first  man  Adam  was  made  a  living  (animal)  soul ;  the  last  Adam,  a 
quickening  spirit." 

The  position  of  psuchikos,  natural,  in  contrast  with  pneumatikos, 
spiritual,  justifies  Macknight  and  others  in  rendering  it  animal.  There 
is  no  contrast  between  natural  and  spiritual,  inasmuch  as,  in  the 
proper  sense  of  the  word  natural,  the  spirit  is  just  as  natural  as  either 
body  or  soul.  It  must,  therefore,  in  this  place  mean  animal  as  the 
proper  contrast  with  spiritual.  This  common  meaning  of  the  word 
being  preferred,  there  is  no  further  mystery  or  difficulty  in  the  passage. 
It  means  that  man  in  two  conditions  may  have  one  of  two  bodies — an 
animal  or  a  spiritual.  The  one  he  has  now  in  possession ;  the  other, 
in  hope.  It  is  also  indicated  that  the  difi'erence  between  these  two 
^  bodies  is  analogous  to  the  difi'erence  between  the  two  Adams  in  their 
origin :  the  one  was  of  the  earth,  earthy ;  the  other  is  of  the  heaven, 
heavenly.  The  animal  body  of  the  first  Adam  was  animated  by  an 
animal  soul ;  the  spiritual  body  of  the  saints,  after  the  resurrection, 


432 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


will  be  animated  by  rational  spirits.  So  far  only  are  we  autborizea 
to  extend  the  contrast;  inasmuch  as  bodies,  and  neither  souls  nor 
spirits,  are  the  subject  of  comparison. 

There  is,  then,  no  more  foundation  in  1  Cor.  xv.  44,  45,  than  in 
Gen.  ii.  7,  for  the  destruction  or  for  the  mortality  of  the  spirit  of 
man.  Paul  nowhere  teaches  that  a  spirit  dies,  or  that  a  soul,  as  a 
name  for  the  rational  spirit  or  mind  of  man,  will  ever  be  destroyed  or 
annihilated.  These  are  but  the  figments  of  ill-balanced  and  erratic 
minds,  or  over-heated  imaginations.  Nothing  dies  that  is  not  wholly 
of  the  earth.  Angels,  human  spirits,  Satan  and  demons  cannot 
die. 

From  this  brief  dissertation  on  soul  and  spirit,  we  may  draw  at  least 
one  or  two  arguments  against  destructionists,  or  in  proof  of  the  eternal 
punishment  of  the  wicked.  The  first  of  these  constitutes  our  eighth 
argument  against  destructionists.  It  is  founded  on  the  fact  that  there 
is  a  radical  and  essential  difference  between  the  words  soul  and  spirit 
in  the  original  tongue — so  great  as  to  preclude  the  employment  of  the 
word  soul,  in  any  case,  as  a  fair  representation  of  the  word  pneuma, 
spirit,  or  the  employment  of  the  word  spirit  as  a  correct  version  of 
the  word  psuchee,  soul.  The  radical  difference  seems  to  consist  in 
this  : — that  soul"  is  a  more  general  and  spirit"  a  more  specific  term. 
Nepesh  in  the  Hebrew  and  psuchee  in  the  Greek,  anima  in  Latin  and 
soul  in  English,  represent  animal  life,  a  person,  blood,  and  sometimes 
the  human  spirit,  while  ruach  in  Hebrew,  and  pneuma  in  Greek, 
spiritus  and  animus  in  Latin,  and  spirit  in  English,  represent  only  the 
rational  and  moral  nature  of  man.  Hence,  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  spirits 
of  the  just,  angelic  spirits,  o^re  never  represented  by  psuchee,  soul  ; 

WHILE  THE  TERM  '^SPIRIT"  IN  NOT  ONE  CASE  IS  EVER  SAID  TO  BE  DE- 
STROYED, TO  DIE,  OR  TO  CEASE  TO  EXIST.  In  one  word,  death  is  nowhere 
in  the  inspired  volume  predicated  of  a  spirit.  Mortality,  therefore,  is 
no  predicate  of  spirit. 

A  ninth  argument  is  deducible  from  another  prominent  fact  de- 
veloped in  the  history  of  dying  saints.  Not  one  of  them  ever  com- 
mended his  psuchee,  or  soul,  into  the  hand  of  the  Lord.  But  many  a 
dying  saint  has  committed  his  spirit,  or  pneuma,  to  the  care  of  his 
Redeemer.  There  is  nothing,  then,  in  psuchee,  soul,  necessarily  inti- 
mating a  separate  and  future  existence;  while  there  is  nothing  in 
pneuma  indicating  mortality. 

It  is  assumed,  by  those  who  plead  for  a  final  extinction  of  all  evil 
spirits  and  wicked  men,  that  there  is  nothing  in  spiritual  nature  neces- 
sarily implying  eternal  continuance.    Hence  the  effort  to  demons^-rate 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


433 


that  man  is  not  necessarily  immortal.  A  very  gratuitous  under- 
taking, truly.  We  concede,  without  argument,  that  God  has  never 
created  any  thing  which  he  cannot  destroy.  "He  can  create,  and  he 
destroy."  But  the  question  is  not  one  of  omnipotent  or  of  limited 
power.  It  is  rather,  What  doth  God  will?  or,  What  has  he  said? 
The  whole  argument  upon  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  as  a  necessary 
immortality,  because  an  emanation  from  the  Divinity,  is  Platonic,  specu- 
lative and  curious,  rather  than  learned  or  important.  It  is,  indeed, 
wholly  foreign  to  this  subject;  inasmuch  as  the  inquiry  is  not.  What 
saith  Philosophy  ?  but,  What  saith  the  Scriptures  f  And  where  have 
they  said  that  a  spirit  or  that  a  ghost  dies  or  is  extinguished  ?  Such  an 
idea  is  never  expressed  in  the  books  of  apostles  or  prophets.  That 
animals  die,  whether  human  or  brutal,  is  as  certain  as  that  they  live. 
And  that  animal  souls,  with  all  their  passions,  appetites  and  desires, 
die,  is,  so  far  as  I  know,  admitted  by  all  well-informed  persons. 
There  are  some  persons  peculiarly  fond  of  assailing  the  weaker 
points  in  an  argument  without  noticing  the  strong ;  and  where  there 
are  no  weak  points,  their  ingenuity  must  manifest  itself  in  assuming 
for  those  whom  they  assail  certain  weak  points,  merely  for  the  sake 
of  displaying  their  controversial  tact  and  logical  acumen  in  refuting 
them. 

Of  the  same  character  is  the  special  logic  of  that  class  of  reasoners 
who  assail  the  doctrine  of  a  separate  state  of  existence,  as  indicated  by 
the  word  hades.  What  and  where  is  hades?  Is  it  heaven,  or  hell, 
or  the  grave  ?  Dives  and  Lazarus  were,  according  to  the  parallel,  both 
in  Hades;  and  yet  the  one  was  comforted  and  the  other  tormented. 
Hence,  they  perplex  the  subject  by  inquiring,  Are  these  two  places 
the  same,  or  so  proximate  that  the  inhabitants  of  both  can  hold  con- 
v^ersations  similar  to  Lazarus  and  Abraham  ?  Some  intelligent  persons 
are  not  a  little  embarrassed  when  attempting  to  comprehend  all  that  is 
said  of  sheol  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  of  hades  in  the  New ;  and  no 
less  embarrassed  when  told  that  hades  means  both  the  grave  and  the 
separate  state  of  the  dead.  In  the  New  Testament,  hades  occurs  but 
eleven  times,  and  is  ten  times  translated  hell,  once  grave.  Yet  we 
have  the  term  hell  in  the  English  Testament  twenty-two  times.  Of 
these,  however,  twelve  are  the  English  representatives  of  the  word 
gehenna,  found  just  twelve  times  in  the  Greek  Testament.  Our  Lord 
is  the  only  person  who  uses  this  word  with  a  reference  to  future  pun- 
ishment. James  uses  it  metaphorically,  of  the  tongue,  but  once.  Of 
that  member  he  says  it  is  sometimes  *'set  on  fire  of  hell."  Gehenna 
••^.nd  hades  do  not  represent  the  same  idea.    The  former  is  the  recep- 

?8 


434 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


tacle  of  the  wicked  only,  the  latter  is  the  receptacle  of  the  spirits  or 
bodies  (as  the  case  may  be)  of  all  mankind,  good  and  bad.  Certain 
it  is,  then,  that  two  words  so  dissimilar  ought  not  to  be  represented 
by  one  and  the  same  English  word.  It  would  have  greatly  startled 
an  Eno'lish  Christian  to  have  read  the  words  of  Jacob  to  his  sons  thus : 
— ''You  shall  bring  down  my  gray  hairs  with  sorrow  to  hell.''  And 
yet  the  word  Sheol,  the  Hebrew  representative  of  hades,  is  there  found. 
They  have,  judiciously  enough,  in  this  case,  translated  it  grave,  as  they 
have  in  1  Cor.  xv.  58:  ''0  grave,  (not  0  hell,)  where  now  thy  victory?" 
Doubtless  they  ought  in  other  cases  to  have  so  translated  it.  The  spirit 
or  soul  of  Jesus  did  not  descend  into  hell,  as  the  Church  of  Eome  and 
our  English  Testaments  read  it : — ''  Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell, 
nor  wilt  thou  suffer  thy  holy  one  to  see  corruption." 

Again,  it  would  seem  no  less  confounding  to  say  of  the  rich  man 
that  in  hell  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  in  torment,  if  it  meant  no  more  than 
the  grave,  or  that  in  the  grave  he  saw  Lazarus  in  Abraham's  bosom. 
To  say,  also,  that  Capernaum  or  its  inhabitants,  and  other  wicked 
places,  should  be  brought  down  to  the  grave,  if  it  means  only  the 
receptacle  of  human  bodies,  would  be  equally  inapposite  and  confoux^d- 
ing  to  our  reason.  We  are,  therefore,  obliged  to  contemplate  the  word 
as  it  was  used  by  the  Jews  in  the  times  of  the  Messiah  as  indicative 
of  the  state  of  departed  spirits,  whether  they  were  good  or  bad — thus 
representing  the  state  of  the  dead  rather  than  the  place  of  spirits. 

For  example :  should  we  represent  the  matrimonial  state  by  the  word 
Hymenia,  and  say  of  all  persons  when  married  that  they  entered  into 
Hymenia,  and  that  in  Hymenia  some  enjoyed  happiness  and  others 
misery,  might  not  many  persons,  ignorant  of  the  meaning  of  Hymenia, 
be  not  a  little  embarrassed  to  comprehend  what  sort  of  a  place  Hymenia 
was,  in  which  some  persons  might  be  happy  and  others  miserable? 
Flace  and  state  in  things  terrestrial  are  more  easily  distinguished 
than  in  things  not  terrestrial.  In  the  same  terrestrial  place,  persons 
in  different  states  may  meet,  without  any  confusion  of  ideas.  Still,  in 
such  cases  there  is  no  resemblance  between  the  state  and  the  place. 
Where  there  is,  however,  a  very  striking  resemblance  between  the 
state  ani  the  place,  as  between  a  jail  or  a  palace  and  their  respective 
inmates,  we  are  more  apt  to  associate  the  one  with  the  other,  and  are 
more  perplexed  in  reconciling  to  the  same  place  persons  in  states 
essentially  diverse  from  each  other. 

But  as  soon  as  we  leave  terrestrial  objects  and  the  abodes  of  sense,  our 
reasonings  from  place  and  state  rather  perplex  than  aid  us  in  any  effort 
to  understai  'i  Heaven,  Hell  and  Hades.    These  are  sometimes  cod- 


LIFE   AND  DEATH. 


435 


sidered  as  places — distinct  from  each  other  as  sun,  moon  and  earth. 
At  other  times  they  are  considered  as  mere  states.  Place  and  state, 
beyond  the  confines  of  earth,  may,  therefore,  in  some  sense,  be  regarded 
as  one  and  the  same.  But  that  hades,  always  improperly  translated 
hell,  and  sometimes  improperly  translated  grave,  the  common  repre- 
sentative of  the  Hebrew  sheol,  sometimes  indicated  both  place  and 
state,  may  be  inferred  with  certainty,  as  I  conceive,  from  several 
occurrences  in  both  Testaments. 

The  Hebrews,  Greeks  and  Eomans  located  the  souls  of  all  the  dead 
under  the  ground.  Among  the  Romans,  Infernus  contained  both 
Elysium  and  Tartarus,  repositories  for  all  souls — good  and  bad.  In- 
feri,  in  the  Latin  tongue,  comprehends  all  the  dead.'*' 

Among  the  Jews  it  sometimes  indicates  the  grave,  and  is,  therefore, 
equivalent  to  keher,  in  their  tongue,  sepulchre.  Still,  it  more  frequently 
means  something  deeper  than  the  grave,  the  profound  abyss  where  souls 
abide.  Numerous  examples  may  be  found  in  Jewish  writings.  From 
the  Jewish  prophets  we  can  find  ample  proof.  God,  according  to 
Moses,  said,  A  fire  is  kindled  in  mine  anger,  which  shall  burn  to  the 
lowest  hell."  Grave!  That  were  an  anticlimax  indeed!  Here  it  is 
sheol — in  the  Septuagint,  hades.  Job,  too,  or  one  of  his  contempo- 
raries older  than  Moses,  said,  The  knowledge  of  God  is  higher  than 
heaven,  deeper  than  hell."  Sheol,  Hades.  The  grave  1 !  No.  The 
mansion  of  departed  spirits.  David,  also,  If  I  ascend  up  into  heaven, 
thou  art  there;  if  I  make  my  bed  in  hell,  behold,  thou  art  there," 
(Septuagint,  eis  ton  haden.)  Amos  represents  God  as  saying,  "Though 
they  dig  {eis  haden)  into  hell,  thence  shall  my  hand  take  them ;  though 
they  climb  up  to  heaven,  thence  will  I  bring  them  down ;  and  though 
they  hide  themselves  on  the  top  of  Carmel,  I  will  search  and  take  them 
out  thence ;  and  though  they  be  hid  from  my  sight  in  the  bottom  of 
the  sea,  thence  will  I  command  a  serpent,  and  he  shall  bite  them." 
The  contrasts  here  are  most  sublimely  beautiful.  In  this  place,  cer- 
tainly, hades  descends  below  the  grave. 

In  the  same  style  the  Messiah  said,  '^Thou,  Capernaum,  that  art 
exalted  to  heaven,  shalt  be  brought  down  to  hell;"  hades — certainly 
lower  than  the  grave.  This  Hebrew  and  Greek  view  of  the  mansions 
of  the  dead,  seems,  also,  to  have  been  in  the  mind  of  our  apostle  when 

A  passage  in  the  8th  ^neid  of  Virgil  intimates  this  : — 

Non  secus,  ac  si  qua  penitus  vi  terra  dehiscens 
Infernas  reseret  sedes,  et  regna  recludat 
Pallida,  diis  invisa,  superque  immane  barathrum 
Cernatur,  trepidentque  immisso  lumiae  manes. 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


he  said,  At  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  in  heaven,  in  earth  and 
under  the  earth  shall  bow ;"  and  in  the  mind  of  John  when  he  said, 
"  No  man  in  heaven,  nor  in  the  earth,  nor  under  the  earth,  was  able  to 
open  the  book,  neither  to  look  into  it." 

That  souls  separated  fi'om  their  bodies  (not  merely  animal  souls — 
and  dead  bodies — sometimes  in  Hebrew  called  nepesh)  are  the  proper 
inhabitants  of  hades,  may  be  learned  from  other  passages — such  as, 
"Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hades;  nor  wilt  thou  suffer  thy  holy 
one  to  see  corruption."  Here,  in  all  propriety  of  contrast,  the  body  is 
not  to  be  doomed  to  corruption,  nor  the  soul  to  hades.  The  same  usage 
obtains  under  the  word  ahussos,  (Rom.  x.) — Say  not  in  thy  heart,  Who 
shall  ascend  into  heaven,  to  bring  Christ  down  from  above  ?  nor,  Who 
shall  descend  into  the  deep,  [a  grave  six  feet  deep !]  to  bring  him  up  from 
the  dead?"  The  dead  are  then  in  the  deep;  the  abussos,  the  hades,  the 
sheol.    No  one  ever  called  the  grave  the  abyss,  or  the  unfathomable  gulf. 

Were  it  either  desirable  or  necessary  to  demonstrate  that  the  re- 
ceptacle of  human  spirits  was  understood  by  the  ancient  nations, 
Egyptians,  Jews  and  Pagans,  of  all  superstitions,  to  be  deeper  than  the 
ground,  a  very  long  induction  of  authorities  could  be  here  introduced. 
Beginning  with  the  necromancy  of  the  Seven  Nations,  the  provisions 
of  the  Mosaic  law  against  consulting  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  the  case 
of  the  witch  of  Endor,  &c.,  we  might  fill  a  volume  with  documentary 
evidence,  incontrovertibly  clear  and  definite.  But  the  occasion  demands 
no  such  offering  at  our  hand. 

I  will  only  add  that  this  word  hades,  like  all  other  words  of  much 
importance,  has  a  figurative  meaning  as  well  as  a  grammatical  or  his- 
torical meaning.  In  contrast  with  heaven,  it  indicates  something  very 
low : — Exalted  to  heaven,  thou  shalt  be  brought  down  to  hades.  Here 
heaven  indicates  great  height,  and  hades  great  depression.  I  shall  go, 
said  Hezekiah,  to  the  pulas  hadou,  the  gates  of  hell,"  the  gates  of 
death.  Thus,  the  Messiah  says,  concerning  his  church,  "  The  pulai 
hadou,  the  gates  of  hades  or  death  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  My 
church,  said  he,  shall  be  immortal. 

But  one  passage  in  the  Book  of  God  would  seem  to  favor  the  as- 
sumption that  it  sometimes  signifies  hell,  properly  so  called,  or  the 
place  of  future  punishment.  In  hell,  hades,  the  rich  man  "lifted 
up  his  eyes,  being  in  torment."  In  this  single  passage  it  would  seem 
to  be  equivalent  to  gehenna.  But  the  fact  before  stated,  that  it 
merely  represents  the  state  of  the  dead — or  the  place  of  departed 
spirits  — comprehending,  as  separated  from  their  bodies,  all  spirits, 
good  and  bad,  those  in  Abraham's  bosom  or  in  paradise,  and  those  in 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


437 


Tartarus  or  in  prison,  forbids  the  idea  that  even  in  this  place  it  is  used 
as  synonymous  with  gehenna,  or  the  state  of  ultimate  punishment. 
The  four  questions  propounded  and  before  noted,  and  all  similar  ques- 
tions, may,  I  think,  be  most  satisfactorily  answered  by  observing  that 
state,  mode  or  condition  of  existence  is  the  radical  and  important  idea 
in  hades.  And,  as  in  the  illustration  from  Hymenia,  persons  entering 
it  may  be  contemplated  as  happy  or  miserable,  in  Paradise  or  Tartarus, 
in  Abraham's  bosom  or  in  torment,  without  any  regard  to  local  position 
but  as  respects  their  capacity,  individual  character  and  associations. 
Thus,  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus  were  both  in  hades,  as  Queen  Victoria 
and  the  slave  Matilda  are  both  in  matrimony;  but  the  former  lives  in 
a  palace  and  enjoys  the  smiles  of  a  prince,  while  the  latter  endures  the 
peltings  of  the  storm  and  the  squalid  poverty  of  a  cheerless  hut.  In 
this  view  of  the  matter,  Jesus  could  say  to  the  dying  penitent,  ''To- 
day shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise,"  and  the  risen  Samuel  could 
say  to  the  distracted  Saul,  "  To-morrow  shalt  thou  and  thy  sons  be 
with  me."* 

While,  then,  location  belongs  to  heaven  and  hell,  in  their  proper 


*  It  is  an  old  adage,  that  "a  child  may  ask  questions  which  a  wise  man  cannot  an- 
swer;" and  so  it  has  happened  in  the  case  of  Virtuoso  and  Biblicus  at  the  last  church 
meeting  for  discussion,  held  in  the  Harbinger.  Virtuoso  asks  the  following  questions  in 
substance :  — 

1.  Do  the  souls  of  the  righteous  go  into  hades  at  death?  and  if  so,  are  they  present 
with  the  Lord? 

2.  Does  the  word  hades  signify  a  place  or  a  state  ?  If  a  state,  why  translate  it  hell, 
grave,  or  unseen  world  ? 

3.  From  what  part  of  the  Bible  do  we  learn  that  Abraham's  bosom  is  a  part  or  parcel 
of  hades  ? 

4.  Will  any  that  are  Christ's  be  found  in  hades?  and  if  so,  will  they  not  be  subject  to 
the  second  death  ? 

In  neither  of  these  queries  is  there  a  word  said  about  the  separate  existence  of  soul 
and  body ;  and  why  did  Biblicus  contend  for  such  separation  in  his  answer  ? 

Biblicus  goes  on  to  say  that  "  hades  means  whatever  it  meant  among  the  Jews  of  that 
age."    Very  well ;  and  what  did  the  Jews  of  that  age  mean  by  the  word  ? 

Josephus  speaks  of  hades  as  a  place  located  somewhere  in  or  under  the  earth ;  and 
Paul  says,  "Now  this  .  .  .  having  ascended,  and  what  is  it,  unless  indeed  he  had  also 
descended  into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth  ?" 

Both  Paul  and  Josephus  were  Jews  of  that  age ;  and  they  locate  hades  in  the  lower 
parts  of  the  earth,  and  not  in  the  atmosphere,  nor  in  ether  beyond  the  atmosphere. 

Now,  if  David  meant  by  hades  what  Paul  and  Josephus  meant,  then  it  is  evident  that 
Jesus  is  not  there,  but  has  ascended  from  thence :  consequently  the  souls  of  the  right- 
eous, when  separated  from  their  bodies,  do  not  go  into  hades,  else  they  are  not  present 
with  the  Lord. 

Present  and  absent  always  have  reference  to  locality  or  place  So  I  think,  and  so  I 
reason.  Virtuoso. 


438 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


import  and  current  signification,  it  enters  not  into  the  idea  of  hades, 
as  now  contemplated  by  intelligent  Christians.  That  there  was  such  a 
state  currently  believed  in  by  all  the  world  down  to  the  Christian  age, 
we  can  have  no  rational  doubt.  The  ancients,  we  have  shown,  located 
it  in  the  earth — they  added  the  idea  of  place  to  it.  This  only  goes  to 
show  how  firmly,  as  well  as  universally,  they  believed  it.  We  may 
dissent  from  their  notion  of  place  and  other  circumstances  without  at 
all  impairing  the  weight  of  the  evidence  in  favor  of  such  a  state  as  was 
indicated  by  the  word  hades. 

The  term  is  strikingly  descriptive  of  the  condition.  It  is  drawn  from 
the  darkness  and  ignorance  of  its  inmates  as  respects  what  is  tran- 
spiring in  this  world.  The  dead,"  said  Solomon,  know  not  any 
thing."  They  see  not,  they  know  not  aught  of  the  aff'airs  of  earth. 
The  etymology  of  the  word  fully  indicates  this.  It  is  compounded  of 
a,  negative,  and  eidoo,  I  see.  /  see  not.  The  state  is  mysterious, 
obscure,  invisible ;  and  those  in  it  are  void  of  the  light  and  the  know- 
ledge of  this  life.  The  grave  itself  is  called  the  house  of  darkness," 
and  the  environs  of  it    the  region  and  shadow  of  death." 

We  have  amongst  us  those  who  argue  that  the  spirits  of  the  dead 
are  wholly  unconscious,  from  such  sayings  as,  ''Their  thoughts  perish," 
"The  dead  know  not  any  thing,"  "Abraham  is  ignorant  of  us,"  &c.,  and 
hence  "  the  soul  sleepeth,"  or  is  dead  with  the  body.  Admirable  critics  ! 
Sage  interpreters!  Sublime  philosophers!  Truly,  they  prove  how 
dangerous  a  little  learning  is !  The  first  phrase  indicates  that  when 
a  man  dies  his  purposes  die  with  him.  His  schemes  fall  to  the  ground. 
He  can  no  further  accomplish  his  designs.  The  second  phrase  inti- 
mates their  ignorance  of  what  transpires  amongst  the  living.  "  Their 
sons  come  to  honor" or  dishonor,  "and  they  know  it  not."  The  affairs 
of  earth  are  to  them  as  though  they  were  not.  But  does  this  prove  that 
they  are  ignorant  or  unconscious  of  every  thing  else?  When  a  person 
migrates  from  England  to  America,  he  personally  knows  nothing  that 
transpires  there  from  the  moment  he  quits  its  coasts.  Are  we  thence 
to  infer  that  he  never  after  knows  any  thing  of  America  or  any  other 
place,  because  he  knows  nothing  of  England  ?  Just  such  philosophers 
have  we  amongst  us — preaching  soul-sleeping  and  eternal  unconscious- 
ness from  their  profound  knowledge  of  language ! 

That  there  is  some  analogy  between  a  dead  man  and  one  asleep,  is 
very  obvious  to  the  least  attentive  observer.  But  that  analogy  is  only 
in  that  which  is  outward  and  visible.  For  even  when  men  are  literally 
asleep  in  body,  the  mind  is  oft  employed  in  the  most  active  enterprises, 
pains  and  pleasures — so  much,  indeed,  as  to  arouse  the  body  from  the^ 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


439 


lethargy  of  repose.  The  sophism  on  the  part  of  such  reasoners  consists 
in  their  assuming  that  a  resemblance  in  one  or  more  respects  is  always 
proof  of  universal  resemblance.  If  it  be  not  always  proof  of  universal 
resemblance,  why  infer  it  is  so  in  this  case?  Do  not  those  who  deny 
that  souls  can  sleep  themselves  say  of  the  dead  that  'Hhey  have  fallen 
asleep,"  merely  because  of  the  resemblance  between  the  body  of  a  living 
man  in  sleep  and  that  of  a  man  dead  ?  Strange  logic,  indeed,  it  would 
be,  should  every  figure  we  use  be  taken  as  proof  that  we  are  always  to 
be  understood  according  to  the  letter.  Then  any  one  may  prove  from 
all  the  philosophers  in  Christendom  that  not  one  of  them  believes  the 
Copernican  or  Newtonian  system  of  astronomy,  or  even  the  sphericity 
or  diurnal  rotation  of  the  earth,  because  they  all  say,  in  common  with 
the  most  ignorant  child,  ''The  sun  rises,  and  the  sun  sets;"  while  yet 
they  teach  that  the  sun  is  the  immutable  centre  of  the  solar  system  and 
that  all  the  planets  move  round  it.  As  learned  and  as  discriminating 
they  who  infer,  from  Paul's  words,  ''  Them  that  sleep  in  Jesus  God  will 
bring  with  him,"  that  Paul  believed  and  taught  that  all  the  saints  slept 
from  death  to  the  resurrection. 

The  ashes  of  the  dead  sleep  no  more  than  do  the  ashes  of  a  tree.  If 
the  dead  sleep,  it  is,  therefore,  not  their  ashes,  but  their  spirits,  that 
sleep.  Why,  then,  should  the  dying  saints  so  often  commend  their 
spirits,  and  never  their  bodies,  to  the  Lord  ?  Why  should  the  dying 
Stephen  say,  "  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit,"  if  his  spirit  slept  in  the 
grave  with  his  body  till  the  resurrection? 

But  we  do  not  remonstrate  against  the  delusion  of  this  system  only 
from  such  passages  as  the  Lord's  address  to  the  penitent  thief,  "  To-day 
shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  Paradise;"  or  from  the  parabolic  representation 
of  Lazarus  borne  by  angels  to  Abraham's  bosom,  (while  yet  the  rich 
man's  brothers  lived  on  earth  and  his  soul  ''in  torment,"  all  solicitous 
about  their  condition;)  or  from  the  words  of  the  dying  Stephen,  or  those 
of  the  dying  Messiah,  commending  their  spirits  to  God  when  their 
animal  life  was  expiring ;  but  also  from  the  clear,  definite  and  positive 
declaration  of  the  apostle  that  the  saints  immediately  after  death  are 
present  with  the  Lord,  not  in  their  bodies,  but  in  their  spirits. 

Immediate  though  not  complete  blessedness,  and  immediate  the  ugh 
not  complete  torment,  after  death,  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Messiah  and 
his  apostles.  Lazarus  died,  and  was  instantly  carried  to  Abraham's 
bosom.  Dives  died,  and  immediately  lifted  up  his  eyes  in  torment.  So 
taught  the  Messiah ;  and  certainly  he  would  not  introduce  a  false  and 
deceptions  imagery,  to  bewilder  and  perplex  the  world.  Paul  also  affirms 
that  as  soon  as  "  absent  from  the  body  we  are  present  with  the  Lord/'  and 


440 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


"while  in  the  body  we  are  absent  from  the  Lord."  May  I  not  ask. 
What  language  could  more  clearly  and  certainly  indicate  a  continued 
and  uninterrupted  consciousness  than  this,  or  the  fact  of  a  separate 
state — a  state  in  which  the  soul  lives  out  of  the  body  ?  What  language 
could  any  one  choose  more  definitely  expressive  of  such  a  state  than 
that  above  quoted,  if  he  desired  to  inform  us  of  the  fact  ? 

Again,  Paul  contrasts  the  pleasures  which  as  a  Christian  man  he 
could  enjoy  while  in  the  body,  with  those  he  could  enjoy  out  of  the 
body,  and  from  his  inspired  knowledge  of  the  whole  premises  concludes 
it  would  be  better  for  him  immediately  'to  die  than  to  live,  so  far  as 
his  own  happiness  is  concerned.  "To  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die 
is  gain."  What  could  he  gain  by  death  but  sleep,  according  to  the 
theory  of  destructionism?  Can  any  of  the  soul-sleeping  or  soul-dying 
school  state  what  Paul  would  have  gained  by  death  on  their  philosophy 
of  man?  We  should  like  to  have  a  clear  estimate  of  the  gain  from 
immediate  death  to  those  who  sleep,  or  are  unconscious,  from  death  to 
the  resurrection.  Can  any  one,  or  will  any  one,  enlighten  us  on  the 
items  of  gain  ? 

Paul  further  declares  that  to  depart  from  earth,  or  from  the  tabernacle 
of  flesh,  is  far  better  than  to  continue  in  the  flesh.  Strange  language, 
to  the  ears  of  those  who  cannot  distinguish  between  the  flesh  and  the 
spirit — between  continuing  in  the  flesh  and  departing  from  it.  To  inter- 
pret the  words  "continuing"  and  "departing,"  without  some  place  to 
continue  in,  and  some  place  to  depart  from,  as  well  as  something  to 
depart,  and  something  to  continue,  distinct  from  that  in  which  it  abides 
and  from  which  it  departs,  will  require  some  person  of  more  discri- 
mination and  learning  than  I  possess.  May  I  ask  some  one  skilled  in 
this  new  philosophy  of  language  to  favor  us  with  an  explanation  of  the 
mode  of  continuing  in  and  departing  from  the  flesh,  when  the  whole 
man  is  all  flesh  or  all  soul,  according  to  the  theory  which  we  oppugn? 

We  shall  also  solicit  another  favor  from  some  of  the  adepts  in  this 
new  theory.  Paul  affirms  that  it  is  far  better  for  him  to  leave  the 
flesh  than  to  continue  in  it.  If,  then,  Paul's  spirit  slept  in  his  body  for 
eighteen  centuries,  thai,  is,  down  to  the  present  time,  of  what  number 
and  variety  of  items  of  gain  does  this  far  better  consist?  To  make 
death  far  better  than  life,  demands  certain  specifications.  Can  any  one 
denying  an  immediate  return  of  his  spirit  to  the  Lord  make  such  an 
exhibit  as  will  sustain  his  declaration?  We  wait  for  a  response. 

The  only  attempt  to  reconcile  Paul's  language  to  the  facts  of  the  case 
supposed  by  all  who  advocate  soul-sleeping  is  a  metaphysical  spe- 
'!ulation  upon  tVe  difference  between  real  and  apparent  or  absolute  and 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


441 


relative  time.  They  are  aware  that,  if  Paul  meant  real  time,  their  posi- 
tion is  wholly  untenable.  But  they  assume  that  Paul  meant  apparent 
time;  and,  therefore,  sleeping  so  soundly  as  do  the  saints,  to  them 
there  is  no  time  between  death  and  the  resurrection.  According  to 
them,  the  interval  between  death  and  the  resurrection  is,  to  the  dead, 
annihilated.  Paul,  knowing  this,  spoke  of  departing  from  the  flesh  and 
being  immediately  present  with  the  Lord,  giving  no  intimation  of  any 
reserved  or  private  sense,  and,  therefore,  has  virtually  pPcSsed  upon  the 
Philippians,  and  all  other  readers,  a  cheat — substituting  apparent  for 
real  time!  A  meritorious  solution,  truly,  and  highly  creditable  to  the 
miDral  honesty  of  the  apostle ! 

But  this  policy  wholly  fails  in  disposing  of  the  phraseology  of  being 
at  home  in  the  body  and  absent  from  the  body.  For,  according  to 
common  sense,  no  man  could  speak  of  being  absent  from  the  body  if  he 
can  live  only  in  the  body.  It  would  require  a  greater  genius  than  any 
of  our  new  theorists,  to  convince  us  that  a  man  of  sound  sense  and 
common  honesty — an  apostle,  too — could  speak  of  being  absent  from 
the  body  and  present  with  the  Lord,  at  any  time,  soon  or  late,  if,  in- 
deed, he  were  all  body,  or  all  soul,  or  if  the  soul  cannot  live  without 
the  body. 

May  we  not,  then,  conclude  that  we  have  irrefragable  evidence  of  a 
separate  state  of  existence,  a  hades,  or  that  human  spirits  can  exist 
either  within  oi  without  bodies,  and  that  when  the  spirits  of  the  just  are 
absent  from  the  Oodies  they  are  not  asleep,  but  positively  happy  in  the 
presence  of  the  Lord? 

This  argument  in  proof  of  hades  as  distinct  from  heaven  and  hell — 
as  the  condition  of  all  human  spirits  from  death  to  the  final  resurrection 
— is  itself  our  tenth  argument  against  the  doctrine  of  destructionism. 
For  if  spirits  live  in  a  state  separate  from  their  bodies  for  thousands  of 
years  after  their  bodies  are  destroyed,  so  far,  at  least,  as  to  be  converted 
into  dust,  and  if  their  bodies  be  considered  merely — as  Peter  represents 
his — a  tabernacle  to  be  put  ofi"  at  death,  there  is  no  instance  of  the  ex- 
tinction of  a  soul ;  there  is,  moreover,  no  axiomatic  evidence  of  such  an 
event,  and  no  one  has  ever  presumed  to  demonstrate  the  extinction  or 
destruction  of  a  soul,  from  any  data,  human  or  divine;  nor  has  any  one 
been  able  to  find  a  single  text  of  Scripture  that  intimates  the  extinction, 
annihilation  or  absolute  destruction  of  a  human  spirit. 

But,  so  much  depending  upon  a  clear  scriptural  indication  of  the  ex- 
istence of  hades  as  distinct  from  heaven  and  hell — or  the  fact  of  the 
sep'^rate  existence  of  human  spirits  without  their  bodies — we  shall  sum 


442 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


up  the  arguments  on  which  we  principally  rely  for  its  development  and 
confirmation : — 

1.  The  promise  made  to  the  penitent  thief  by  the  dying  Saviour: — 
To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  Paradise" — both  of  them  that  same 

day  expiring  together. 

2.  The  dying  words  of  the  Messiah : — "  Father,  into  thy  hands  I 
commend  my  spirit." 

3.  These  are  the  last  words  of  Stephen  : — "  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my 
spirit." 

4.  "  I  knew  a  man  in  Christ,  some  fourteen  years  ago,  caught  away 
to  paradise :  whether  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body,  I  cannot  tell,  God 
knoweth."  Had  it  been  impossible  for  a  man  to  live  out  of  the  body, 
or  for  a  spirit  to  exist  in  a  separate  state,  I  presume  all,  but  those  in- 
toxicated with  a  new  theory  of-  man,  will  agree  with  me  that  Paul 
could  not,  as  a  man  of  truth,  much  less  as  an  apostle  of  Christ,  say 
that  he  could  not  tell  whether  he  "  was  in  the  body  or  out  of  the 
body." 

5.  There  is  no  intimation  that  human  spirits  dwell  in  human  bodies 
after  death,  or  that  they  are  interred  with  them  in  their  graves.  To 
this  agree  the  words  of  Matt.  xxvi.  52,  53 : — After  our  Lord's  resur- 
rection, when  the  graves  were  opened,  ''many  bodies  of  the  saints 
arose,  went  into  Jerusalem  and  appeared  unto  many."  Now,  had  the 
spirits  of  these  saints  been  sleeping  in  their  bodies,  would  it  not  have 
been  said,  many  of  the  ''  saints  arose,  went  into  Jerusalem  and  ap- 
peared unto  many"  ?  The  fact  that  bodies  only  came  out  of  these 
graves,  will  be  regarded  as  proof  that  bodies  only  were  deposited  in 
them. 

6.  An  argument  may  be  deduced  from  the  restoration  to  life  of  the 
son  of  the  widow  of  Sarepta  by  Elisha  the  Tishbite.  The  story  is 
told,  1  Kings  xvii.  The  prophet  prayed  for  its  restoration  in  the  fol- 
lowing words  : — 0  Lord  my  God,  let  the  child's  soul  come  into  him 
again."  The  Lord  heard  the  voice  of  Elisha,  and  the  soul  of  the  child 
came  into  him  again,  and  he  revived. 

7.  From  the  names  given  to  the  body  by  the  Apostles  Peter  and 
Paul.  They  both  call  the  body  a  tabernacle;  they  both  regard  the 
soul  as  dwelling  in  a  house,  a  temple,  or  a  tabernacle.  Hence  the  soul 
is  a  guest  or  a  ghost.  Thus  said  Peter : — "  I  must  soon  lay  aside  oi 
put  this  tabernacle."  There  was  some  person  that  put  off  this 
tabernacle.  This  is  corroborated  by  Solomon,  who  said,  "  The  body 
returns  to  the  dust,  and  the  spirit  to  God  who  gave  it." 

8.  From  demons,  evil  spirits,  and  the  whole  doctrine  of  familiar 


LIFE   AND  DEATH. 


443. 


spirits  and  necromancy — their  possession  and  dispossession — it  is  shown 
at  great  length  that  the  spirits  of  wicked  men  perish  not  in  their 
bodies,  and  that  spirits  are  so  diverse  from  bodies  as  to  go  into  them 
and  come  out  from  them,  &c.  No  materialist  or  destructionist  can  in 
any  plausible  way  whatever  dispose  of  this  argument.  They  can  only 
Bay  that  demons  and  familiar  spirits,  and  all  spirits,  are  phantoms. 
They  are  phantoms,  however,  the  belief  of  which  has  always  been  as 
universal  as  any  sentiment,  or  view,  or  tradition  ever  expressed  in 
language. 

9.  From  the  parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus.  This  com- 
parison, founded  upon  facts,  as  all  the  Lord's  parables  are,  clearly 
indicates  that  while  the  body  is  in  the  grave  the  spirit  is  in  conscious 
existence,  susceptible  of  pleasure  or  pain.  It  was  before  the  resur- 
rection* and  while  the  rich  man's  brothers  were  still  living,  that 
Abraham  told  the  rich  man  that  while  Lazarus  was  comforted  he  w^as 
tormented. 

10.  From  the  developments  on  opening  the  fifth  apocalyptic  seal. 
John  saw  under  the  altar  the  souls  of  those  who  had  been  slain  on 
account  of  the  word  of  God  and  the  testimony  which  they  held;"  and 
they  cried  with  great  earnestness,  soliciting  information  on  the  subject 
of  the  continuance  of  God's  forbearance  to  punish  those  who  had  shed 
the  blood  of  saints  and  martyrs.  Now,  had  there  been  no  separate 
state,  no  souls  distinct  and  separate  from  their  bodies,  how  could  such 
a  case  have  been  introduced  as  representing  God's  schemes  of  pro- 
vidence towards  the  living  and  the  dead  ? 

11.  Our  next  argument  is  deduced  from  a  passage  in  John  xi. : — 
"  Whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  on  me  shall  never  die.''  Martha's  faith 
only  went  so  far  as  to  repudiate  a  pre-millennial  resurrection  of  the 
saints.  She,  simple  w-oman,  only  believed  that  her  good  brother 
Lazarus  should  ''at  the  resurrection  rise  on  the  last  day,"  not  a 
thousand  years  before  the  last  day ;  for  she  was  technically  a  post- 
millennial  adventist ;  but  this  point  of  never  dying  had  not  yet  become 
familiar.    Still,  she  believed  it  when  the  Lord  said  it. 

My  eleventh  argument,  then,  is,  that  if  he  that  believes  in  Christ 
shall  never  die,  and  as  Christians  actually  die  so  far  as  their  bodies 
are  contempLced,  their  souls  must  certainly  survive  their  bodies,  else 
the  Lord  has  deceived  us. 

I  hold  this  to  be  as  evident  as  any  proposition  can  be — an  argument, 
I  humbly  think,  irrefragable.  It  bears  equally  against  soul-sleeping 
as  against  soul-dying.  For  if  death  is  compared  to  a  sleep,  as  some- 
contend,  in  all  respects,  then  the  sleep  of  death,  or  unconscious  exist- 


444 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


ence  after  death,  is  wholly  repudiated  in  the  words  he  shall  never  die," 
that  is,  he  shall  never  pass  into  a  state  of  unconscious  existence. 

12.  My  twelfth  argument  shall  be  deduced  from  an  argument  offered 
to  the  Sadducees  by  the  Messiah  in  person,  as  reported  by  Luke,  in 
the  followinp;  words,  to  wit : — Then  came  to  him  certain  of  the  Sad- 
ducees,  which  deny  that  there  is  any  resurrection,  and  they  asked  him, 
saying,  Master,  Moses  wrote  unto  us.  If  any  man's  brother  die,  having 
a  wife,  and  he  die  without  children,  that  his  brother  should  take  his 
wife,  and  raise  up  seed  unto  his  brother.  There  were,  therefore,  seven 
brethren :  and  the  first  took  a  wife,  and  died  without  children.  And 
the  second  took  her  to  wife,  and  he  died  childless.  And  the  third  took 
her,  and  in  like  manner  the  seven  also;  and  they  left  no  children,  and 
died.  Last  of  all  the  woman  died  also.  Therefore  in  the  resurrection 
whose  wife  of  them  is  she?  for  seven  had  her  to  wife.  And  Jesus 
answering  said  unto  them.  The  children  of  this  world  marry,  and  are 
given  in  marriage ;  but  they  which  shall  be  accounted  worthy  to  obtain 
that  world,  and  the  resurrection  from  the  dead,  neither  marry,  nor  are 
given  in  marriage;  neither  can  they  die  any  more  :  for  they  are  equal 
unto  the  angels;  and  are  the  children  of  God,  being  the  children  of 
the  resurrection.  Now  that  the  dead  are  raised,  even  Moses  showed 
at  the  bush,  when  he  calleth  the  Lord  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the 
God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob.  For  he  is  not  a  God  of  the  dead, 
but  of  the  living :  for  all  live  unto  him."  (Luke  xx.)  To  understand 
this  most  important  passage,  we  must  quote  another  from  Luke's  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  xxiii.  6-8: — ''But  when  Paul  perceived  that  the  one 
part  were  Sadducees,  and  the  other  part  Pharisees,  he  cried  out  in  the 
council,  Men  and  brethren,  I  am  a  Pharisee,  the  son  of  a  Pharisee  :  of 
the  hope  and  resurrection  of  the  dead  I  am  called  in  question.  And 
when  he  had  so  said,  there  arose  a  dissension  between  the  Pharisees 
and  the  Sadducees :  and  the  multitude  was  divided.  For  the  Saddu- 
cees say  that  there  is  no  resurrection,  neither  angel  nor  spirit ;  but  the 
Pharisees  confess  both."  "The  Pharisees  acknowledge  both" — two 
tenets,  not  one.  Angels  and  spirits  are  the  one  tenet — the  resurrection 
of  the  body,  the  other.  The  Sadducees  deny  spirits  and  a  future  state, 
consequently,  the  resurrection  of  the  body.  The  non-resurrection  of 
the  body  was,  therefore,  a  mere  consequence  of  their  doctrine.  Now, 
the  Messiah  always  aims  a  blow  at  the  root,  the  tap-root,  of  the  system 
of  error.  He  proves  that  spirits  are — that  the  spirits  of  the  dead  are. 
The  Sadducees  say  they  are  not.  Jesus  affirms  not  that  they  were, 
but  that  they  are.  Abraham  is  dead,  and  Isaac  is  dead,  and  Jacob  is 
dead,  said  the  Sadducees,  wholly  dead ;  "  spirits  are  not,  bodies  only 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


445 


are;  and  as  their  bodies  once  were,  but  are  not,  the  resurrection  is 
absurd."  But  Jesus  affirmed  that  spirits  are;  and  his  proof  is,  that 
God  is  the  God  of  Abraham — of  some  existing  person — not  the  God 
of  what  was,  but  the  God  of  what  is.  Therefore,  as  he  is  not  the  God 
of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living,  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  now  live — 
always  live.  For,  adds  he,  ''All  live  to  God" — If  dead  to  us,  they  are 
alive  to  him!'  ''  But  their  bodies  are  yet  in  Palestine ;  their  sepulchres 
are  yet  with  us.  For  neither  David  nor  Abraham  is  yet  ascended  to 
heaven ;  their  sepulchres  and  their  ashes  are  still  with  us,  but  their 
spirits  live  with  God." 

13.  Paul  said  he  was  a  Pharisee,  in  the  midst  of  an  assembly  of 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees.  He  intended  to  save  his  life  by  it.  Did  he 
lie  ?  He  was,  in  the  sectarian  sense,  a  Pharisee,  and  not  a  Sadducee. 
This  was  solemnly  affirming  for  them  in  all  the  points  designating 
their  peculiarity  on  the  Sadduceean  hypothesis.  I  offer  it  now  in 
confidence  as  a  conclusive  argument  against  Destructionism,  against 
Sadducism,  against  Materialism  in  every  form  of  it.  The  resurrection 
of  the  dead,  the  existence  of  angels  and  spirits,  and  the  everlasting 
existence  of  man,  either  in  happiness  or  misery,  were  the  whole  con- 
stituents of  a  Pharisee.  Paul  affirmed  these  to  be  true  when  he 
solemnly  declared  that  he  was,  in  opposition  to  the  skepticism  of  the 
Sadducees,  Pharisee  in  faith  and  by  descent,  not  merely  the  son  of  a 
Pharisee,  but  a  Pharisee  himself.* 

14.  K  fourteenth  argument  may  very  naturally  be  deduced  from  our 
Lord's  words  to  Thomas  when  he  convinced  him  that  he  was  not  a 
spirit.  He  defines  a  spirit  in  comparison  with  a  body,  as  essentially 
unlike  it  in  its  materiality.  "A  spirit,"  says  he,  ''has  not  flesh  and 
bones,  as  you  see  me  have."  This  cannot  be  plausibly  denied  to  be  a 
clear  proof  of  the  existence  of  spirits  without  bodies.  When,  indeed, 
the  Sadducees  say  that  there  is  neither  angel  nor  spirit,  do  they  not 
mean  human  spirit  ?  For  of  what  other  spirit  than  angelic,  save  the 
human  spirit,  do  the  Scriptures  speak?  And  did  the  Sadducees  .ever 
deny  that  there  was  a  spirit  in  man  while  he  lived  ?  Never :  they 
only  denied  departed  spirits,  or  human  spirits  existing  after  or  without 
their  bodies.  Now,  as  the  Pharisees  confessed  both  angelic  and  human 
disembodied  spirits,  and  the  Sadducees  neither,  and  as  our  Lord  and 
his  apostles  agreed  with  the  Pharisees  and  not  with  the  Sadducees  in 
their  peculiarity,  follows  it  not  that  we  have  in  this  argument  a  clear 


*  These  arguments  have  been  staged  in  my  essays  on  the  Tyranny  of  Opinionism» 
Out  are  here  ^resented  in  connection 


446  LIFE  Aim  DEATH. 

and  irrefragable  evidence  of  the  existence  of  human  spirits  without 
bodies,  and  consequently  of  hades,  as  before  propounded?  May  we 
not  now  regard  these  fourteen  arguments  in  proof  of  the  existence  of 
human  spirits  in  a  state  called  hades,  separate  and  distinct  from  their 
bodies,  as  amply  sufficient  to  confirm  its  certainty,  and  to  explode  a 
theory  which  reduces  man  to  a  simple  animal  possessed  of  a  vital  prin- 
ciple called  soul,  whose  existence  is  not  only  ideniical  with  the  body  but 
inseparably  coexistent  with  it? 

The  last  evidence  we  shall  here  offer  of  an  intermediate  or  separate 
state  of  existence,  is  the  fact  that  Moses  appeared  on  earth  about 
fourteen  hundred  and  eighty  years  after  his  death.  That  great  law- 
giver died  on  Mount  Pisgah,  in  the  land  of  Moab,  in  the  one  hundred 
and  twentieth  year  of  his  age,  in  the  year  of  the  world  2553.  The 
Lord  buried  him  in  a  sepulchre  in  the  valley  opposite  Beth-peor, 
where  his  ashes  repose  unto  this  day.  We  are,  however,  distinctly 
informed  that  shortly  before  the  crucifixion,  in  the  thirty-third  year 
of  Christ,  he  appeared  on  Mount  Tabor,  in  company  with  Elijah,  whose 
body  had  been  translated  into  heaven  five  hundred  and  fifty  years  after 
Moses  died  and  eight  hundred  and  ninety-six  before  the  birth  of  the 
Messiah. 

This  is  a  fact  so  incontrovertible  that  the  most  reckless  and  presump- 
tuous of  the  opponents  of  a  separate  and  intermediate  conscious  ex- 
istence of  human  spirits  presume  not  to  deny  it.  The  only  disposition 
of  it  which  they  can  make  is  to  assume  that  the  Lord  raised  him  from 
the  dead  for  this  purpose.  But  against  this  assumption  there  is  one 
fact  which  they  seem  not  to  have  noticed, — viz.  that  Jesus  Christ,  and 
not  Moses,  was  the  first-horn  from  the  dead,''  "the  first-fruits  of  them 
that  slept,"  that  in  all  things  he  might  have  the  pre-eminence  and  be 
regarded  as  the  resurrection  and  the  life.  And  might  we  not  with 
great  propriety  object  to  this  assumption  that  no  hint  of  this  sort,  by 
way  of  explanation  of  the  marvellous  fact,  is  given  by  any  inspired 
writer,  and  that  to  have  remanded  Moses  to  the  vale  of  Pisgah,  and 
Elijah  to  heaven,  would  have  seemed  so  arbitrary  a  disposition  of  them 
as  to  call  for  some  explanation  from  some  one  of  the  three  Evangelists 
that  record  the  transfiguration  ?  They  do,  indeed,  inform  us  that  their 
destiny  was  the  same.  One  and  the  same  bright  cloud  overshadowed 
them  both,  in  which  the  Father  Almighty  was  present,  and  from  which, 
for  the  last  time,  he  spoke  aloud,  commending  his  Son,  then  on  the 
mount,  as  his  oracle  to  the  human  race. 

I  should  not  have  dwelt  so  long  on  this  memorable  incident,  but  for 
the  sake  of  developing  the  presumption  of  those  daring  innovators  who 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


447 


for  some  reason  are  seeking  to  overthrow  the  glorious  sanctions  of  our 
religion,  expressed  in  the  words  "  eternal  punishment"  and  ^'everlasting 
life/'  delivered  by  the  Lord  himself.  A  modern  philosopher  has  re- 
cently enlightened  the  world  by  two  treatises — one  on  The  Philo- 
sophy of  Man,"  another  on  ''The  Philosophy  of  the  Intermediate  State." 
He  yet  proposes  a  third  treatise,  to  be  denominated  "  The  Philosophy 
of  a  Future  Life."  In  his  generosity,  he  has  only  taxed  us  with  a 
single  sheet  of  developments  on  the  whole  philosophy  of  man ;  and, 
with  equal  kindness,  he  has  contracted  his  philosophy  of  the  inter- 
mediate state  within  equally  restricted  dimensions.  I  have  but  two 
faults  to  find  with  his  treatise  on  the  intermediate  state.  The  first  of 
these  might  by  some  utilitarians  be  regarded  as  its  greatest  perfection. 
It  is  a  valuable  exemplification  of  the  fallacy  technically  called  petitio 
prmcipii,  or,  vulgarly,  "the  begging  of  the  question."  Any  one  who 
desires  to  see  how  far  a  man  may  wander  from  reason  and  common 
sense,  without  seeming  to  notice  it,  will  be  edified  by  reading  this  ex- 
tended assumption.  He  disposes  of  the  strongest  passages  in  proof  of 
hades,  or  the  separate  state,  by  this  admirable  argument : — 

A  state  of  conscious  existence  between  death  and  the  resurrection  is 
nowhere  taught  in  the  Scriptures :  therefore  it  is  not  taught  in  this 
passage  nor  in  that :  therefore  it  is  not  taught  in  this  parable  nor  in 
that :  therefore  it  is  not  taught  by  Jesus  nor  by  any  of  the  apostles. 

Another  exception  which  I  record  against  it  is  its  striking  irreve- 
rence for  the  authority  of  the  Bible.  I  do  not  recollect  to  have  read  any 
treatise  less  respectful  of  the  authority  of  apostles  and  prophets,  from 
any  one  pretending  to  believe  the  Bible  to  have  come  from  God.  It  is 
only  a  reiteration  of  obsolete  glosses  in  a  more  daring  and  presumptuous 
style.  For  example,  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  Paradise,"  means, 
''This  day  or  that  day,  when  I  come  to  the  possession  of  my  kingdom, 
some  two  or  three  thousand  years  hence,  then  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in 
Paradise" !  As  for  Moses  in  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  that  is  all  ex- 
plained, according  to  this  philosopher,  by  a  single  assumption — viz.  God 
raised  Moses  from  the  dead,  and,  after  he  had  shown  him  on  the  mount, 
caused  him  to  die  a  second  time ;  after  which  the  Lord  himself  buried 
him  in  some  unknown  sepulchre !  And,  not  to  weary  my  readers  with 
such  displays  of  the  waywardness  of  self-opinionated  theorists,  when 
Paul  tells  us  of  his  not  knowing  "whether  he  was  in  or  out  of  the 
body,"  it  only  meant  that  he  was  in  a  dream,  somewhat  confounded  at 
the  time,  and  had  no  distinct  apprehensions  of  himself!  Seriously  to 
respond  to  such  irreverence  is,  I  presume,  as  unnecessary  as  it  would  be 
.  irksome  to  any  one  who  trembles  at  the  word  of  the  Lord. 


448 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


On  the  arguments  and  facts  already  offered  we  rest  our  cause,  so  far 
as  the  ascertainment  of  the  proper  import  of  the  terms  life,  death, 
destruction,  punishment,  hades  and  gehenna  is  concerned. 

Of  the  term  gehenna,  translated  hell,  we  have  said  but  little.  It  is 
defined  by  our  Lord  to  be  a  place  of  eternal  punishment" — a  place  of 
"eternal  fire,"  where  soul  and  body,  or  the  whole  wicked  man,  is  to  be 
tormented  for  ever  and  ever.  Against  this  view  destructionists  and 
Universalists  argue  from  the  fact  that  the  Vale  of  Hinnom,''  (whence 
is  derived  the  word  hell,)  in  the  environs  of  Jerusalem,  was  the  place  of 
consuming  the  carcasses  of  dead  animals,  and  therefore  wholly  earthly, 
temporal  and  inapposite  to  represent  any  thing  that  did  not  come  to  an 
end.  How  short-sighted,  or  how  diseased,  the  vision  of  such  doctors ! 
Were  not  Jerusalem,  Mount  Zion  and  the  City  of  David  places  as 
earthly  and  temporal  as  the  Vale  of  Hinnom  in  their  environs  ?  And 
in  reason's  ear  is  it  not  as  good  an  argument  a*gainst  the  perpetuity, 
spirituality  and  felicity  of  heaven  that  it  is  so  often  represented  under 
the  imagery  of  earth — of  that  same  Jerusalem,  Mount  Zion  and  City 
of  the  Great  King  ?  When  Paul  says,  "  You  Christians  are  the 
children  of  the  Jerusalem  which  is  above,  the  mother  of  us  all,"  or 
when  he  says,  "  You  are  not  come  to  the  tangible  mountain,  but  to 
Mount  Zion,  the  city  of  the  living  Cod,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,"  does 
he  not  use  imagery  of  earth  as  inapposite  to  set  forth  the  eternal 
state  of  the  righteous  as  gehenna  is  to  set  forth  the  eternal  destiny  of 
the  wicked?  As  learnedly  and  as  rationally,  therefore,  might  the  new 
theorists  object  to  the  heaven  as  to  the  hell  of  the  New  Testament, 
inasmuch  as  the  imagery  of  both  comes  from  the  same  vicinity — from 
Judea,  Jerusalem  and  the  environs  thereof.  And,  indeed,  the  same 
mad  philosophy  and  philology  might,  and  sometimes  does,  object,  with 
as  much  reason,  to  the  existence  of  angels  or  spirits  and  their  corre- 
lates ;  for  they,  too,  are  terms  of  earth,  as  is  every  other  term  appre- 
ciable by  mortal  man.  I  once  knew  a  crazy  literalist  who  affirmed 
that  wind  and  spirit  were  the  same — that  a  man's  breath  was  his  soul, 
because  both  were  represented  by  the  same  word.  Nor  did  he  stop  at 
these  absurdities,  but  persisted  in  the  maintenance  of  a  literal  river 
of  life,  jasper  walls,  pearly  gates  and  golden  streets  in  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem. 

That  a  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone,  the  flames  of  Tophet,  and  the 
perpetual  burnings  of  the  Vale  of  Hinnom,  should  become  emblems 
and  representations  of  the  fearful  doom  of  wicked  and  ungodly  men, 
is  certainly  as  rational  and  consistent  as  that  a  garden  of  delights,  a 
golden  city,  spacious  and  splendid  mansions,  crowns  of  glory,  and 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


449 


kingly  thrones,  should  constitute  the  imagery  of  the  eternal  honors 
and  blessedness  of  the  children  of  God.  No  man  of  good  sense  and 
scriptural  information  understands  these  representations  to  be  exact 
literal  delineations  of  the  future  condition  of  saints  and  sinners. 
Pleasure  or  pain  corresponding  with  these  figurative  representations 
is  all  that  persons  of  sound  sense  and  accurate  discrimination  under- 
stand by  them. 

In  conclusion  of  this  already  too  prolix  dissertation  on  terms  and 
definitions,  we  must  say,  in  regard  to  destruction  as  involving  the 
sanctions  of  the  Christian  religion,  that  salvation  and  damnation  are 
its  sublime,  awful  and  tremendous  sanctions.  He  that  diminishes 
either  of  these  in  its  character,  extent  or  duration,  detracts  just  so 
much  from  the  claims  of  the  whole  institution  upon  the  attention  and 
acceptance  of  every  man.  If  the  life  to  be  enjoyed  is  not  to  be  ever- 
lasting, or  if  the  condemnation  to  hell  (for  so  our  Lord  denominates 
it)  is  to  terminate  in  a  year,  a  century  or  a  millennium,  then  neither 
the  salvation  is  of  infinite  importance,  nor  the  condemnation  of  infinite 
dread.  A  pain,  however  intense,  which  continues  but  a  day,  a  year  or 
an  age,  is  nothing  compared  to  a  pain  that  is  everlasting.  Whatever 
reasons,  then,  justified  our  Saviour  in  holding  forth  a  ''fire  unquench- 
able," a  ''worm  undying,"  a  "punishment  everlasting,"  will  justify 
every  other  preacher  in  arraying  the  same  awful  issues  before  the 
mind  of  every  impenitent  sinner. 

Again,  the  motives  that  induce  some  persons  to  broach  the  doctrine 
of  soul-sleeping,  and  to  impose  it  upon  others,  have  neither  reason  nor 
philosophy  to  commend  them  to  any  man's  acceptance,  nor  to  justify 
any  conflicts  concerning  them  in  the  Christian  community.  For,  sup- 
pose a  human  spirit  sleeps  for  a  thousand  years  and  awakes  in  felicity, 
unconscious  of  a  moment's  incerval,  or  in  one  moment  departs  and  is 
with  the  Lord :  there  is  nothing  fatal  to  either  party's  comfort  in  what- 
ever theory  he  may  adopt.  Consequently,  to  introduce  such  a  question; 
and  to  seek  partisans  to  it,  is  voluntary  schism  for  its  own  sake,  with- 
out the  slightest  hope  of  advantage  or  interest  to  any. 

It  is  only  in  their  bearings  upon  other  parts  of  the  Christian  system, 
and  in  the  tendencies  of  such  idle  speculations  to  minister  strife  rather 
than  godly  edifying,  that  we  deem  them  worthy  of  Christian  repro- 
bation. Neither  soul-sleeping,  then,  nor  destructionism,  has  one  argu- 
ment in  its  favor ;  while  the  latter  is  in  direct  opposition  to  the  sanc- 
tions of  the  gospel  and  the  definite  and  clear  signification  of  a  hundred 
scriptures. 

The  authors  of  all  false  theories  of  religion  ^nd  morality  arr  persons 

29 


450 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


who  assume  to  be  philosophers,  so  far,  at  least,  as  to  be  able  to  construct 
a  universe  and  a  Divinity,  in  their  judgment,  more  rational  and  worthy 
of  all  acceptation  than  those  which  they  oppose.  Such,  most  certainly, 
are  the  Universalist,  the  Eestorationist,  the  Destructionist  and  the 
drowsy,  dreaming  inventors  of  spirit-sleeping — with  the  microscopic 
doctors  of  infant  and  Pagan  annihilation.  To  one,  universal  salvation 
— to  another,  the  partial  annihilation  of  mankind — is  the  beau-ideal 
of  a  wise  and  just  and  benevolent  system.  To  all  such  spirits  the 
Bible  is  but  an  encyclopedia  of  proof-texts  to  confirm  their  theory. 
The  rational,  healthy  and  practical  Christian  forms  no  theory  of  things 
incomprehensible.  He  only  seeks  to  know  and  understand  what  the 
Bible  teaches.  He  feels  himself  inadequate  to  comprehend  the  history 
of  sin  and  of  punishment  in  the  amplitude  of  their  bearings  upon  a 
universe,  upon  the  character  of  its  Author  and  the  destinies  of  his 
liege  and  loyal  subjects.  He  wisely  concludes  that  whatever  reasons 
may  justify  God  in  inflicting  temporal  and  partial  evil  upon  any  human 
or  angelic  being  may  justify  the  infliction  of  eternal  punishment  upon 
such  portions  of  intelligent  creatures  as  have  been  placed  under  special 
dispensations  of  divine  mercy  and  love.  "With  all  such  the  true  philo- 
sophy is.  What  say  the  oracles  of  Grod  ? 

Grod  is  said  to  be  the  Father  of  the  spirits — not  of  the  bodies, 
nor  of  the  dispositions,  nor  of  the  breath — but  of  the  spirits  of  all 
flesh.  And  as  such  he  will  judge  and  retribute  all.  He  has  solemnly 
said  that  all  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  his  voice  and  come 
forth — they  that  have  done  good  and  they  that  have  done  evil ;  the 
one  shall  rise  to  salvation,  the  other  to  condemnation.  He  does  not 
say  in  any  passage  of  Scripture,  that  there  is  only  a  portion  of  man- 
kind that  will  come  out  of  their  graves.  Nay,  he  has  said  that  the 
sea  gave  up  the  dead  that  were  in  it,  and  that  death  and  hades  gave 
up  the  dead  that  were  in  them,  and  that  they  were  all  rewarded 
according  to  their  works." 

The  Christian  believes  that  a  future  state  is  neither  clearly  nor  fully 
set  forth  in  the  law  of  Moses,  nor  in  the  Jewish  prophets.  His  faith 
is,  that  '4ife  and  immortality  have  been  brought  to  light  in  the  gospel," 
and  that  the  solution  of  all  questions  concerning  the  state  of  the  dead, 
a  future  judgment  and  the  world  to  come,  must  be  learned  from  Jesus 
and  his  apostles.  He  is  the  resurrection  and  the  life.  And  to 
his  chosen  witnesses  he  committed  the  secrets  of  the  future  state,  to  be 
divulged  just  so  far  as  the  true  interests  of  mankind  should  require. 
He  and  they  have  taught  us  that  he  will  raise  all  the  dead,  judge  all 
mankind,  separate  the  righteous  from  the  wicked,  and  consign  the 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


451 


latter  to  such  an  everlasting  punishment  as  tie  has  prepared  for  the 
devil  and  his  angels ;  while  the  righteous  only  shall  inherit  an  ever- 
lasting life,  an  eternal  blessedness;  that  salvation  consists  in  being 
forever  with  the  Lord,  and  condemnation  in  "  an  everlasting  destruc- 
tion from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  and  the  glory  of  his  power." 

Aware  that  beyond  the  Bible  there  are  no  data,  no  facts,  from  which 
to  reason,  a  prudent  man — one  that  fears  God  and  loves  mankind — will 
not  presume  to  affirm  any  thing  concerning  man,  adult  or  infant,  not 
clearly  indicated  in  that  book ;  he  will  introduce  no  idle  speculation ; 
he  w411  affirm  nothing  for  which  he  cannot  produce  a  thus  saith  the 
Lord."  His  wisdom  and  honor  alike  consist  in  preaching  Christ,  as 
the  wisdom  of  God  and  the  power  of  God  to  salvation.  He  will  make 
known  nothing — introduce  nothing — but  Christ  and  him  crucified, 
under  the  title  of  Christian  doctrine  and  Christian  preaching. 

Does  the  Bible  indicate  that  a  man  has  a  body,  a  soul  and  a  spirit, 
as  clearly  as  that  he  has  a  head,  a  heart  and  a  hand,  he  presumes  not 
to  deny  it.  Does  it  teach  that  the  intellectual  and  moral  something 
called  spirit"  is  not  that  animal  something  called  "  soul"  or  animal 
life,"  he  will  not  affirm  that  the  soul  is  the  spirit,  or  that  the  spirit  is 
the  soul,  and  that  both  are  breath.  Does  the  Messiah  say  that  a  spirit, 
a  human  spirit,  has  neither  flesh  nor  bones,  he  will  not  deny  that  there 
is  any  such  thing  as  spirit.  He  will  not  make  his  own  dulness,  in- 
docility  or  incapacity  an  argument  against  the  facts  and  dictations  of 
the  holy  oracles.  Nay,  he  will,  in  all  matters,  bow  to  the  authority 
of  the  Bible.  He  will  not  proceed  to  annihilate  infants.  Pagans  and 
wicked  men,  because  he  cannot  comprehend  the  principles  of  the  Divine 
administration.  He  will  not  assign  to  Pontius  Pilate,  Judas  Iscariot, 
Annas  and  Caiaphas,  Nero,  Domitian  and  Mohammed,  the  eternal 
punishment  of  a  humming-bird,  a  turtle-dove  or  a  pigeon,  because  of 
his  want  of  intellectual  and  moral  discrimination.  He  will  not  frater- 
nize with  the  Sadducee  in  denying  angels  or  human  spirits,  because  he 
never  saw  either  himself,  or  because  he  doubts  whether  he  himself  has 
any  thing  in  him  but  stomach  and  breath.  He  will  not  make  the 
sterility  of  his  own  soul  an  infallible  criterion  of  all  souls  in  the  uni- 
verse. He  will  not  first  teach  that  the  human  spirit  is  mortal,  and 
then  set  about  refuting  the  Messiah's  affirmation  that  spirits  cannot 
die,  or  that  man  cannot  kill  the  soul.  Because  of  his  defects  in  the 
science  of  interpretation,  h«  will  not  assume  that  the  word  destroy, 
when  applied  to  man,  always  means  absolute  annihilation  or  complete 
extinction ;  well  knowing  that  such  a  one  would  be  essentially  wanting 


452 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 


in  consciousness,  and  most  unfit  to  be  a  leader  or  a  guide  to  the  igno- 
rant and  unlearned  inquirers  after  the  will  and  ways  of  the  Lord. 

I  have  by  no  means  exhausted  this  subject.  A  mere  miniature  view 
of  its  prominent  points  and  aspects  is  all  for  which  we  have  had  either 
room  or  leisure.  I  suggest  these  views  and  considerations  to  those  whose 
minds  have  been  unsettled  by  presumptuous  and  wayward  dogmatists, 
rather  as  a  help  to  their  own  investigations  than  as  a  full  and  perfect 
treatise  on  the  subject.  Believing,  as  I  do,  that  there  is  but  a  very 
narrow  isthmus  between  absolute  skepticism  and  the  affirmations  of 
those  views  of  the  new  philosophy  of  man,  and  of  the  intermediate 
state — the  denial  of  a  universal  resurrection  and  of  the  eternal  punish- 
ment of  unbelieving  and  ungodly  men — I  cannot  but  observe  with 
great  solicitude  every  attempt  made  to  weaken  the  sanctions  of  the 
gospel  and  to  reduce  man  to  a  mere  two-legged  animal,  whose  soul  is 
blood,  whose  spirit  is  breath,  and  whose  destiny  in  sin  is  but  the 
punishment  of  an  insect — the  decomposition  of  an  organized  atom. 
From  such  philosophists  and  prosing  dreamers,  such  conceited  dog- 
matists and  reckless  schismatics,  may  the  Lord  save  his  cause  and 
people  I 


ADDRESS. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  UNITING  THE  MORAL  WITH  THE 
INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE  OF  THE  MIND. 


DELIVERED  TO  THE  COLLEGE  OF  TEACHERS,  CINCINNATI,  1836. 


If,  in  accordance  with  the  philosophy  of  things,  we  could  trace  effects 
from  their  immediate  to  their  remote  causes,  it  is  presumed  that  we 
would  find  the  momentous  changes  already  accomplished  in  English 
society,  whether  in  the  Old  "World  or  in  the  New,  to  be  the  legitimate 
consequences  of  a  single  maxim,  consecrated  into  a  rule  of  action,  both 
by  the  precept  and  the  example  of  the  master-spirit  of  the  Protestant 
Eeformation.  That  maxim  is,  "  Man  by  nature  is,  and  of  right  ought 
to  be,  a  thinking  being."  Hence  it  is  decreed  that,  as  a  matter  of  policy, 
of  morality  and  of  religion,  he  ought  not  only  to  think,  but  to  think  for 
himself.  This,  as  the  paramount  duty,  was  most  successfully  incul- 
cated by  that  illustrious  Saxon  to  whom,  more  than  to  any  other 
mortal  being,  the  sons  of  Japhet  in  Europe  and  America  owe  their 
best  literary,  moral  and  political  institutions.  To  the  inculcation  of 
this  obligation,  more  than  to  any  other  precept  in  the  religious  or 
moral  code,  was  Martin  Luther  indebted  for  that  eminent  success 
which  elevated  him  to  the  highest  niche  in  the  temple  consecrated  to 
the  memory  of  European  and  American  benefactors.  Nor  is  the  day 
far  distant,  in  our  anticipations  of  the  approaching  future,  when  the 
philosophic  historian,  in  his  attempts  to  trace  to  its  proper  cause  the 
general  superiority  of  that  portion  of  our  race  which  speaks  the  Eng- 
lish tongue,  in  whatever  land,  under  whatever  sky,  it  may  happen  to 
have  its  being,  will  find  it  supremely,  if  not  exclusively,  in  the  single 
?Eu;t  that  the  English  nation  first  adopted  the  Lutheran  creed  of  think- 

453 


454 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  UNITING 


ing,  speaking  and  writing  without  restraint  on  every  subject  of  im- 
portance to  the  individual  and  to  society. 

But  to  set  the  mind  abroach,  to  take  off  every  restraint  but  that  of 
moral  law,  to  encourage  free  inquiry,  especially  in  an  age  of  compara- 
tive ignorance  and  superstition  both  in  things  political,  religious  and 
literary,  is  always  a  hazardous  experiment.  In  such  a  revolution  as 
must  necessarily  ensue,  not  only  the  institutions  of  false  philosophy, 
unequal  policy  and  arbitrary  legislation,  but  also  the  altars,  the  temples, 
and  the  ordinances  of  reason  and  truth  and  justice,  may  be  blended 
together  in  one  promiscuous  ruin.  Who  can  arrest  the  progress  of 
free  inquiry?  What  human  spirit  can  ride  upon  this  whirlwind  and 
direct  this  storm?  What  philosopher  or  sage  can,  with  effect,  say, 
"  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come,  and  no  farther,"  and  here  shall  your  in- 
vestigations cease  ?  Experience  says  it  is  much  easier  to  communicate 
the  spark  than  to  arrest  the  flame.  Still,  however,  we  have  this  con- 
solation that  truth  is  in  its  own  nature  indestructible,  and  that  how- 
ever for  a  time  it  may  be  hid  among  the  rubbish  of  human  tradition, 
or  buried  in  the  wreck  of  revolutions  and  counter-revolutions  in  human 
affairs,  it  will  ultimately  gain  the  ascendant  and  command  not  only  the 
admiration  but  the  homage  of  all  mankind. 

To  those  of  the  most  enlarged  conceptions  of  human  affairs  and  of 
the  natural  tendencies  of  things,  we  imagine  it  will  appear  most  Evi- 
dent that  it  is  safer  and  happier  for  society  that  the  mind  should  be 
permitted  to  rest  with  full  assurance  only  upon  its  own  investiga- 
tions, and  that  perfect  freedom  of  inquiry  should  be  guaranteed  to 
every  man  to  reason,  to  examine  and  judge  for  himself  on  all  subjects 
in  the  least  involving  his  own  present  or  future  destiny  or  that  of 
society. 

Happy  is  it,  then,  for  the  general  interests  of  all  science  and  of  all 
society,  that  when  men  begin  to  think  and  reason  and  decide  for  them- 
selves on  any  one  subject,  unrestrained  by  the  proscriptions  and  unawed 
by  the  authority  of  past  ages,  it  is  not  within  their  own  power,  noi 
within  the  grasp  of  any  extrinsic  authority  on  earth,  to  restrain  theii 
speculations,  or  to  confine  them  to  that  one  subject,  whatever  it  may 
be,  which  happened  first  to  arouse  their  minds  from  the  repose  of  un- 
thinking acquiescence  and  to  break  the  spell  of  implicit  resignation  to 
the  supposed  superior  wisdom  of  the  reputed  sages  of  ancient  times. 
Hence,  the  impetus  given  to  the  human  mind  by  the  Protestant  Ee- 
formation  extends  into  every  science,  into  every  art,  into  all  the  busi- 
ness of  life,  and  continues,  with  increased  and  increasing  energy,  to 
consume  and  waste  the  influence  of  every  existing  institution,  law  and 


MOEAL  WITH  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE. 


455 


custom  not  founded  upon  eternal  truth  and  the  immutahle  and  in- 
vincible nature  of  things. 

This  spirit  of  free  inquiry  first  seized  the  church,  then  the  state,  then 
the  colleges,  then  the  schools ;  and  now,  even  now,  in  the  second  quar- 
ter of  the  nineteenth  century,  it  has  invaded  not  only  the  penetralia 
of  every  temple,  but  even  the  inmost  recesses  of  the  nursery,  the  infant 
head,  the  infant  brain ;  and,  in  full  harmony  with  the  divining  spirit 
of  the  age,  are  we  now  in  solemn  conclave  assembled  to  inquire  if  aught 
of  error  yet  remains  unscathed,  or  of  truth  undiscovered,  in  the  most 
useful  among  sciences  and  arts — that  of  educating  man. 

The  philosopher,  the  politician,  the  moralist  and  the  Christian  regard 
the  subject  of  education  as  of  transQcndent  importance  to  the  individual 
and  social  well-being  of  man.  If  in  other  matters  they  differ,  in  this 
they  agree — that  nothing  connected  with  time  or  sense  so  supremely 
deserves  the  best  thoughts  and  most  concentrated  efforts  of  the  human 
mind  as  the  proper  method  of  training  and  developing  the  physical, 
intellectual  and  moral  powers  of  man.  For,  whatever  may  be,  in  the 
eye  of  the  philanthropist,  the  chief  desideratum  in  the  future  earthly 
destiny  of  man — whatever  may  be  the  measures  of  temporal  bliss  or 
temporal  glory  to  which  he  would  exalt  his  species,  as  the  ultimatum, 
of  all  his  aspirations — he  contemplates  and  designs  to  effect  it  all  by  a 
system  of  education  in  perfect  unison  with  the  whole  nature  of  man. 
The  Christian  himself,  in  seeking  the  eternal  happiness  and  glory  of 
his  own  offspring  and  of  society  at  large,  forms  no  scheme,  can  con- 
ceive of  no  means  in  human  power,  to  further  his  wishes  and  to  secure 
his  object,  other  than  an  education  in  perfect  harmony  with  human 
nature  as  it  now  is  under  the  remedial  administration  of  Heaven. 

One  of  the  most  exhilarating  and  promising  signs  of  a  better  era  in 
human  destiny  is  the  increased  and  increasing  interest  displayed  on 
this  very  subject.  Happy  are  we  to  find  that  not  only  in  the  East  and 
in  the  "West,  in  the  North  and  in  the  South,  in  the  length  and  breadth 
of  our  own  happy  land,  but  in  the  land  of  our  forefathers  and  in  all  the 
regions  of  English  and  American  commerce,  wherever  the  Protestant 
religion  is  known,  men  are  awaking  to  the  examination  of  how  much 
has  been  done  and  how  much  remains  to  be  done,  not  only  in  extend- 
ing the  means  of  education  of  some  sort,  but  in  adapting  that  educa- 
tion, according  to  the  lights  of  true  science,  to  the  whole  constitution 
and  circumstances  of  mankind. 

Much,  very  much,  indeed,  remains  to  be  accomplished  to  meet  the 
exigencies  of  the  times  and  to  dispel  the  clouds  and  darkness  yet  rest- 
ing upon  various  questions  either  intimately  connected  with  a  rational 


456 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  UNITING 


system  of  education  or  forming  a  part  of  it.  This  is  true  not  only  of 
our  own  country,  but  of  the  most  enlightened  portions  of  the  Old 
World.  Among  the  resolutions  of  the  British  and  Foreign  School 
Society,  of  March,  1831,  it  is  repeatedly  acknowledged  that  "England 
IS  YET  UNEDUCATED."  Lord  Brougham,  in  1833,  in  his  speech  at  the 
Wilberforce  meeting  at  York,  strongly  affirms  that  in  England  "  igno- 
rance PREVAILS  TO  A  HORRIBLE  EXTENT" — ignorance,  too,  of  a  proper 
system  of  education.  And  certainly  this  is  true  of  large  portions  of 
our  own  country. 

Creditable  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  to  our  country  that,  in  the  esti- 
mation of  all  mankind,  she  stands  foremost  in  the  work  of  education ; 
and  to  the  honor  of  the  founders  of  the  College  of  Teachers,  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  it  may  yet  be  said  that  this  institution  has 
been  the  commencement  of  a  new  era  in  the  literary  annals  of  the 
West. 

But  the  subject  before  us  demands,  at  least  as  preliminary,  a  defini- 
tion not  merely  of  the  term  education,  but  of  that  which  is  to  be 
educated.  And  yet,  plain  and  hackneyed  as  the  subject  is,  it  is  not 
altogether  without  its  difficulties.  Education,  as  usually  defined,  im- 
ports no  more  than  "  the  formation  of  manners  in  youth,"  or  the  culti- 
vation of  the  intellectual  powers.  But,  in  its  true  and  philosophic 
signification,  it  takes  a  wider  range,  and  denotes  the  full  development 
and  proper  training  of  all  the  human  powers.  These  are  generally 
called  physical,  intellectual  and  moral.  But,  as  our  physical  powers 
are  held  in  common  with  inferior  animals,  they  are  not  regarded  as 
strictly  human ;  and,  therefore,  with  the  most  accomplished  thinkers 
the  human  powers  are  purely  intellectual  and  moral.  Still,  it  will  be 
conceded  that  even  man's  animal  powers  are  susceptible  of  improve- 
ment under  a  scientific  education ;  that  even  his  external  senses,  with 
all  his  physical  organization,  by  proper  exercise  and  discipline,  can  be 
greatly  improved. 

But  who  has  accurately  defined  the  intellectual  and  moral  powers  ? 
Agreed  it  is  on  all  hands  that  the  human  mind  is  composed  of  various 
innate  and  primitive  powers,  however  they  may  be  enumerated  or  de- 
nned, and  that  these  are  the  proper  subject  of  education.  But  because 
they  have  never  yet  been  defined  with  authority — because  no  two 
philosophers,  from  the  days  of  Plato  to  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century,  have  agreed  in  any  one  theory  of  the  intellectual  and  moral 
powers — every  system  of  education  hitherto  patronized  is,  in  some  re- 
spects, inadequate  or  imperfect.  The  words  " intellect,"  ''moral  powers" 
and  "afi'ections"  are  of  universal  currency,  and  appear  on  many  a 


MORAL  WITH  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE. 


457 


learned  and  eloquent  page  as  the  well-established  representatives  of 
the  most  precise  ideas  in  mental  philosophy.  It  has  been  our  mis- 
fortune, however,  never  to  have  met  with  an  author  of  standard  value, 
in  any  of  the  schools  of  English  or  American  literature,  who  could 
make  us  understand  what  are  the  intellectual  and  moral  powers — ^'  the 
understanding,  will  and  affections" — which  constitute  that  something 
called  the  human  mind  or  soul,  and  concerning  the  education  of  which 
so  many  hundred  authors  have  written  to  so  little  purpose. 

The  mental  and  moral  philosophy  of  the  schools — especially  the  lat- 
ter— in  spite  of  all  our  efforts  and  predilections,  yet  appears  to  us  a 
science  about  words  rather  than  things — a  science  without  a  solid 
basis.  Fine  discourses  have  been  written  and  eloquent  speeches  have 
been  pronounced  about  the  passions  and  affections,  the  intellectual  and 
moral  powers ;  but  whose  definition  of  these  is  canonical  or  of  general 
credit  ?  Such  being  the  fact,  who  can  affirm  that  the  science  of  mind 
is  perfect,  or  that  a  perfect  system  of  education  can  exist,  while  no  two 
philosophers  or  teachers  of  note  agree  about  what  it  is  that  is  to  be 
educated  ? 

In  the  schools  of  the  highest  reputation  there  appears  little  certainty 
in  the  department  of  the  intellectual  powers.  Operations  of  the  mind 
in  one  school  are  regarded  as  primitive  powers ;  while  in  another  the 
primitive  powers  are  ranked  amongst  mere  operations  of  the  mind. 
Thus,  we  read  of  the  faculty  or  primitive  power  of  perception,  of  atten- 
tion, of  reflection,  of  memory,  of  consciousness,  &c. ;  while,  according  to 
other  authorities,  these  are  but  mere  "modes  of  mental  action" — mere 
operations  of  certain  energies  or  powers  innate,  which  are  known  and 
designated  under  other  names. 

Need  we  a  single  argument  to  show  that  a  system  of  education 
which  sets  about  improving  operations,  mistaking  them  for  the  ope- 
rating powers,  must  fail — wholly  fail — of  any  practical  utility  ?  And 
such — unless  we  are  greatly  mistaken — is  one  of  the  most  injurious 
errors  in  oZZ  the  systems  that  have  reigned  from  Aristotle  to  Dr. 
Watts. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  present  century,  already  distinguished  for 
many  useful  discoveries,  inventions  and  improvements,  if  it  have  not 
already,  in  the  new  science  of  phrenology,  ascertained  a  solid  basis  for 
a  truly  inductive  system  of  mental  philosophy  and  literary  and  moral 
education,  will  add  to  its  renown  the  glory  of  substituting  psycho- 
logical fact  for  hypothesis,  and  of  discarding  from  our  schools  and 
•colleges  the  imaginative  conjectures  and  metaphysical  theories  of  ages 
more  speculative  and  romantic  than  the  present.    Then  we  are  lis- 


458 


THE  IMPOETANCE  OF  UNITING 


posed  to  imagine  that  it  will  be  universally  conceded  that  the  excel- 
lence of  education  will  consist  in  three  thinp^s — in  teaching  and  training 
man  to  think,  to  feel  and  to  act  in  perfect  harmony  with  his  own  con- 
stitution and  with  the  constitution  of  nature  and  society  around  him ; 
not  merely  to  think,  not  merely  to  feel,  not  merely  to  act  right,  but  to 
think,  to  feel  and  to  act  rationally,  morally  and  religiously,  or  in  har- 
mony with  the  whole  universe  and  with  his  relations  to  each  and  every 
part  thereof. 

If  we  might  be  indulged  in  another  preliminary  and  introductory 
observation,  we  would  hasten  to  suggest  that  as  there  is  but  one  way 
of  learning  mind — viz.  by  its  own  manifestations — so  there  cannot  be 
a  proper  or  philosophical  system  of  education  that  is  not  founded  upon 
the  manifestations  of  mind.  In  the  universe  there  is  nothing  to  be 
seen  but  the  manifestations  of  mind ;  for  it  is  all  the  effect  of  mind, 
and  under  the  domiri^on  of  one  Supreme  and  Omnipotent  Intelligence. 
If  there  be  sublimity,  grandeur  or  beauty  in  the  height  and  depth,  in 
the  length  and  breadth,  of  creation — in  the  extent,  number  and  variety 
of  organic  and  inorganic  existences — it  is  in  the  manifestations  of  mind 
that  all  this  beauty  and  magnificence  consist.  Hence,  the  most  refined 
and  exquisite  pleasures  of  which  we  are  now  or  ever  shall  be  sus- 
ceptible, are  the  pleasures  of  mental  communion  with  that  Infinite 
Intelligence  which  will  be  manifesting  itself  to  us  in  an  infinite  series 
of  creations  through  an  endless  succession  of  ages.  If  there  were  no 
mind  displayed  in  the  universe,  to  human  eye  there  would  be  no 
beauty,  grandeur  or  magnificence  in  it;  and  exactly  in  the  ratio  of 
mind  possessed  by  each  individual  will  be  the  sources  of  enjoyment 
opened  in  aU  the  works  and  ways  of  the  Infinite  Intelligence.  He  that 
has  most  mind  will  see  and  enjoy  most  mind  in  creation ;  and  in  this- 
will  be  found  the  philosophy  of  that  oracle  which  says,  "  The  fool  hath 
said  in  his  heart,  There  is  no  God." 

But  neither  the  divine  nor  the  human  mind  can  be  manifested  to 
human  reason  but  by  an  organized  system.  If  we  are  too  sanguine, 
and  if  it  be  not  yet  discovered,  in  this  truth  will  be  found  the  immovable- 
basis  of  the  true  philosophy  of  mind  and  of  education.  The  created 
universe  is  not  God ;  but  God  is  manifested  in  and  by  the  universe. 
The  human  mind,  so  far  an  image  of  the  divine,  is  not  the  human  head 
nor  heart  nor  body ;  but  in  and  by  these  it  is  manifested.  God,  how- 
ever, is  not  more  distinct  from  the  universe  which  manifests  him,  than 
the  human  mind  from  the  brain  and  heart  and  body,  by  which  it  mani- 
fests itself. 

As,  then,       learn  God  by  and  through  his  works  and  word.'f,  or 


MORAL  WITH  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE. 


459 


througli  the  universe,  so  we  learn  the  human  mind  through,  that 
organic  mass  through  which  it  operates  and  by  which  it  is  operated 
upon.  Now,  it  is  obvious  that  all  our  organs,  whether  called  the  brain 
or  the  muscles  or  the  external  senses,  are  the  means  or  energies  by 
which  our  spirit  operates,  and  by  which,  so  far  at  least  as  mundane 
things  are  concerned,  it  is  operated  upon.  Consequently,  no  philo- 
sopher can  overlook  the  organs  by  which  the  mind  acts  and  by  which 
it  is  acted  upon  in  adopting  a  system  of  education  suited  to  the  culture 
and  development  of  our  intellectual  and  moral  powers. 

To  illustrate  this  view  of  ascertaining  and  educating  mind,  let  it  be 
supposed  that  we  have  a  thousand  or  any  definite  number  of  concentric 
circles  the  common  centre  of  which  is  a  radiating  point :  it  will  then 
be  apparent  that  all  the  light  in  these  thousand  circles  is  in  fullest 
splendor  in  the  innermost  circle.  The  manifestations  of  light  will  im- 
prove in  every  circle  from  the  one-thousandth  to  the  first.  The  most 
brilliant  manifestations  will,  of  course,  be  found  immediately  around 
the  radiating  centre.  So  of  the  supreme  and  human  intelligence. 
The  manifestations  of  the  Deity  are  found  in  ten  thousand  concentric 
spheres.  But  it  is  in  the  innermost  circle — in  the  palace  of  the  uni- 
verse— the  sanctum  sanctorum  of  creation — that  he  is  seen  and  known 
in  his  glory. 

The  human  mind  is  manifested  in  all  the  works  of  man,  as  the  archi- 
tect is  seen  in  the  castles  he  has  reared,  or  the  author  in  the  volumes 
he  has  written.  Still,  we  approach  nearer  to  the  human  spirit  when 
we  approach  the  human  body,  and  to  the  head  of  that  body  in  which  it 
is  located.  The  cranium  is  the  innermost  circle  which  the  spirit,  the 
radiating  point,  fills  with  the  most  splendid  manifestations  of  itself. 
Hence,  the  ''mind-illumined  face,"  with  the  five  senses  most  inge- 
niously situated  around  the  head  and  in  it,  with  all  the  displays  of  the 
organs  of  thought,  moral  feeling  and  passion  which  adorn  its  outside, 
manifest  all  that  is  to  be  educated,  whether  we  call  it  mind  or  spirit — 
the  animal,  the  intellectual,  or  the  moral  man.  The  activity  of  the  human 
spirit — that  great  intellectual  and  moral  radiating  centre  in  the  human 
system — must  necessarily  first  appear  in  the  walls  of  that  apartment  in 
which  it  first  begins  to  operate.  We  ought  not,  then,  to  wonder  that 
at  this  punctum  saliens  its  strength  should  be  equal  to  manifesting 
itself  by  indenting  and  depicting  its  activities  on  the  bony  circum- 
ference which  encloses  all  those  organs  by  which  it  first  acts  in  all  its 
animal,  intellectual  and  moral  operations. 

Thus  have  we  very  circuitously  arrived  at  the  solid  basis  of  mental 
philosophy  and  rational  education — if,  indeed,  there  be  yet  any  such 


460 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  UNITING 


basis  found.  It  is  indeed  already  fully  ascertained  that  the  mind  acts, 
and  that,  as  a  matter  of  course,  it  will  have  power  and  variety  of  action 
according  to  the  variety,  strength  and  activity  of  its  organs.  Again, 
it  is  ascertained  that  as  the  mind  sees  by  an  eye,  hears  by  an  ear, 
strikes  by  a  hand  and  thinks  and  reasons  and  feels  by  a  brain,  and  aa 
the  strength  of  every  organ  is  in  the  ratio  of  its  size  and  firmness,  so 
the  mind's  energies  or  faculties  will  be  improved  as  these  organs  are 
enlarged,  strengthened  or  made  active  by  well-directed  exercise. 

If  now  we  may  be  pardoned  for  this  circular  approach  to  our  sub- 
ject, it  would  be  presumption  to  expect  remission  should  we  further 
delay  by  an  attempt  to  detail  either  the  organs  or  faculties,  intellectual 
and  moral,  to  be  improved  by  education.  This,  indeed,  we  are  not 
able  to  do ;  for  these  all  are  not  yet  to  us  individually  and  fully  ascer- 
tained. It  is,  however,  generally  agreed  that  we  have  intellectual  and 
moral  powers,  and  that  both  are  innate  and  primitive  and  susceptible 
of  improvement ;  and  this  is  all  that  our  subject,  strictly  regarded, 
demands.  Moreover,  there  is,  perhaps,  a  more  general  concurrence  in 
the  number  and  distinct  character  of  our  moral  than  of  our  intellectual 
powers ;  and  these  are  they  whose  culture  is  the  burden  of  the  present 
essay. 

What  the  metaphysician  or  the  moral  philosopher  calls  the  active 
powers  or  affections,  and  the  phrenologist  the  moral  impulses  or  in- 
stincts, are  much  nearer  allied  than  their  theories  of  the  perceptive  and 
reflective  powers.  All  men  of  sense  of  all  philosophic  creeds  agree 
that  benevolence,  veneration,  hope,  self-love,  love  of  approbation,  a 
sense  of  justice,  conscientiousness,  firmness,  &c.  are  essential  elements 
in  the  formation  of  moral  character,  and  that  they  are  positive,  primi- 
tive and  independent  powers  of  mind,  susceptible  of  culture,  and  that 
they  ought  to  be  educated. 

True  science  affirms  that  all  that  is  in  man,  and  only  what  is  in 
him,  is  to  be  educated;  that  every  organ  and  sense  and  power, 
whether  animal,  intellectual,  moral  or  religious,  can  be  improved, 
and  ought  to  be  improved  by  education.  The  accomplished  teacher 
aims  not,  indeed,  at  working  miracles,  by  creating  new  powers  or 
faculties  of  any  sort :  he  regards  bnly  what  is  innate  in  man  as  the 
proper  subject  of  education.  He  has  two  objects  supremely  in  view 
— the  improvement  of  the  faculties,  and  the  communication  of  know- 
ledge. As  respects  the  improvement  o^  the  faculties,  his  theory  is 
very  simple.  With  him,  every  faculty  has  some  organ  or  organs  sus- 
ceptible of  improvement.  These  organs  are  improvable  only  by  exer- 
cise.   His  whole  creed  contains  but  seven  articles,  and  these  are 


MORAL  WITH  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE. 


461 


rather  definitions  of  terms  than  abstract  speculations.  They  are  the 
following : — 

1.  The  human  soul  incarnate  operates  only  through  organs,  and 
through  organs  only  can  it  be  operated  upon. 

2.  An  organ  is  a  natural  instrument — such  as  the  brain,  the  eye, 
the  ear,  the  tongue,  the  hand.  The  human  soul  thinks  and  feels  by 
the  brain,  sees  by  the  eye,  hears  by  the  ear,  speaks  by  the  tongue  and 
operates  by  the  hand. 

3.  A  faculty,  contradistinguished  from  its  organ,  is  the  power  of  the 
organ.  The  eye  is  an  organ ;  but  seeing  is  its  faculty  or  power.  The 
ear  is  an  organ ;  but  hearing  is  its  faculty. 

4.  Organs  and  faculties  are  simple  and  compound.  The  eye  and  the 
ear  are  simple  organs ;  the  brains  and  the  hand  are  compound  organs. 
Each  and  every  subdivision  of  the  brain,  as  every  finger  on  the  hand, 
is  a  single  organ  and  has  a  single  faculty.  But  there  are  faculties 
which  require  a  plurality  of  organs :  thus,  while  the  faculty  of  appre- 
hending requires  but  a  finger,  the  faculty  of  comprehending  a  substance 
requires  the  whole  hand.  The  faculty  of  perceiving  a  single  object, 
requires  but  one  organ  of  the  brain ;  while  the  faculty  of  remembering 
an  event  requires  various  organs.  The  faculty  of  perceiving  requires 
the  organs  of  perception ;  the  faculty  of  reflecting  requires  the  organs 
of  reflection;  the  faculty  of  remembering  requires  all  the  organs 
originally  employed  in  perceiving  the  object  and  in  reflecting  upon  it. 

5.  Operations  are  to  be  distinguished  from  the  organs  and  the  facul- 
ties. Organ  is  the  instrument ;  faculty,  the  power  of  the  instrument ; 
operation,  the  act  of  the  faculty  or  of  the  organ.  Thus,  the  eye  is  an 
organ ;  seeing,  the  faculty  of  that  organ ;  and  a  particular  look,  sight 
or  seeing,  the  operation  of  that  organ.  Again,  there  is  one  organ  of 
the  brain  by  which  we  perceive  color — this  is  the  organ  of  color :  per- 
ceiving color  is  the  faculty  of  that  organ,  and  the  observance  of  any 
particular  color  is  the  operation  of  that  organ. 

6.  The  strength  of  an  organ  is  its  size  and  firmness.  It  is  a  law  of 
the  animal  economy  that  exercise  directed  by  reason  enlarges  and  con- 
firms every  organ ;  hence,  every  fibre  of  the  human  system  is  improved 
by  exercise.  To  improve  a  faculty  is  to  enlarge  and  confirm  its  organ 
or  organs.  By  strengthening  and  making  more  active  an  organ,  we 
not  only  improve  its  faculty,  but  also  every  particular  operation  of  that 
organ.  Education,  if  rational,  will,  therefore,  seek  to  improve  the 
mind  by  improving  its  organs  :  it  will  seek  to  improve  the  organs  by 
improving  the  faculties,  and  the  faculties  by  improving  their  opera- 
tions.   The  natural  order  of  education,  in  seeking  to  improve  the- 


462 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  UNITING 


intellectual  and  moral  powers,  is  first  the  operation,  then  the  faculty, 
then  the  organ,  then  the  mind.  It  is  by  this  course  the  painter,  tho 
sculptor,  the  musician,  the  orator  and  the  practical  moralist  attain  to 
perfection.  Single  acts  precede  habits  and  strengthen  faculties,  and 
these  faculties  strengthen  the  organs,  and  then  the  organs  in  turn 
strengthen  the  faculties,  and  the  faculties  strengthen  their  particular 
acts  and  operations.  Thus,  we  strengthen  the  muscles  in  the  arm  by 
acts  or  operations ;  these  operations  strengthen  the  faculty  of  the  whole 
arm  or  increase  its  muscular  power,  and  that  strength  increased  re- 
dounds to  the  improvement  of  those  very  acts  by  which  it  was  itself 
improved.  Hence,  if  the  natural  organs  did  not  decay  by  age,  the 
mind  would,  like  the  rotation  of  a  wheel  on  an  infinite  declivity,  be 
perpetually  increasing  its  activity  and  its  momentum  in  a  series  of 
infinite  progression;  which,  no  doubt,  after  it  has  '^shuffled  off  this 
mortal  coil,"  will  be  its  eternal  destiny. 

7.  It  must  be  laid  down  with  all  the  formality  of  a  positive  precept 
that  the  exercise  of  any  one  organ  only  improves  itself.  That  we  can- 
not improve  the  eye  or  the  ear  without  exercise  is  not  more  incontro- 
vertible than  that  we  cannot  improve  the  eye  by  improving  the  ear,  or 
the  faculty  of  taisting  by  the  faculty  of  smelling.  No  person  will, 
therefore,  seek  to  improve  the  memory  by  improving  the  imagination, 
nor  the  organs  of  perception  by  the  organs  of  reflection ;  neither  will 
a  wise  man  seek  to  improve  the  moral  powers  by  exercising  only  the 
intellectual. 

This  synopsis  or  summary  of  definitions,  constituting  the  essential 
articles  of  the  skilful  teacher's  creed,  leads  us  directly  to  the  very  point 
of  the  specific  task  assigned  us — viz.  ^'the  importance  of  uniting  the 
moral  with  the  intellectual  culture  of  the  mind'' 

In  the  proposition  that  it  is  important  that  the  culture  of  the  moral 
powers  should  be  united  with  the  culture  of  the  intellectual  powers,  it 
is  implied  that  both  are  susceptible  of  cultivation  and  that  both  are  to 
be  cultivated.  It  is  only  affirmed  that  both  are  to  be  cultivated  at  one 
and  the  same  time.  But  the  point  to  be  elaborated  is,  that  the  moral 
powers  are  especially  to  he  educated,  or  that  moral  culture  is  the  chief 
end  of  education. 

Three  good  reasons  are,  in  our  judgment,  sufficient  to  enforce  the 
superlative  importance  of  moral  culture. 

Of  these,  the  first  is,  that  man  has  received  from  the  hand  of  his 
Creator  certain  innate  moral  powers,  and  that  these  are,  without  edu- 
cation, not  more  perfect  than  his  physical  and  intellectual  powers. 
Now,  as  the  five  senses — the  perceptive  and  reflective  faculties — 


MORAL  WITH  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE. 


463 


require  the  special  attention  of  those  intrusted  with  the  formation  of 
the  human  constitution  and  human  character,  certainly  the  moral 
affections  and  feelings,  simply  as  an  essential  ingredient  in  man,  as  one 
of  the  gifts  and  endowments  bestowed  on  him  by  his  Creator,  are  de- 
serving of  improvement.  But  this  argument  is  not  yet  set  forth  in  all 
its  strength;  for  it  is  agreed  that  the  moral  powers,  because  of  the 
peculiar  and  ever- changing  character  of  the  objects  on  which  they  are 
to  be  employed  and  of.  the  actions  to  which  they  impel,  are  more  im- 
perfect by  nature,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  differently  expressed,  natu- 
rally more  unfit  for  discrimination  and  guidance  than  are  our  physical 
and  intellectual  powers;  therefore  their  cultivation  is  the  more  necessary. 

But,  in  the  second  place,  the  paramount  necessity  of  moral  culture 
is  argued  from  higher  considerations  than  can  be  offered  in  favor  of 
the  development  and  proper  training  of  our  physical  and  intellectual 
powers.  It  is  argued  from  the  fact  that  moral  nature  is  superior  to 
intellectual  and  to  animal  nature,  as  the  means  are  superior  to  the 
end ;  for,  in  man,  animal  organization  is  but  the  means  to  intellectual 
organization,  and  intellect  itself  is  but  the  means  to  moral  endowment. 
A  proof  of  this  is  experienced  by  all  the  cultivated,  in  the  fact  that  ani- 
mal pleasure  is  but  the  positive  degree,  intellectual  pleasure  the  com- 
parative, while  moral  pleasure  is  the  superlative  of  human  bliss :  just 
as  man's  animal  organization  is  the  positive,  his  intellectual  the  com- 
parative, and  his  moral  the  superlative,  of  his  excellence  and  glory, 
graduated  on  the  scale  of  all  earthly  existence.  True,  indeed,  we  can- 
not view  these  as  simple  elements  and  compare  them  as  so  many  in- 
gredients in  the  human  composition;  still,  we  have  no  difficulty  in 
forming  a  comparative  estimate  of  their  respective  value  in  human 
nature  and  in  human  character.  Our  second  argument,  therefore,  is, 
that  as  three  superlatives — viz.  that  of  moral  nature,  that  of  moral 
pleasure  and  that  of  moral  glory — constitute  the  superlative  of  human 
excellence,  moral  culture  above  the  physical,  above  the  intellectual, 
deserves  to  occupy  the  superlative  place  in  the  education  of  youth. 

The  evidence  of  this  position,  and  consequently  the  conviction  of 
its  truth,  are  susceptible  of  much  augmentation  as  we  improve  in  the 
knowledge  of  man  as  a  social  being — as  related  to  other  intelligent  and 
moral  agents.  It  is  for  society,  and  for  society  alone,  that  man  pos- 
sesses a  moral  nature ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  only  in  society  that  man 
can  fully  enjoy  himself.  Need  we  ask  of  what  use  were  benevolence, 
justice,  generosity,  compassion,  love  of  approbation,  any  more  than  the 
power  of  communicating  intelligence,  were  there  no  kindred  beings  as 
objects  of  the  exercise  of  these  endowments  ?    And  certain  it  is,  that 


464 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  UNITING 


without  benevolence,  a  sense  of  justice,  the  love  of  approbation  and  the 
power  of  communicating  information,  man  would  be  unfit  for  society 
and  incapable  of  enjoying  any  pleasure  from  it.  Hence  the  conclusion 
that  the  animal  passions  are  not  more  necessary  to  the  preservation  of 
our  own  existence,  or  to  the  continuance  of  our  species,  than  our  moral 
nature  is  to  the  enjoyment  of  society.  And  hence,  says  the  moralist, 
oxygen  is  not  more  essential  to  combustion,  nor  respiration  to  human 
life,  than  morality  to  the  well-being  of  society.  The  Christian  philo- 
sopher ascends  only  one  step  further,  and  alleges  that,  as  without  a 
material  constitution  a  material  universe  could  not  be  enjoyed,  as  with- 
out a  moral  nature  society  could  not  be  appreciated,  so  without  that 
religious  affection  called  veneration — a  sublime  part  of  man's  moral 
constitution — God  himself  could  not  be  known  or  enjoyed. 

But,  to  reinforce  this  topic,  we  shall  only  add  that  it  is  not  the 
simple  possession  of  any  capacity  or  power,  but  the  exercise  of  it,  that 
affords  either  utility  or  pleasure  to  ourselves  or  others.  Hence,  it  is 
not  the  possession  of  a  moral  nature  any  more  than  the  possession  of 
an  animal  organization,  but  the  employment  and  exercise  of  that  nature 
in  society,  in  all  religious  and  moral  feeling,  according  to  enlightened 
intellect,  that  promotes  our  own  felicity  or  that  of  others  :  so  important 
is  it,  then,  that  our  moral  nature  should  be  properly  educated. 

Our  third  argument  is,  that  nature  itself,  or  the  universe,  is  consti- 
tuted in  harmony  with  the  supremacy  of  the  moral  powers  guided  by 
intellect y  Our  most  profound  moralists  and  our  most  accomplished 
teachers  have  been  constrained  to  announce  it  as  the  result  of  their 
most  studious  and  deep  researches  into  the  physical  constitution  of  the 
world,  that  ''it  is  actually  arranged  on  the  principle  of  favoring  virtue 
and  punishing  vice,''  just  as  evidently  as  it  is  ''adapted  to  all  the  facul- 
ties of  man  as  an  intelligent,  moral  and  religious  being.''  "When- 
ever"— says  one  of  our  best  writers  on  the  constitution  of  man — 
"  whenever  the  dictates  of  the  moral  sentiments,  properly  illuminated 
by  the  knowledge  of  science  and  of  moral  and  religious  duty,  are 
opposed  by  the  solicitations  of  the  animal  propensities,  the  latter  must 
yield;  otherwise,  by  the  constitution  of  external  nature,  evil  will 
inevitably  ensue."  This  is  what  we  mean  by  alleging  that  nature  is 
constituted  in  harmony  with  the  supremacy  of  the  moral  feelings, 
guided  by  intellect.  Hence,  the  happiness  not  merely  of  the  individual 
himself,  but  of  the  whole  human  race,  by  the  insuperable  arrange- 
ments of  the  Creator,  are  made  consequent  upon  the  obedience  of  a 
cultivated  and  enlightened  moral  nature  to  a  moral  code.  This  being 
conceded — as,  indeed,  it  must  be  by  every  philosopher  enlightened  in 


MORAL  WITH  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE. 


465. 


tht  studies  of  nature — it  authorizes  the  conclusion  that  the  voice  of  the 
Creator  is  heard  in  all  his  works  and  by  all  his  laws,  bearing  testimony 
in  favor  of  bestowing  superlative  attention  on  the  moral  culture  of 
youth.  May  we  add,  that  if  this  be  apparent  to  the  philosopher,  who 
sees  the  bearings  of  physical  nature  upon  the  physical  and  moral  con- 
stitution of  man,  much  more  evident  is  it  to  the  student  of  the  Bible, 
Ihat  the  violation  of  moral  principle,  not  only  in  consequence  of  the 
constitution  of  the  realms  of  nature,  but  also  and  more  especially  in 
pursuance  of  every  divine  law  and  institution,  must  be  accompanied 
with  pain.  So  important  is  it,  then,  that  the  moral  culture  should  not 
only  occupy  a  place,  but  the  most  prominent  pla.ce,  in  the  education 
of  youth. 

Although  we  have  in  these  three  arguments,  as  we  judge,  evidence 
enough  of  the  sovereign  importance  of  moral  culture,  still,  to  illustrate 
and  enforce  the  importance  of  the  subject,  we  shall  confirm  our  reason- 
ings by  the  testimony  of  two  or  three  distinguished  names  in  the  com- 
monwealth of  letters. 

Lord  Kames  says,  It  appears  unaccountable  that  our  teachers 
generally  have  directed  their  instructions  to  the  head,  with  very  little 
attention  to  the  heart.  From  Aristotle  down  to  Locke,  books  without 
number  have  been  composed  for  cultivating  and  improving  the  under- 
standing; few  in  proportion  for  cultivating  and  improving  the  affec- 
tions. Yet  surely,  ao  man  is  intended  to  be  more  an  active  than  a 
contemplative  being,  the  educating  of  a  young  man  to  behave  properly 
in  society  is  of  still  greater  importance  than  the  making  him  even  a 
Solomon  for  knowledge." 

Locke  says,  "  It  is  virtue — direct  virtue — which  is  the  hard  and 
valuable  part  to  be  aimed  at  in  education,  and  not  a  forward  pertness 
or  any  little  arts  of  shifting.  AU  other  considerations  and  accomplish- 
ments should  give  way  and  be  postponed  to  this.  This  is  the  solid  and 
substantial  good,  which  tutors  should  not  only  read  lectures  and  talk 
f,  but  the  labor  and  art  of  education  should  furnish  the  mind  with 
and  fasten  there,  and  never  cease  till  the  young  man  had  a  true  relish 
of  it,  and  placed  his  strength,  his  glory  and  his  pleasure  in  it. 

Learning  must  be  had,  but  in  the  second  place,  as  subservient  only 
to  greater  qualities.  Seek  out  somebody  (as  your  son's  tutor)  that 
may  know  how  discreetly  to  form  his  manners ;  place  him  in  hands 
where  you  may  as  much  as  possible  secure  his  innocence,  cherish  and 
nurse  up  the  good,  and  gently  correct  and  weed  out  any  bad  inclina- 
tions and  settle  him  in  good  habits.  This  is  the  main  point ;  and,  this 
being  provided  for,  learning  may  be  had  into  the  bargain. 

30 


466 


HE  IMPORTANCE  OF  UNITING 


But^  under  whose  care  soever  a  child  is  put  to  be  taught,  during 
the  tender  and  flexible  years  of  his  life,  this  is  certain — it  should  be 
one  who  thinks  Latin  and  language  the  least  part  of  education;  one 
who,  knowing  how  much  virtue  and  a  well-tempered  soul  is  to  be  pre- 
ferred to  any  sort  of  learning  or  language,  makes  it  his  chief  business 
to  form  the  mind  of  his  scholars  and  give  that  a  right  direction ; 
which,  if  once  got,  though  all  the  rest  should  be  neglected,  would,  in 
due  time,  produce  all  the  rest ;  and  which,  if  it  be  not  got  and  settled 
so  as  to  keep  out  ill  and  vicious  habits,  languages  and  sciences  and  all 
the  other  accomplishments  of  education  will  be  to  no  purpose  but  to 
make  the  worse  or  more  dangerous  man." 

Milton  says,  "The  end  of  learning  is  to  repair  the  ruin  of  our  first 
parents  by  the  knowledge  of  God  aright,  and  out  of  that  knowledge 
to  love  him,  to  imitate  him,  to  be  like  him,  as  we  may  the  nearest,  by 
possessing  our  souls  of  true  virtue,  which,  being  united  to  the  heavenly 
grace  of  faith,  make  up  the  highest  perfection." 

And  St.  Pierre,  in  his  Studies  of  Nature,"  often  enjoins  that  reli- 
gion and  morality  should  be  the  first  lessons  communicated  to  children, 
because  this  education  more  than  any  ether  fits  them  for  society,  for 
usefulness  and  happiness.* 

Unpopular  and  unpleasant  as  the  task  may  be,  it  is  necessary,  to 
the  accomplishment  of  the  object  contemplated  in  the  discussion  of 
this  question,  that  we  not  only  state  the  fact  that  moral  culture  is 
an  essential  part  of  national  and  popular  education  almost  wholly 
neglected,  but  also  examine  the  reasons  why  it  is  so.  That  it  is 
neglected  to  an  alarming  degree  is,  alas !  too  easily  proved  from  the 
fact  that  the  great  majority  of  the  best-educated  portion  of  our  youth 
are  decidedly  immoral,  at  least  in  the  Christian  acceptation  of  that 
word. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  we  have  not  regular  and  authentic  statistics 
of  the  educated  classes  of  society  as  respects  the  influence  which  they 
exert  in  society  for  or  against  religion  and  morality.  Had  we  correct 
reports  of  the  amount  of  moral  and  immoral  influence  exerted  upon  the 
whole  community  through  only  the  graduates  of  English  and  American 
colleges  and  universities,  we  should  feel  ourselves  much  more  able  to 
understand  and  set  fojth  their  actual  value  in  forming  the  character 
and  in  deciding  the  destiny  of  a  people.  In  the  absence  of  such  definite 
information,  we  have  to  depend  too  much  on  gross  estimates,  founded 
upon  our  own  observation  and  the  conjectural  calculations  of  others. 


*  Fourteenth  Study. 


MORAL  WITH  INTELLECTUAL  OULTURE. 


467 


Something  very  like  what  we  want,  yet  not  exactly  in  kind,  has  been 
attempted  in  the  reports  of  the  Minister  of  Public  Instruction  in 
France.  From  a  recent  report  on  the  state  of  education  in  that 
country,  by  M.  Carle,  it  appears  that,  in  that  country  at  least,  there 
is  no  apparent  connection  between  education  and  morality,  but,  upon 
the  whole,  that  education  is  extremely  prejudicial  to  both  religion  and 
morality.  And  certainly  from  every  document  to  which  we  have 
access,  it  would  appear  that  in  Germany,  Spain,  Italy,  and,  indeed,  on 
the  European  continent  generally,  the  educated  classes,  taken  as  a 
whole,  exert  a  very  immoral  influence  upon  the  whole  community.  It 
were,  indeed,  well  for  our  own  and  the  mother  country  that  the  evi- 
dence were  less  decisive  than  it  is  that  such,  at  present,  is  the  actual 
tendency  of  the  established  modes  of  education  in  both  communities. 

Were  I  to  make  my  own  personal  observation  and  acquaintance  the 
exclusive  data  of  my  estimates  of  the  moral  tendencies  of  the  grammar- 
school,  college  and  university  course  of  education — judging  from  hun- 
dreds, if  not  from  thousands,  of  individual  cases  that  have  come  under 
my*  inspection  both  in  Europe  and  America — I  must  say  that  the 
tendencies  are  decidedly  immoral,  and  that  I  remember  no  instance  of 
distinguished  moral  worth  that  owed  not  its  existence  to  the  influence 
of  parental  piety,  which  at  an  early  period  had  so  deeply  imbued  the 
mind  with  moral  sentiment,  or  so  fully  developed  the  moral  powers,  as 
to  place  the  virtuous  youth  beyond  the  contaminating  influence  of  the 
polluted  fountains  of  Grrecian  and  Boman  literature  or  the  vitiated  and 
impure  atmosphere  of  licentious  classmates,  who  happened  to  be  less 
favored  with  a  pious  parentage  than  himself. 

It  is  remarkable  how  much  more  men  are  wont  to  admire  intellectual 
than  moral  worth.  Parents  are  usually  far  more  delighted  to  perceive 
in  their  children  the  dawnings  of  talent  and  of  genius  than  of  benevo- 
lence and  philanthropy ;  and  history  dwells  with  peculiar  complacency 
upon  the  names  of  those  who  have  rendered  themselves  illustrious  for 
depth  of  learning  or  for  genius  and  ambition — of  sages  and  philosophers 
— of  chiefs  and  warriors :  while  most  of  the  true  benefactors  of  the 
human  family  are  scarcely  noticed,  and  their  superior  merits  are  un- 
discovered and  forgotten.  This  disposition  to  enhance  mental  endow- 
ments above  moral  excellence  is  manifested  in  the  admiration  bestowed 
upon  those  to  whom  belong  a  precocious  development.  Thus,  men 
are  fiUed  with  astonishment  when  they  read  of  a  Henderson,  who 
taught  Latin,  at  eight  years  of  age,  in  Kingswood  School,  and  Greek  at 
fourteen,  at  Lady  Huntingdon's  College,  in  Wales — of  a  Candiac,  who 
^'.culd  translate  Latin  at  five  years,  and  at  six  read  Greek  and  Hebrew 


468 


THE  IMPOETANCE  OF  UNITING 


to  the  admiration  of  the  learned,  being  at  the  same  time  well  versed  in 
arithmetic,  geography,  history,  geometry  and  antiquities — of  a  Bara- 
tier,  who,  at  the  age  of  four,  could  converse  with  his  mother  in  French, 
with  his  father  in  Latin  and  with  the  servants  in  German ;  who  was 
perfectly  acquainted  with  Greek  at  six,  with  Hebrew  at  eight,  and  in 
his  eleventh  year  translated  from  the  Hebrew  into  French  the  travels 
of  the  Eabbi  Benjamin  of  Tudela,  which  he  enriched  with  valuable 
annotations ;  and  who,  when,  upon  visiting  the  University  of  Halle,  he 
was  offered  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  in  his  thirteenth  year,  drew 
up  fourteen  theses,  upon  which  he  disputed  next  morning  with  such 
ability  and  precision  that  he  delighted  and  surprised  a  crowded 
audience — or  of  a  Mirandola,  who,  when  a  boy,  was  one  of  the  best 
poets  and  orators  of  the  age ;  who  commenced  the  study  of  the  canon 
law  at  fourteen,  and  at  sixteen  comprised  the  "  Essentials  of  the  De- 
cretals" (contained  in  three  volumes,  folio)  in  an  abridgment  which 
won  the  applause  of  the  most  learned  canonists;  who,  at  eighteen, 
knew  a  great  number  of  languages,  and,  at  twenty-three,  published 
at  Eome  nine  hundred  propositions  in  logic,  mathemathics,  physic, 
divinity,  magic  and  cabalistic  learning,  drawn  from  Latin,  Greek, 
Jewish  and  Arabian  writers,  upon  which  he  challenged  the  learned  in 
all  the  schools  of  Italy  to  dispute  with  him. 

Hence  a  Orichton  has  been  surnamed  "The  Admirable,"  and  excited 
the  wonder  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  Before  he  was  twenty,  he 
spoke  and  wrote  ten  different  languages,  and  was  master  of  all  the 
sciences,  of  riding,  singing  and  dancing,  and  playpd  upon  almost  all 
sorts  of  musical  instruments.  At  Paris,  he  challenged  all  who  were 
skilled  in  any  art  or  science  to  dispute  with  him  in  any  of  them — in 
Hebrew,  Syriac,  Arabic,  Latin,  Greek,  Sclavonian,  French,  Spanish, 
Italian,  English,  Dutch  and  Flemish,  in  prose  or  verse — at  the  end  of 
six  weeks;  during  which  time  he  regarded  nothing  but  his  amuse- 
ments, while  his  learned  competitors  were  preparing  for  the  contest. 
He  acquitted  himself  beyond  all  expectation.  At  Rome,  also,  he  dis- 
played astonishing  powers  and  knowledge,  and  sustained  for  three  days 
a  scholastic  conflict  against  all  opposers,  in  any  form  they  chose. 

Hence,  too,  a  Dousa,  who  was  conspicuous  as  a  translator  and  a  poet, 
was  called  by  Joseph  Scaliger  "the  ornament  of  the  world;"  and  we 
are  called  upon  to  admire  a  Marcilia  Euphrosyne,  who  at  ten  years  of 
age  had  made  extracts  from  the  most  famous  historians  and  orators, 
and  could  write  Latin  and  Greek  correctly,  and  at  thirteen  was  con- 
spicuous for  her  knowledge  and  taste  in  architecture;  or  the  self- 
taught  Constantia  Grierson,  of  Kilkenny,  who  was  mistress  of  French, 


MORAL  WITH  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE, 


469 


Latin,  G-reek  and  Hebrew  at  nineteen,  besides  having  a  good  know- 
ledge of  mathematics  and  other  branches  of  learning ;  or  a  Dermody, 
who  was  an  eminent  linguist  and  poet  at  ten  years  of  age. 

And  hence  Juliette  d'Aulincourt — who,  at  the  age  of  eleven,  was  per- 
fectly acquainted  with  ancient  and  modern  history  and  possessed  of 
great  powers  of  mind  and  memory — was  cited  by  French  mothers  as 
a  model  for  their  daughters;  while  those  of  Italy  pointed  to  a  Lilia 
Fundana,  who,  though  she  died  in  her  fifteenth  year,  was  celebrated 
beyond  the  Roman  territory  for  her  learning  and  accomplishments. 

Yet,  after  all  the  applause  and  admiration  which  men  are  accustomed 
to  bestow  upon  mere  intellectual  superiority,  it  is  no  more  to  be  com- 
pared with  moral  virtue  than  is  the  transient  splendor  of  the  meteor 
to  the  life-giving  radiance  of  the  orb  of  day.  Some  of  the  illustrious 
persons  just  enumerated  died  in  childhood  or  in  youth  from  the  deli- 
cacy of  their  organization  ;  while  the  gifted  Dermody  perished  through 
intemperance,  and  the  Admirable  Crichton"  lost  his  life  in  a  quarrel 
about  a  mistress  in  the  streets  of  Mantua.  None  of  them  can  be  said 
to  have  benefited  humanity,  and  the  world  is  nothing  the  better  for 
their  having  lived  in  it. 

Far  difi'erent,  indeed,  are  the  merits  of  those  honored  spirits,  and 
their  conduct  far  more  worthy  of  imitation,  who  have  devoted  their 
intellectual  powers  to  the  service  of  morality  and  their  lives  to  the 
happiness  of  mankind,  and  who,  if  they  have  not  been  crowned  with 
bays,  have  been  embalmed  in  the  tears  of  the  orphan,  the  widow  or  the 
oppressed,  and  by  their  example  have  so  illustrated  the  beauty  and 
dignity  of  virtue  that  generations  yet  unborn  will  feel  its  influence. 
The  names  of  Penn  and  Wilberforce  will  deserve  to  be  remembered 
while  men  have  rights  and  human  nature  has  a  friend ;  while  to  the 
remotest  ages  the  victims  of  misfortune  will  be  cheered  by  the  name 
of  Howard,  who,  in  the  language  of  Burke,  "  visited  all  Europe,  not  to 
survey  the  sumptuousness  of  palaces  or  the  stateliness  of  temples,  not 
to  make  accurate  admeasurements  of  the  remains  of  ancient  grandeur 
nor  to  form  a  scale  of  the  curiosities  of  modern  art,  not  to  collect 
medals  or  to  collate  manuscripts,  but  to  dive  into  the  depths  of  dun- 
geons, to  plunge  into  the  infection  of  hospitals,  to  survey  the  mansions 
of  sorrow  and  pain,  to  take  the  gauge  and  dimensions  of  human  misery, 
depression  and  contempt,  to  remember  the  forgotten,  to  attend  to  the 
neglected,  to  visit  the  forsaken  and  compare  and  collate  the  distresses 
of  all  men  in  all  countries.  His  plan  was  original,  and  as  full  of  genius 
as  it  was  of  philanthropy :  it  was  a  voyage  of  discovery — a  circum- 
uavigation  of  humanity." 


470 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  UNITING 


It  is  a  misfortune  that  parents  not  a  few  often  speak  in  tlie  presence- 
of  their  children  as  if  they  would  rather  see  them  great  than  good, 
talented  than  moral,  cunning  than  candid,  selfish  than  generous^ 
knavish  than  honorable.  They  would  seem  as  if  at  all  pains  to  cherish 
in  their  infant  bosoms  contempt  for  the  poor,  pride,  arrogance,  deceit, 
ambition,  selfishness,  rather  than  to  have  them  admire  goodness  for  its 
own  sake,  whether  associated  with  wealth  or  poverty,  beauty  or  de- 
formity. And  yet  they  are  sometimes  heard  to  complain  that  theii 
children  are  what  they  have  taught  them  to  be,  and  are  not  what  they 
never  inculcated  by  precept  or  example. 

So  commonly  have  all  the  rank  vices  of  the  age  been  found  most 
conspicuous  among  the  educated  classes,  that  philosophers  for  the  last 
century  have  been  often  employed  in  inquiries  into  the  causes  of  this 
sad  discrepancy.  They  have  generally  agreed  that  it  is  owing,  in  a 
great  measure,  to  the  devotion  to  Pagan  literature,  mythology,  and 
morality  necessary  to  collegiate  honors.  There  is  so  much  more  of 
Grecian  and  Eoman  ambition,  cruelty,  perfidy,  murder,  rapine,  in- 
justice, selfishness,  debauchery,  general  licentiousness  and  lewdness  in 
an  academic  course,  than  of  the  Christian  virtues  and  morality,  that 
most  theorists  on  the  moral  condition  of  the  learned  would  ascribe  to 
this  the  delinquencies  of  the  age.  "  I  do  not  hesitate  a  single  moment,'' 
says  that  moral  and  beautiful  writer,  St.  Pierre,  "  to  ascribe  to  our 
modern  education  the  restless,  ambitious,  spiteful,  pragmatical  and 
intolerant  spirit  of  most  Europeans.  The  effects  of  it  are  visible  in 
the  miseries  of  the  nations.  It  is  remarkable  that  those  which  have 
been  most  agitated  internally  and  externally  are  precisely  the  nationaf 
among  which  our  boasted  style  of  education  has  flourished  the  most. 
The  truth  of  this  may  be  ascertained  by  stepping  from  country  to 
country,  from  age  to  age.  Politicians  have  imagined  that  they  could 
discern  the  cause  of  public  misfortunes  in  the  different  forms  of  govern- 
ment. But  Turkey  is  quiet,  and  England  is  frequently  in  a  state  of 
agitation.  All  political  forms  are  indifferent  to  the  happiness  of  a 
state,  as  has  been  said,  provided  the  people  are  happy :  we  might  have 
added,  and  provided  the  children  are  so  likewise. 

"  The  philosopher  Laloubere,  envoy  from  Louis  XIV.  to  Siam,  says, 
in  the  account  which  he  gives  of  his  mission,  that  the  Asiatics  laugh  us 
to  scorn  when  we  boast  to  them  of  the  excellence  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion as  contributing  to  the  happiness  of  states.  They  ask,  on  reading 
our  histories,  how  is  it  possible  that  our  religion  should  be  so  humane 
while  we  wage  war  ten  times  more  frequently  than  they  do.  What 
would  they  say,  then,  did  they  see  among  us  perpetual  lawsuits,  the- 


MOKAL  WITH  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE. 


471 


malicious  censor iousness  and  calumny  of  our  societies,  the  jealousy  of 
courts,  the  quarrels  of  the  populace,  the  duels  of  the  better  sort  and 
our  animosities  of  every  kind,  nothing  similar  to  which  is  to  be  seen  in 
Asia,  in  Africa,  among  the  Tartars  or  among  savages,  on  the  testimony 
of  missionaries  themselves  ?  For  my  own  part,  I  discern  the  cause  of 
all  these  particular  and  general  disorders  in  our  ambitious  education. 
When  a  man  has  drunk,  from  infancy  upward,  into  the  cup  of  ambi- 
tion, the  thirst  of  it  cleaves  to  him  all  his  life  long,  and  it  degenerates 
into  a  burning  fever  at  the  very  feet  of  the  altars."  Here  we  have  the 
fact  and  one  of  its  chief  causes  clearly  and  forcibly  set  before  us.  To 
this  we  would  add  a  second  cause — viz. : — 

Intellectual  greatness  is  estimated  far  above  moral  excellencies. 
Intellectual  splendor  is  as  the  ruby  and  the  diamond,  while  moral 
goodness,  however  eminent,  is  as  the  pavement  in  the  street.  The 
eulogies  on  splendid  talent,  great  eloquence,  diplomatic  skill,  forensic 
tact  and  clever  management  are  long  and  loud  and  numerous ;  while 
the  praises  of  virtuous  deeds,  in  gentle  whispers,  short  and  far  be- 
tween, in  private  corners,  fall  upon  our  ears  as  matters  of  inferior 
moment. 

But  a  third  reason  of  the  neglect  of  moral  culture  is  found  in  a  very 
common  error — viz.  in  the  supposition  that  in  cultivating  the  intellect 
we  are  cultivating  the  moral  sentiments  and  feelings — that  in  en- 
lightening the  head  we  are  improving  the  heart. 

Were  it  not  a  matter  of  fact,  forcing  itself  upon  our  daily  observa- 
tion, that  there  is  a  possibility  of  intellectual  culture  without  moral 
culture,  one  might  be  induced,  from  speculative  reasonings,  to  conclude 
that  in  cultivating  the  mind  he  was  cultivating  the  morals  of  youth. 
To  the  philosophic  Christian  it  is  impossible  to  study  nature  without 
seeing  God  in  every  law  and  in  every  arrangement  of  nature.  The 
Christian  philosopher  will  therefore  be  apt  to  conclude  that  the  know- 
ledge of  nature  and  the  knowledge  of  God  are  not  only  intimately,  but, 
in  some  degree,  inseparably,  connected ;  yet  society,  as  it  now  exists, 
presents  to  him  the  phenomenon  of  an  avowed  atheistic  philosopher — ■ 
of  one  who  not  only  studies  nature  without  seeing  God  the  .Supreme 
Architect  and  Lawgiver  of  nature,  but  of  one  who,  while  he  boasts  of 
the  knowledge  of  nature,  denies  the  existence  of  the  God  of  nature. 
This  being  possible,  it  must  not  be  thought  incredible  that  we  may 
have  a  system  of  intellectual  culture  without  any  moral  influence,  or 
that  the  intellectual  powers  of  youth  may  in  some  degree  be  highly 
cultivated,  while  the  moral  powers  are  in  no  respect  improved. 

True,  indeed,  philosophically  and  religiously  regarded,  every  man  ip 


472 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  UNITING 


Qncultivated,  uneducated  and  impolite  who  is  immoral  or  profane. 
With  the  man  of  true  science,  every  person  is  uneducated  who  cannot 
or  who  does  not  discern  moral  excellence,  who  cannot  or  does  not  ap- 
preciate it.  And,  if  we  except  pure  mathematics,  we  find  it  difficult  to 
conceive  how  a  person  can  understand  any  one  science  without  discern- 
ing and  appreciating  the  nature  and  value  of  moral  and  religious 
truth ;  for  vapors  do  not  more  naturally  ascend  to  the  tops  of  the 
mountains,  nor  rivers  more  uniformly  descend  to  the  valleys,  than  do 
all  the  facts  and  truths  of  genuine  science  lead  to  religion  or  morality. 
Yet,  by  some  unpropitious  management,  intellectual  and  moral  culture 
have  been  divorced,  and  we  have  got  up  systems  of  education  and 
schools  for  youth,  the  unnatural  and  unscientific  object  of  which  is  to 
cultivate  the  perceptive  and  intellectual  powers  without  the  moral,  and 
to  give  a  fashionable,  a  popular  and  a  scientific  education  without  any 
knowledge  of  religious  or  moral  truth.  The  consequence  has  been 
that  amongst  the  most  highly  educated  there  is  often  less  religion  and 
less  morality  than  amongst  the  uneducated  community.  So  generally 
has  the  notion  obtained  that  religion  and  morality  are  neither  sciences 
nor  arts,  neither  useful  nor  elegant  accomplishments,  that  it  has 
become  expedient  to  prove  that  moral  culture  is  an  essential  part  of  a 
good  education. 

The  innumerable  instances  of  moral  degradation  and  ruin  found  in 
the  ranks  of  the  most  talented  and  best  educated  in  popular  esteem, 
are  beginning  to  excite  a  laudable  interest  on  the  subject  of  education. 
The  fact  that  thousands  of  the  flower  of  the  community  are  forever 
ruined  by  receiving  a  college  education,  and  that  thousands  of  the 
wisest  and  best  fathers,  who  have  sons  full  of  promise  and  ample  means 
of  giving  them  a  liberal  education,  are  deterred  by  the  countless  bank- 
ruptcies in  fame  and  fortune  amongst  the  educated,  imperiously  demands 
a  change  in  the  whole  system,  or  at  least  furnishes  an  unanswerable 
argument  in  favor  of  uniting  a  rational  system  of  moral  training  with 
the  intellectual  in  the  education  of  youth. 

Not  only  the  absolute  ruin  of  many  of  the  educated,  but  the  wide- 
spread mischief  entailed  upon  society  by  the  powerful  influence  of 
educated  talent,  shows  that  there  is  no  necessary  union  between  talent, 
education  and  morality,  and  also  admonishes  us  of  the  necessity  of  a 
more  infallible  moral  culture  than  is  at  present  in  existence.  All  the 
world  acknowledge  that  education  gives  power — that  it  enables  its  pos- 
sessor to  be  greatly  advantageous  or  greatly  injurious  to  society.  A 
few  educated  persons  in  society  are  like  an  armed  band  well  practised 
in  all  the  tactics  of  war  amongst  an  unarmed  and  undisciplined  com- 


MORAL  WITH  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE. 


473 


tuunity.  They  may  be  its  best  friends  or  its  worst  enemies,  according 
to  circumstances  and  as  they  employ  themselves.  We  all  know  what 
talent  and  some  learning  could  achieve  in  the  life  and  labors  of  Vol- 
taire, Diderot,  D'Alembert,  Kousseau,  and  in  the  other  profane  and 
licentious  wits  who  introduced  the  reign  of  terror"  and  the  horrid 
scenes  of  the  French  Kevolution,  and  whose  writings  to  this  hour, 
sustained  by  Hobbes,  Volney,  Chesterfield,  Hume,  Paine,  Taylor  and 
others  of  minor  fame,  are  flooding  society  with  profanity,  impiety, 
debauchery,  rapine,  duelling,  assassination,  and  every  species  of  sen- 
suality, fraud  and  injustice.  The  influence  on  society  of  such  men, 
contrasted  with  that  of  Bacon,  Locke,  Newton,  Boyle,  Euler,  Addison, 
Milton,  Grotius,  Butler,  and  a  thousand  kindred  spirits  who  have  be- 
stowed science,  religion  and  morality  on  millions  of  our  race,  fully 
proves  that  talent  and  learning,  with  religion  and  morality,  are  the 
choicest  blessings.  Without  these,  they  are  the  most  grievous  curses 
to  the  individual  and  society. 

A  fourth  reason  we  shall  now  ofl*er  for  the  general  neglect  of  moral 
culture  in  popular  systems  of  education  is,  that  religion  and  morality 
are  matters  of  private  and  individual  concern,  and  that  it  belongs  to 
parents  and  ministers  of  religion,  rather  than  to  the  preceptors  of 
literature  or  to  schools  and  colleges,  to  take  charge  of  such  concerns." 

And  what  shall  become  of  those  who  have  irreligious  and  immoral 
parents  and  no  ministers  of  religion  ?  This  view  of  the  matter  appears 
to  us  exceedingly  erroneous  and  in  the  highest  degree  detrimental  to 
the  whole  community.  I  am  aware,  indeed,  that,  like  the  Berlin  and 
Milan  Decrees,  it  is  a  special  arrangement  authorized  only  in  preter- 
natural circumstances  by  the  great  belligerent  and  antagonist  powers, 
in  contravention  of  the  common  and  supreme  decisions  of  the  inter- 
national code  in  times  of  general  amity  and  peace.  It  is,  indeed,  a 
melancholy  fact  that  we  have  no  common  religion  even  amongst  Pro- 
testants, and  that  in  a  distracted,  divided  and  alienated  community,  to 
secure  party  interests  and  to  prevent  rival  ascendencies,  we  make  a 
decree  that  it  shall  be  unfair,  ungenerous,  impolitic  and  even  immoral, 
if  not  irreligious,  in  any  teacher,  guardian  or  other  person  having  in 
ward  any  infants  or  minors,  to  make  a  single  suggestion  on  the  whole 
subject  of  religion,  lest  in  so  doing  his  party  should  gain  some  advan- 
tage or  its  rival  some  loss  by  the  operation.  Therefore  it  is  decreed 
that  the  subject  of  religious  instruction  shall  belong  exclusively  to 
parents  and  ministers  of  religion,  and,  by  consequence,  all  the  grand, 
vital  impulses  to  morality  are  taken  away  from  schools  and  teachers; 
lor,  in  spite  of  skepticism,  deism,  atheism  or  pantheism,  there  is  an 


474 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  UNITING 


inseparable  connection  between  true  morality  and  true  religion.  It  is 
religion — the  religion  of  the  Bible,  as  we  all  agree — that  suggests  the 
master-motives  and  controlling  impulses  to  moral' ty.  It  is  the  belief 
of  the  Self-Existent,  of  the  Eternal  Majesty,  whose  omniscient  eye 
pierces  night  and  day,  earth  and  sky,  time  and  eternity;  whose  ear 
tries  every  sound,  hears  every  whisper,  and  whose  memory  records 
every  thought  and  word  and  action  for  a  day  of  trial ;  that  prompts, 
impels  and  guides  the  heart,  the  tongue,  the  hand,  the  foot,  in  the 
paths  of  virtue  and  morality.  Apart  from  this  belief,  morality  is  mere 
policy  or  public  utility,  or  the  hypocrisy  of  a  polite  education. 

And  can  we  not  have  a  common  religion,  and  free  ourselves  from 
this  incubus  that  paralyzes  every  vital  effort  to  introduce  a  purer,  a 
brighter  and  a  happier  day  on  our  country  and  the  world?  Pro- 
testants will  all  say.  We  may — we  can — we  ought.  Let  them  say,  We 
will — we  shall ;  and  it  is  done.  Meanwhile,  let  the  simple  facts,  with- 
out the  theories  of  religious  belief — let  the  belief  of  God,  of  Christ,  of 
immortality,  of  eternal  life  and  eternal  death,  without  any  partisan 
theory — let  temperance,  righteousness,  benevolence,  and  judgment  to 
come,  without  metaphysics,  be  inculcated  on  one,  on  all,  by  every 
parent,  guardian,  teacher,  and  in  every  school  and  college  aud  uni- 
versity in  our  land — and  we  may  have — nay,  we  shall  have — quite 
another  and  a  better  state  of  things.  The  evidences,  the  absolute  cer- 
tainty and  divine  authority,  of  the  Christian  religion,  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  ought  to  be  taught  and  inculcated,  as  an  essential 
part  of  a  good  and  liberal  and  polite  education,  in  every  high-school  in 
Christendom. 

But  there  are  some  who,  in  their  ultra-republicanism,  say  we  ought 
to  keep  our  children  from  any  religious  bias,  creed  or  sentiment  till 
they  are  of  mature  age  and  reason,  and  then  leave  it  to  themselves  to 
choose  what  religious  or  moral  system  they  may,  in  their  independent 
judgment  and  full  maturity  of  intellect,  judge  most  suitable  and  profit- 
able. This  is  the  superlative  of  ultraism.  Such  a  being  as  that  de- 
scribed, free  from  religious  or  moral  bias,  educated,  too,  in  the  prin- 
ciples of  literature  and  general  science,  marching  forth  in  manhood's 
prime  in  quest  of  a  religious  creed,  in  search  of  religious  and  moral 
principles,  never  yet  appeared  amongst  the  children  of  men.  It  is  full 
as  rational  and  as  probable  as  the  late  theory  of  making  man  immortal. 
Some  French  physiologist  recently  discovered  that  all  the  diseases  that 
infect  the  human  family  are  swallowed  down  into  the  stomach  in  the 
form  of  aliments  of  nature,  and,  therefore,  logically  argues  that  men 
wou' d  never  be  sick,  and,  consequently,  would  never  die,  if  they  could 


MORAL  WITH  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE. 


475 


live  without  eating,  and  very  philosophically  recommends  a  new  art 
of  living  by  absorption,  as  a  salutary  substitute  for  the  dangerous  and 
alarming  process  of  eating  and  drinking. 

Some  principles  of  religion  and  morality,  or  of  irreligion  and  immo- 
rality, must  be  imbibed  in  society  as  it  does  now,  or  as  it  ever  did, 
exist,  by  every  child  before  it  can  reason  or  judge  for  itself;  and  the^ 
only  alternative  left  is  to  decide  whether  parents  and  teachers  shall 
leave  it  to  accident  what  these  principles  shall  be,  or  whether  they 
shall  attempt,  in  obedience  to  philosophy,  to  Solomon  and  to  Paul,  (for, 
in  this,  these  three  are  one,)  to  ''train  up  the  infant  in  the  way  he 
should  go,"  in  the  persuasion  that  "when  he  is  grown  he  will  not 
depart  from  it." 

The  soil  of  the  human  understanding  and  heart  must  receive  some 
seed  before  we  arrive  at  boyhood,  much  more  before  we  arrive  at  man- 
hood. The  question  then  is,  whether  we  ourselves,  the  parents  and 
the  teachers  of  our  youth,  ought  to  plant  the  seeds  of  piety  and 
humanity  in  their  understandings  and  hearts,  or  whether  we  ought  to 
let  the  soil  bring  forth  the  thorn,  the  thistle,  the  brier,  or  the  other 
rank  weeds  of  vice  and  immorality  whose  seeds  may  happen  to  be 
borne  upon  every  polluted  breath  which  at  this  hour  infests  the  city 
and  the  country,  the  public  and  the  private  walks  of  life.  It  is  not, 
methinks,  the  part  of  reason  to  prove  a  self-evident  proposition :  we, 
therefore,  proceed  to  the  last  point  of  our  discussion,  without  which  it 
would  seem  to  be  without  any  interesting  point  and  without  much 
profit.    That  point  is  embraced  in  the  question — 

How  shall  moral  culture  best  accompany  intellectual  in  the  educa- 
tion of  youth  ? 

If  at  any  time  we  might  indulge  in  a  solecism,  or  in  a  paradox,  or 
in  something  not  exactly  represented  by  either  of  these  words,  we 
would  here  ask  the  privilege  to  say  that  moral  culture  must  always 
accompany  intellectual  culture,  by  always  preceding  and  always  fol- 
lowing it.  But  how  can  it  precede  it  and  at  the  same  time  accompany 
it  ?  It  can  precede  it  in  the  work  of  training  or  improving  the  moral 
faculties  themselves,  by  exercising  them  before  we  artificially  exercise 
the  intellectual  faculties.  By  presenting  an  object  worthy  of  sympathy 
or  of  benevolence,  and  by  exercising  the  mind,  or  the  faculty  of  bene- 
volence, upon  this  subject,  we  may  improve  the  special  organ  by  which 
the  mind  operates,  if  there  be  any,  and  certainly  the  faculty  of  bene- 
volence; and,  while  the  object  is  presented  and  the  faculty  exercised,, 
we  may  direct  the  perceptive  and  perhaps  employ  the  reflective  powers^ 
upon  this  object.    In  some  such  way  would  we  explain  ourselves^ 


476 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  UNITING 


when  asked  to  unriddle  this  rather  enigmatic  representation.  One 
thing  we  know,  that  all  the  feelings  have  appropriate  objects  in  nature, 
and  that  the  objects  must  be  present  before  the  senses  or  the  mental 
vision  or  the  feelings  can  be  moved.  Now,  it  happens  that  the  feel- 
ings in  infancy  are  much  more  easily  moved  and  directed  than  the 
intellectual  powers ;  and  this  is  one  reason — and  the  best  reason — why 
they  should  be  first  exercised,  in  order  not  merely  to  give  them  a 
proper  direction,  but  to  strengthen  and  improve  them.  There  are  few 
who  have  not  observed  how  soon  an  infant  can  feel  the  expressions  of 
anguish  or  distress,  and  sympathize  with  them.  Now,  if  any  one  wish 
to  give  a  strong  bias  this  way  to  the  mind  of  a  child,  on  the  principle 
that  frequent  and  healthy  exercise  always  strengthens  or  makes  more 
active  and  easy  of  operation  every  organ  and  faculty  of  man,  all  that  is 
necessary  to  secure  this  distinctive  attribute  of  character  is  to  accustom 
the  infant  to  many  such  scenes,  accompanying  and  following  them  up 
with  suitable  instructions  addressed  to  the  intellectual  powers.  And 
so  of  every  other  afFectioA  and  feeling  in  its  constitution ;  for  all  are 
under  the  same  law,  and  what  is  true  of  one  is  true  of  all. 

Another  reason  why  the  moral  feelings  ought  to  be  first  culti- 
vated is  found  in  the  fact  that  if  not  cultivated  soon  they  can  never 
be  so  fully  and  successfully  cultivated  afterwards.  This  nature  points 
out  by  giving  them  the  greatest  susceptibilities  at  first.  Indeed,  the 
excellency  of  the  human  constitution  requires  this;  for  if  at  more 
advanced  developments  of  the  mind  and  at  riper  years  the  moral 
nature  of  man  could  easily  take  on  a  new  color  or  immediately  assume 
another  hue,  then  stability — the  very  basis  of  character,  without  which 
every  thing  in  morals  is  modish  and  freakish — would  be  unattain- 
able. It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  human  excellence  that  only  in 
early  youth  should  the  moral  nature  of  man  be  susceptible  of  being 
moulded  into  any  form.  It  is,  then,  true  in  philosophy,  because  true 
in  fact,  that  moral  culture  must  be  attended  to  in  perfect  infancy  and 
childhood,  if  we  would  have  our  pupils  attain  to  high  degrees  of  moral 
excellency. 

In  harmony  with  this,  we  believe,  are  all  human  experience  and 
observation ;  so  that  in  the  inductive  science  of  mind  and  morals,  it 
has  become  a  law,  or  rather  it  is  ascertained  to  be  a  law,  of  human 
nature,  that  early  impressions  are  always  the  strongest.  Therefore, 
sings  the  poet, — 

'•Just  as  the  twig  is  bent  the  tree's  inclined." 

And  it  is  a  maxim  fast  passing  into  popular  use ;  and  Heaven  speed 


MORAL  WITH  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE. 


477 


its  progress  through  all  nations  and  languages !  There  is  but  one 
moral  seedtime  in  human  life" — one  time  for  moral  training  with  cer- 
tain effect,  and  that  one  period  is  that  of  infancy.  The  perceptive 
and  reflective  powers  are  susceptible  of  improvement,  and  have  been 
improved  almost  to  the  end  of  life;  whether  the  moral  feelings  be- 
come too  rigid  or  have  not  room  for  expansion,  it  may  not  be  the  pro- 
vince of  philosophy  to  decide ;  but  the  fact  is  certain  that  they  are  not 
greatly  to  be  improved  by  education  after  the  periods  of  infancy  and 
early  childhood  have  passed  away.  Hence,  always  excepting  the 
omnipotent  power  of  truth  and  love  divine  when  interposed,  we  find 
the  cunning,  knavish  and  covetous  lad  a  dishonest,  secretive  and 
roguish  man ;  while  we  have  in  the  benevolent,  noble,  generous  youth 
the  liberal,  magnanimous  and  philanthropic  citizen. 

The  Bible  offers  no  theories  of  astronomy,  geology,  chemistry  or 
mental  philosophy.  It  fears  nothing,  however,  from  the  develop- 
ments of  the  sciences  of  matter  or  of  mind.  Ignorance  of  nature,  of 
the  Bible  and  of  true  science  led  the  Pope  and  his  ecclesiastics  to 
denounce  all  the  leading  scientific  innovations  upon  ancient  opinions, 
on  the  ground  that  they  were  unfriendly  to  religion  and  would  finally 
destroy  the  credibility  of  the  Bible.  But  a  better  knowledge  of  na- 
ture and  of  the  Bible  has  shown  that  there  is  no  discord  or  contra- 
diction in  their  testimonies.  Hence,  without  theorizing,  the  Bible 
says,  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old 
he  will  not  depart  from  it."  The  most  improved  science  of  mental 
philosophy  says  the  same.  Phrenology,  rightly  understood,  demon- 
-trates  it. 

The  philosopher  of  human  nature,  to  illustrate  the  formative  in- 
fluence of  early  education,  will  tell  us  that  if  we  habituate  an  infant 
to  acts  of  cruelty  towards  animals  or  to  his  associates — if  we  early 
familiarize  him  with  blood  and  carnage,  though  it  be  only  with  the 
destruction  of  innocent  birds  and  innoxious  insects — if  with  this  we 
accustom  him  to  deceit,  debate,  contention — it  will  require  no  spirit  of 
prophecy  to  foretell  that  such  a  child  will  become  a  cruel,  resentful 
and  savage  tyrant,  fit  for  wars  and  stratagems  and  spoils.  The  Bible, 
without  speculating  on  the  force  of  habit,  prohibits  the  use  of  blood  as 
an  article  of  food;  forbids  cruelty  to  animals;  enjoins  benevolence  to 
aU ;  and  affirms  that  the  sable  Ethiopian  and  the  spotted  leopard  can 
as  easily  change  their  color  as  those  who  have  been  habituated  to  doing 
evil  can  cease  from  it  and  change  their  course  of  action. 

Every  monster  in  crime,  when  he  tells  the  truth,  tells  such  a  story 
afi  Murrel  the  famous  land-pirate  of  the  West,  now  in  the  Nashville 


478 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  UNITING 


penitentiary,  has  told.  "  My  mother,"  says  he,  *'was  of  the  pure  grit  ; 
she  learned  me  and  all  her  children  to  steal  as  soon  as  we  could  walk, 
and  would  hide  for  us  whenever  she  could.  At  ten  years  old  I  was 
not  a  bad  hand."  We  have  not  the  history  of  any  one  who  has  come 
to  an  infamous  end  whose  story  does  not  begin  with  some  early  de- 
pravity that  was  fostered,  or,  if  not  fostered,  that  was  not  restraiaed 
by  the  hand  of  discipline  of  those  whose  office  it  was  to  be  the  guide 
and  the  guardian  of  his  youth. 

That  there  is  the  bona  indoles  of  the  Romans — a  good  natural  dispo- 
sition, a  better  and  a  best,  though  sometimes  this  may  be  owing  to  an 
early  and  unperceived  bias,  and  that  in  such  cases  less  labor  will  be 
requisite  to  form  a  strong  moral  inclination — will  be  admitted ;  and 
that  there  is  also  the  prava  indoles — a  bad,  a  worse  and  a  worst  dis- 
position, though  this  is  not  unfrequently  the  creature  of  bad  nursing, 
and  that  in  such  instances  much  more  attention  will  be  necessary  even 
at  the  beginning — will  not  be  denied;  yet  still  it  will  be  contended 
that  both  the  good  and  the  bad  disposition  will  be  overcome  by  educa- 
tion, and  that  by  the  early  appliances  of  a  rational  moral  culture  the 
worst  natural  disposition  may  be  completely  subdued,  and  the  best 
greatly  improved. 

In  proof  of  this  innate  and  incorrigible  prava  indoles  and  of  the 
natural  bias  to  a  certain  course  of  action,  it  is  said  that  Alexander  the 
Great,  when  asked  in  his  youth  to  contend  for  a  prize  in  the  Olympic 
games,  answered,  "he  would  if  he  had  kings  to  run  against  him."  And 
Cassius,  who  conspired  against  Caesar  for  the  good  of  Rome,  is  said, 
when  a  lad,  to  have  struck  the  son  of  Sylla  because  he  said  his  father 
was  master  of  the  Roman  people.  Now,  of  these  and  many  such  in- 
stances it  may  be  affirmed  with  all  certainty,  and  proved  by  many 
incidents,  that  a  proper  education  might  have  changed  their  character 
— might  have  turned  the  ambition  of  Alexander  into  another  direc- 
tion, and  the  patriotism  of  Cassius  into  the  love  of  human  kind. 

In  illustration,  if  not  in  proof,  of  this  also,  this  same  Alexander  may 
be  again  summoned  from  the  repose  of  many  centuries.  On  the 
authority  of  his  most  credible  biographers,  it  is  said  that  he  was  natu- 
rally and  decidedly  of  a  generous  and  even  of  a  merciful  disposition ; 
yet  he  was  guilty  of  some  very  barbarous  actions — such  as  dragging 
at  the  wheels  of  his  triumphal  chariot  the  conquered  governors  of  van- 
quished cities.  Plutarch,  says  the  "Spectator,"  explains  this  by  in- 
forming us  that  "  Alexander,  in  his  youth,  had  a  teacher  named  Lysi- 
machus,  who,  though  he  was  a  man  destitute  of  all  politeness,  ingra- 
tiated himself  both  with  Philip  and  his  pupil,  and  became  the  second 


MOKAL  WITH  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE. 


479 


man  at  court,  by  calling  the  king  Peleus,  the  prince  Achilles,  and  him- 
self Phoenix.  It  is  no  wonder  if  Alexander,  having  been  thus  used  not 
only  to  admire  Achilles,  but  to  personate  him,  should  think  it  glorioua 
to  imitate  him  in  this  piece  of  cruelty  and  extravagance." 

There  are  none  so  good  or  so  bad  by  nature  as  not  to  be  greatly  im- 
proved by  moral  culture.  I  know  that  Seneca,  in  his  own  pretty  style, 
has  somewhere  said,  ''As  the  immortal  gods  never  learned  any  virtue, 
though  they  are  endued  with  all  that  is  good,  so  there  are  some  men 
who  have  so  natural  a  propensity  to  what  they  should  follow,  that  they 
learn  it  almost  as  soon  as  they  hear  it."  Still,  let  it  be  remembered  that 
it  is  conceded  by  this  distinguished  philosopher  that  they  must  hear  it 
and  learn  it.  There  is  nothing  that  lives,  animal  or  vegetable,  that  is 
not  susceptible  of  improvement  by  proper  training.  Plants  and  flowers 
and  fruits  of  every  sort  are  improved  by  the  science  and  art  of  man. 
But  even  here  the  hand  of  cultivation  must  be  timeously  applied. 

If  any  thing  further  on  the  power  of  early  education  were  necessary, 
we  would  remind  our  hearers  that  it  is  to  be  found  in  Spartan  history. 
The  care  of  the  Spartans,  and  their  ingenuity  in  the  early  training  of 
their  children,  have  become  proverbial ;  and  history  amply  testifies  that 
"  Sparta  became  the  mistress  of  Greece,  and  famous  throughout  the 
earth  for  her  civil  and  military  discipline,  as  the  fruit  of  her  system  of 
infant  education."  The  Spartan  boy  who  suffered  the  fox  he  had  stolen 
and  concealed  under  his  garment  to  eat  into  his  bowels  rather  than  be 
detected  in  a  theft — which,  according  to  his  education,  was  the  most 
shameful  of  all  things  imaginable — speaks  volumes  to  those  who  are 
intrusted  with  the  education  of  children. 

But  enough,  and  more  than  enough,  for  the  intelligent,  has  been  said 
on  the  necessity,  importance  and  power  of  early  moral  culture;  and 
that  moral  training  must,  and,  of  right,  ought,  if  possible,  to  precede,  to 
accompany  and  to  succeed  every  other  kind  of  education,  from  the  very 
dawnings  of  mind  to  the  valedictory  oration  of  the  university,  is,  we 
presume,  satisfactorily  decided  in  the  judgment  of  all. 

But  yet,  in  answer  to  the  question,  How  shall  moral  culture  be  most 
successfully  promoted  as  the  most  important  branch  of  early  educa- 
tion ?  we  would  presume  to  suggest  that,  in  addition  to  all  that  intelli- 
gent and  virtuous  parents  and  nurses  can  accomplish  at  home,  infant 
schools,  exclusively  for  moral  culture,  should  be  patronized  in  every 
city,  village  and  hamlet  in  the  land.  These  schools,  having  behavior 
alone  for  their  object,  could  be  made  most  interesting  and  pleasing  to 
children.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  describe  any  thing  more  interesting 
than  a  class  of  infants  from  two  to  six  years  old,  formed  into  a  little 


480 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  UNITING 


commonwealth,  for  the  sake  of  learning,  practising  and  displaying  ah 
the  social  virtues.  Under  an  accomplished  male  or  female  teacher  or 
teachers,  by  oral  instruction,  by  precept,  by  example,  by  the  early  and 
healthy  exercise  of  the  moral  powers,  every  thing  that  is  pious,  just, 
true,  good,  kind,  merciful,  benevolent,  honorable,  dignified — by  a  thou- 
sand incidents,  amusements,  recreations,  adapted  to  health,  pleasure, 
and  the  development  and  control  of  passion,  feeling  and  propensity  in 
perfect  unison  with  nature  and  age — could  be  most  happily  and  suc- 
cessfully inculcated  and  deeply  impressed  upon  the  juvenile  consti- 
tution. 

The  only  thing  we  recollect  to  have  met  with  in  our  reading  similar 
to  this  project  is  the  Persian  school  of  equity,  of  which  Xenophon, 
in  his  life  of  the  great  Cyrus,  gives  some  account.  It  would  appear 
from  those  brief  notices  that  the  Persian  children  went  to  this  school 
to  learn  justice,  sobriety,  temperance  and  the  social  virtues  useful  to 
the  state,  as  children  in  other  countries  went  to  the  schools  of  literature 
to  learn  the  arts  and  sciences  of  a  liberal  education.  We  are  told  that 
the  governors  of  these  schools  spent  much  of  the  day  in  adjusting 
differences  and  in  teaching  their  pupils  to  give  judgment  against  their 
companions  convicted  of  the  crime  of  violence,  cheating,  slander  or 
ingratitude. 

We  would  be  far  from  proposing  these  Persian  schools  as  a  model 
to  a  Christian  community ;  yet,  so  far  as  they  bear  witness  to  the 
supremacy  of  morality,  they  deserve  our  admiration,  and  suggest  to 
us  the  utility  and  practicability  of  having  schools  for  the  cultivation  of 
the  social  virtues. 

Perhaps  the  present  infant-school  institutions  might  be  converted 
into  seminaries  of  moral  excellence,  or  have  appended  to  their  literary 
and  scientific  character  a  moral  regimen,  which  would  for  the  first 
years  be  their  principal  rather  than  their  secondary  concern,  and  thus 
make  the  simple  rudiments  of  knowledge  an  interlude  between  the 
different  scenes  of  moral  culture. 

To  the  domestic  and  infant-school  system  of  moral  training — which 
only  gives  a  bias  to  virtue  and  sows  the  seeds  of  moral  excellence  in 
the  human  constitution — must  be  added  the  influence  of  every  school 
and  every  seminary  through  which  the  pupil  advances  in  his  literary 
career.  Every  teacher  must  himself  be  moral ;  and  whatever  truth  or 
fact  or  event  he  teaches  or  communicates  to  his  pupils — if  moral  mean- 
ing or  moral  bearing  it  have,  he  must  either  point  it  out  himself  or 
induce  the  students  to  point  it  out  to  one  another.  They  must  be 
made  to  perceive  and  to  feel  that  in  man's  physical  endowments  and  in 


MORAL  WITH  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE. 


481 


his  intellectual  powers  there  is  neither  virtue  nor  vice,  good  nor  evil, 
honor  nor  dishonor,  except  as  they  are  or  are  not  guided  by  the  moral 
sentiments.  It  must  be  placed  before  them  in  the  strongest  colors  and 
enforced  by  the  brightest  example,  that  the  most  beautiful  person  and 
the  most  splendid  intellect  render  not  their  possessor  respectable  or 
amiable  unless  he  be  adorned  with  the  graces  and  excellencies  of  vir- 
tuous character.  To  them  the  idea  must  be  made  most  pleasing  and 
acceptable  that  honor  comes  not  from  country,  family,  place,  or  fortune, 
but  from  good  behavior ;  and  that  not  a  renowned  or  titled  ancestry, 
but  virtue  itself,  is  the  true  and  the  sole  nobility;  that,  in  one  word 
and  in  the  true  sense  of  that  one  word, 

''An  honest  man's  the  noblest  work  of  God." 


Gentlemen  of  the  College  of  Professional  Teachers : — 

Permit  one  who  for  several  years  has  experienced  your  toils,  who 
has  felt  your  responsibilities  and  shared  in  the  pleasure  of  your  call- 
ing, both  in  Europe  and  America,  to  remind  you  that  you  are  engaged 
in  an  object  of  superlative  importance,  not  only  to  the  present  genera- 
tion, but  that,  in  a  good  measure,  is  intrusted  to  you  the  destiny  of 
the  future.  The  youth  of  this  generation  are  the  hope  of  the  next ; 
and,  consequently,  in  forming  the  intellectual  and  moral  character  of 
this  germ  of  future  generations,  you  cannot  but  in  some  good  degree 
shape  their  destiny.  But,  further  than  this,  gentlemen,  your  influence 
extends  beyond  the  mere  temporal  conditions  of  our  being.  On  the 
bias  which  you  may  give  in  favor  of  truth  and  moral  principle,  may 
depend  the  eternal  destiny  of  many  generations.  Next  to  the  parents 
of  your  pupils,  you  possess  a  power  over  human  character  paramount 
to  any  officers  in  the  whole  community — I  would  say,  if  I  had  time  to 
qualify  it,  beyond  even  the  ministers  of  religion.  It  is  only  sometimes 
that  we  can  trace  to  the  conscientiousness  and  benevolence  of  an  indi- 
vidual benefactor  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  a  whole  community; 
but  this  has  been  occasionally  done,  as  in  the  case  of  Roger  Williams 
and  William  Penn.  And,  were  we  more  observant  of  the  concatena- 
tion of  things  in  the  way  of  cause  and  effect,  we  would  more  frequently 
find  that  to  the  nursery  and  to  the  school  we  are  indebted  for  that 
first  impulse  which  has  turned  the  current  of  human  action  into  a  new 
channel  and  materially  changed  the  complexion  of  society  for  many 
isenerations.    May  it  not,  then,  be  in  your  power — co-operating,  as 

31 


482 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  UNITING 


you  do,  in  your  efforts  to  introduce  a  more  philosophical  and  moral 
system  of  education  in  harmony  with  the  human  constitution — to 
stamp  a  character  upon  future  times  alike  honorable  to  yourselves  and 
beneficial  to  the  world  ? 

Give  me  leave,  then,  gentlemen,  to  say  to  you,  and,  through  you,  to 
all  intrusted  with  the  formation  of  a  better  character,  for  the  next  and 
future  generations,  than  that  which  the  present  has  attained,  that 
this  cause  can  never  flourish  as  it  ought  till  the  public  mind  is  so  im- 
bued with  its  importance  and  practicability  as  to  make  it  the  para- 
mount duty  of  the  whole  government  of  every  State  to  take  into  its 
most  grave  and  deliberate  consideration  the  whole  chapter  of  the  ways 
and  means  by  which  it  will  be  impossible  for  ignorant  and  vicious 
parents  to  exist,  or,  if  existing,  to  corrupt  their  offspring;  and  by 
which  a  solid,  substantial,  literary  and  moral  education  shall  be  made 
accessible  to  every  child  born  upon  its  territory,  and  not  only  ac- 
cessible, but  unavoidable  in  all  cases  where  nature  has  not  withheld 
the  powers  and  susceptibilities  necessary  to  its  attainment. 

It  is  only,  indeed,  when  the  maxim  that  intelligence  and  virtue  are 
the  essential  pillars  of  the  state  shall  have  deeply  penetrated  the  public 
mind  and  indelibly  engraven  itself  upon  the  apprehension  of  all,  that 
it  will  become  entirely  obvious  that  it  is  incomparably  more  rational 
and  commendable  to  legislate  for  the  training  of  children  than  for  the 
punishment  of  vicious  men;  that  it  is  much  more  economical  and 
philanthropic  to  raise  funds  to  educate  and  discipline  youth  in  the 
paths  of  true  science  and  moral  excellence  than  to  erect  houses  of  cor- 
rection or  to  provide  ways  and  means  of  preventing  rapine,  violence 
and  murder,  or  of  suppressing  tumults  and  insurrections  among  the 
people;  that  the  rational  education  of  youth  is  the  highest  object  to 
the  whole  community — to  the  patriot,  the  philanthropist  and  the 
Christian ;  and  that  those  who  will  improve  and  elevate  its  character 
and  facilitate  its  operations  are  to  be  honored  and  ranked  amongst  the 
most  useful  citizens  and  the  best  benefactors  of  mankind. 

You  have  the  honor,  gentlemen,  of  having  begun  at  the  right  place, 
of  having  selected  the  best  subject  in  existence  on  which  to  concentrate 
your  powers  of  doing  good.  While  other  friends  of  human  kind — the 
patriot,  the  politician  and  the  economist — have  taken  the  country — its 
convenience,  its  trade,  its  commerce,  its  resources — under  their  kind 
auspices,  you  have  wisely  selected  the  human  species — the  human 
soul  itself — on  which  to  exercise  all  your  powers  of  doing  good.  If, 
then,  he  who,  by  his  science  and  devotion  to  his  country's  interest,  haa 
made  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  formerly  nature  produced  but 


MORAL  WITH  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE. 


483 


one,  is  worthy  to  be  ranked  amongst  a  nation's  benefactors,  bow  large 
the  dimensions  of  his  fame,  how  wide  the  circumference  of  that  Chris- 
tian's glory,  who  shall  have  doubled,  trebled,  and  perhaps  more  than 
quadrupled,  the  powers  and  capacities  of  his  race  for  knowing,  for 
doing  and  for  enjoying  good ! 


NOTE. 

It  was  this  address  that  occasioned  the  debate  between  A.  Campbell  and  Bishop 
Pure  ell. 

In  the  month  of  May,  1836,  I  read  a  printed  letter  from  the  Executive  Committee, 
requesting  my  attendance  in  October  last,  and  proposing  to  me  a  subject  on  which  to 
furnish  a  lecture  to  the  college  at  the  then  approaching  session.  This  letter  came  to 
hand  a  few  days  before  my  departure  on  my  Eastern  tour ;  to  which  I  replied  that,  all 
things  concurring,  I  would  attend  and  deliver  said  lecture. 

I  did  not  return  from  my  Eastern  tour  till  September,  and  the  college  was  to  meet 
in  Cincinnati  the  3d  day  of  October.  In  the  numerous  and  pressing  obligations  which 
crowd  upon  one  standing  in  so  many  relations  to  society,  on  returning  from  an  absence 
of  more  than  three  months,  I  could  not  find  that  leisure  and  abstraction  of  mind 
necessary  to  a  satisfactory  discussion  of  so  important  a  question  as  that  on  which  my 
views  were  solicited.  I  sketched  a  few  thoughts,  as  expressed  in  the  foregoing  essay; 
and,  rather  in  token  of  my  good  will  to  the  institution  than  in  hopes  of  rendering  it  any 
essential  service,  I  hastened  to  the  city  at  the  time  appointed.  I  had  not  the  least 
expectation  of  meeting  with  any  Roman  Catholics  in  such  a  college ;  for,  of  all  their 
sins,  that  of  being  exceedingly  zealous  in  diffusing  information  among  all  classes  of 
society  and  in  supporting  free  institutions  is  neither  the  most  common  nor  the  most 
mortal.  But  yet,  until  in  the  pulpit,  reading  my  lecture,  I  did  not  imagine  that  there 
was  in  it  a  single  allusion  to  that  superstition  which  could  provoke  any  controversy 
with  any  American  Roman  Catholic.  And  certainly  I  did  not  intend  it ;  nor,  in  my 
judgment,  was  it  either  necessary  or  expedient  for  any  of  that  priesthood  to  take  ex- 
ceptions at  a  single  reference  to  the  Protestant  Reformation  in  its  literary  bearings  and 
influences. 

Nevertheless,  Bishop  Purcell,  of  the  Roman  Catholic  community,  took  exceptions 
against  that  allusion,  and  made  it  the  occasion  of  the  most  serious  allegations  against 
the  Protestant  religion,  not  merely  in  a  literary  point  of  view,  but  as  deeply  aflFecting 
the  best  interests  of  society,  in  being  the  cause  of  infinite  contention  and  infidelity 
It  was  by  the  most  dexterous  management  and  great  forbearance  on  the  part  of  all 
the  Protestants  present  that  this  occurrence  was  so  overruled  as  not  seriously  to  mar 
the  operations  of  the  college.  It  has,  however,  occasioned  a  discussion  of  the  claims 
and  pretensions  of  that  religion,  which,  we  trust,  may  be  of  some  value  to  the  whole 
community. 

It  is  devoutly  to  be  wished  that  Bishop  Purcell,  or  the  Bishop  of  Bardstown,  Ken- 
tucky, or  of  St.  Louis,  or  that  Mr.  Hughes,  of  Philadelphia,  or  some  other  competent 
prelate  of  the  Roman  persuasion,  will  be  on  the  ground  in  January  next,  to  sustain  the 
lofty  and  bold  pretensions  of  that  ancient  sect. 

It  will  not  satisfy  this  community  to  be  told  of  what  has  been  achieved  in  Rome,  in 


484   IMPORTANCE  OF  UNITING  MORAL  WITH  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE. 


Philadelphia,  in  New  York,  by  the  defenders  of  that  religion.  We  all  wish  to  hear  what 
they  can  say  for  themselves  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi ;  for  we  are  fully  persuaded 
that  this  is  the  place  to  which  they  look  with  most  earnestness  as  the  seat  of  their 
American  empire;  and  therefore  it  behooves  them  to  be  ready  to  sustain  themselves, 
if  they  feel  that  assurance  and  infallibility  which  they  profess.  And  surely  amongst 
the  vigilant  and  able  shepherds  of  that  orthodox  flock,  some  one  will  be  prompt  to  de- 
fend from  Protestant  wolves  their  feeble  sheep  now  scattered  in  this  vast  wilderness. 
Our  confidence  in  the  Protestant  principles  is  such  as  to  banish  all  fear  of  the  issue  of 
meeting  any  prelate  of  the  East  or  West  on  any  of  the  propositions  which  have  already 
been  most  respectfully  submitted.  A.  C. 


ADDRESS. 


IHE  CORNER-STONE  OP  BETHANY  COLLEGE. 


DELIVERED  MAY  31,  1858. 


Circles  have  their  centres,  squares  their  rectangles,  and  all  terres- 
trial edifices  their  corner-stones.  These  should  always  rest  upon  the 
solid  earth.  The  solid  earth  itself  rests  upon  the  heavens,  and  the 
heavens  rest  upon  the  omnipotent  will  of  God.  Such  is  the  splendid 
architecture  of  the  present  domicile  of  man.  A  practical  recognition 
of  these  facts  is  honorable  to  man,  to  educated  reason,  and  to  the 
wisdom,  power  and  goodness  of  God — himself  the  supreme  projector 
and  architect  of  the  universe.  He  weighed  the  mountains  in  scales, 
he  placed  the  hills  in  a  balance."  He  measured  the  waters  of  oceans 
and  of  seas,  of  lakes  and  of  rivers,  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand.  He 
gave  to  these  oceans  and  seas,  to  these  lakes  and  rivers,  limits  and 
boundaries  which  they  cannot  pass : — a  decree  that  their  waters  shall 
not  cover  the  earth. 

A  man  of  good  sense,  of  well-developed  mind,  who  is  always  a 
Christian,  recognizes  the  hand  of  God,  the  power,  wisdom  and  good- 
ness of  God,  in  every  work  of  his  hand.  He  recognizes  the  Bible  as 
the  book  of  Divine  wisdom,  the  oracle  of  God,  the  volume  of  human 
redemption,  the  charter  of  a  future  and  an  eternal  life  to  man. 

He,  therefore,  delights  to  honor  it,  to  build  all  his  hopes  of  an  eter- 
nal future  upon  it,  and  to  regard  and  venerate  it  as  the  st«ar  of  his  own 
eternal  destiny  in  this  magnificent  creation. 

While  a  rock  is  the  only  reliable  basis  of  terrestrial  edifices,  the 
Rock  of  Ages  is  the  sub-basis  of  the  entire  empire  of  the  universe. 
All  that  we  truthfully  and  satisfactorily  know  of  our  origin,  our  des- 
tiny and  our  eternal  relations  to  the  whole  creation  is  contained  in 
the  Holy  Bible.  It  is,  indeed,  the  true  philosophy  of  Divinity  and  the 
true  science  of  humanity. 

Bethany  College — not  the  edifice  so  called,  but  the  institution  of 

m 


486 


CORNER-STONE  OF  BETHANY  COLLEGE. 


which  it  is  the  domicile — was  the  first  college  in  the  UnioD,  and  tli 
first  known  to  any  history  accessible  to  us,  that  was  founded  upon  the 
Holy  Bible,  as  an  every-day  lecture  and  an  every-day  study — as  the 
only  safe  and  authoritative  text-book  of  humanity,  theology  and 
christology — of  all  true  science  upon  the  problems  of  Divinity  and 
humanity — of  the  world  or  worlds  that  preceded  this,  or  that  shall 
succeed  it. 

From  the  origin  of  Bethany  College,  on  the  first  Monday  of  Novem- 
ber, 1841,  till  this  day,  a  period  of  over  sixteen  years,  there  has  been 
a  Bible  study  and  a  Bible  lecture  for  every  college  day  in  the  college 
year.  The  Bible  is  read,  as  it  was  written,  in  chronological  order,  and 
a  lecture  on  every  reading  is  delivered,  exegetical  of  its  facts  and 
documents — historical,  chronological,  geographical;  whether  they  be 
natural,  moral  or  religious,  in  reference  to  the  past,  the  present  and 
the  future  of  man.  Theories,  speculations,  sometimes  called  doctrines^ 
faith,  orthodoxy,  heterodoxy,  come  not  within  the  legitimate  area  of 
collegiate,  literary,  moral  or  Christian  education. 

In  Natural  Science  we  have  the  facts  of  nature  as  its  appropriate 
area  of  observation,  comparison  and  deduction. 

In  Intellectual  Science  we  have  the  powers,  facts  and  acts  of  the 
human  understanding — the  powers  of  perception,  reflection,  comparison, 
deduction,  abstraction,  imagination,  ratiocination  and  generalization. 

In  Moral  Science  we  have  conscience,  or  the  moral  sense  of  personal 
and  social  right  and  wrong ;  moral  law,  moral  obligation,  rewards  and 
punishments,  &c. 

In  religion — or  in  Christianity — we  have  a  Divine  remedial  inter- 
position; a  mediatorial  institution — a  prophet,  priest  and  king,  in- 
vested with  all  Divinity  and  humanity  in  one  personality^ — himself  the 
altar,  the  sacrifice  and  the  priest;  all  forms  of  majesty,  honor  and 
glory  culminating  in  him,  "  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega"  of  all  legis- 
lation and  interpretation,  of  all  judicial  and  executive  authority. 

Such  is  Christianity,  scientifically  conceived  and  exhibited,  in  the 
Christian  or  remedial  institution.  But  Christianity,  if  actually  enjoyed, 
is  a  new  and  a  spiritual  life ;  a  life  of  communion  and  fellowship  with 
God  through  Christ — in  our  hearts  the  hope  of  glory. 

Such,  therefore,  being  the  premises  of  all  social  institutions  con- 
nected with  the  social  system  called  the  state,  the  nation,  the  empire, 
the  world,  unless  based  on  these  premises  and  conducted  in  harmony 
with  them,  no  system  of  education  is  rational,  scientific,  philanthropic, 
or  adequately  adapted  to  the  real  condition  and  cravings  of  our 
common  humanity. 


CORNER-STONE  OF  BETHANY  COLLEGE. 


487 


Education  is,  therefore,  a  theme  of  the  first  importance,  possessing 
paramount  claims  on  the  patriot,  the  philanthropist,  the  philosopher 
and  the  Christian.  It  comprehends  in  its  premises  the  development 
of  Creator  and  creature,  heaven  and  earth,  time  and  eternity,  in  full 
and  perfect  adaptation  to  the  wants  and  capabilities  of  man. 

Lamentably  true  it  is  that  few — comparatively  very  few — have  the 
capacity,  the  patience,  the  perseverance,  the  taste  and  the  means  ade- 
quate to  its  acquisition  and  consummation ;  and  equally  to  be  regretted 
is  the  fact,  that  larger  and  more  liberal  provisions  are  not  made  for  its 
extension  and  perfection,  both  by  the  state  and  the  church,  as  to  both 
it  is  the/ greatest  known  or  conceivable  auxiliary. 

There  are  no  people  in  the  civilized  world,  known  to  us,  who  have 
indicated  a  higher  estimation  of  the  value  and  importance  of  education, 
in  its  fullest  latitude  and  longitude — in  its  height  and  in  its  depth,  in 
its  length  and  its  breadth — than  the  citizens  of  these  United  States  of 
North  America.  We  have  more  schools  and  academies  male  and 
female,  more  colleges  and  universities  of  all  growths  and  varieties, 
than  are  possessed  and  sustained  by  the  same  amount  of  population 
under  any  one  Government,  whether  national  or  imperial,  aristocratical 
or  monarchical.  We  have  more  graduates  in  languages,  sciences,  arts 
and  professions,  annually  issuing  from  our  numerous  literary  and 
scientific  institutions,  our  medical,  theological  and  legal  schools  and 
colleges,  than  can  be  shown  by  any  people  on  the  civilized  globe,  of 
the  same  number,  means  and  facilities. 

We  have,  indeed,  too  many  colleges  and  universities,  too  many  in- 
stitutions so  called,  in  all  the  religious  denominations  of  our  country. 
And  we,  as  a  Christian  people,  have,  in  one  sense,  already  outgrown 
ourselves,  as  well  as  outgrown  other  denominations  of  religionists  in 
the  penchant  for  colleges  and  universities.  We  have  the  Missouri 
Canton  University,  the  Indiana  Indianapolis  University,  and  the  Ken- 
tucky Harrodsburg  University,  on  paper  and  in  print — in  stones  and 
in  brick,  as  well  as  in  men,  women  and  children.  We  have  also  in 
Illinois  no  less  than  three  stripling  colleges,  Abingdon,  Eureka  and 
Jacksonville — one  in  Arkansas,  one  in  the  environs  of  Nashville,  and 
I  know  not  how  many  more  in  inception. 

England  has  had  her  two  great  universities  for  hundreds  of  years ; 
to  these  she  has  added  two  of  more  recent  origin. 

.Scotland's  glory,  in  this  particular,  for  centuries  flourished  in  the 
Edinburgh,  Glasgow  and  Aberdeen  universities  —  Ireland  in  her 
Dublin,  Maynooth  and  Belfast  universities. 

Pennsylvania  has  sundry  such  institutions — two  of  them  within 


488 


COENER-STONE  OF  BETHANY  COLLEGE. 


twenty  miles  of  Bethany  College,  in  the  bosom  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  Ohio  has  one,  twenty  miles  west  of  us.  So  that  we  at  Bethany 
are  living  in  a  constellation  of  colleges.  This  speaks  loftily  for  Young 
America,  however  it  may  speak  for  the  cause  of  literature,  science  and 
religion.  But  a  college,  well  endowed,  well  furnished  with  buildings, 
with  libraries,  with  apparatus  and  with  a  well-educated  corps  of  pro  - 
fessors, is  not  quite  so  easily  reared  and  consummated  as  Young  Ame- 
rica dreams  or  imagines.  We  have  had  some  little  experience  on  this 
subject  in  the  colleges  of  the  Old  World  and  the  New.  We  have  some 
volumes  of  theory  and  a  few  chapters  of  experience,  which  have  been 
read  and  studied  with  care ;  and  the  impression  is  deep  and  abiding 
that  it  is  men,  and  not  stone,  nor  brick,  nor  mortar,  nor  a  charter,  nor 
a  good  code  of  hy-laios,  nor  a  few  ten  thousands  of  dollars,  safely  in- 
vested_in  good  banks,  or  loaned  on  mortgaged  real  estates,  nor  even  a 
board  of  annual  or  semi-annual  curators  in  attendance  on  any  emer- 
gency, that  constitute  the  essentials  of  a  college,  or  endow  it  with 
claims  on  the  patronage  of  a  discriminating  population,  much  less 
make  it  a  fountain  of  blessings  to  society — to  the  church  or  to  the 
state. 

It  is  mind  alone  that  works  on  mind.  It  is  educated  mind  that 
educates  mind.  It  is  living  men  and  living  books  that  quicken,  in- 
spire, develop,  energize  and  polish  mind.  It  is  not  theory  nor  a  dead 
letter  that  animates  and  actuates  the  faculties  of  man.  It-  is  the 
animation  of  the  teacher  that  animates  the  student.  Hence  it  was 
Paul  that  made  Timothy  and  Titus,  and  neither  Moses  nor  Aaron. 
Paul  owed  much  to  Dr.  Gamaliel.  Had  there  not  been  a  Demosthenes 
amongst  the  Greeks,  there  might  never  have  been  a  Marcus  TuUius 
Cicero  amongst  the  Eomans.  It  is  the  present  living  generation  that 
gives  character  and  spirit  to  the  next.  Hence  the  paramount  import- 
ance of  accomplished  and  energetic  teachers  in  forming  the  taste,  the 
manners  and  the  character  of  the  coming  age. 

Man  never  lives  for  a  past  generation.  He  lives  for  the  present  ana 
for  the  future.  Colleges,  too,  are  for  the  present  and  the  coming 
generations.  The  good  or  the  evil  that  men  do  is  not  always  interred 
with  their  bones.  Both  the  good  and  the  evil  that  we  may  do  not 
unfrequently  survive  us  for  several  generations. 

Colleges  are,  in  every  point  of  view,  the  most  important  and  useful 
institutions  on  earth,  second  only  to  the  church  of  Christ  in  their  in- 
herent claims  upon  Christian  liberality  and  Christian  patronage.  If 
they  be  not  worthy  of  the  smiles,  the  prayers  and  the  contributions  of 
a  Christian  community,  I  know  not,  beyond  the  church,  what  is,  oi 


COENER-STONE  OF  BETHANY  COLLEGE. 


489 


ought  to  be,  an  appropriate  and  an  approved  object  of  CbristiaD 
patronage  and  Christian  liberality.  We  must  have  educated  mind  in 
order  to  the  prosperity  and  progress  of  society. 

And  can  there  be  a  question  or  a  doubt,  whether  the  educated  mind 
shall  be  Christian  or  Infidel  ?  And  can  there  be  in  any  seminary  of 
learning  a  Christian  education  without  the  Christian  oracles  ?  But. 
unfortunately,  we  have  a  patented  orthodoxy  and  an  unpatented  hete- 
rodoxy, altogether,  in  most  cases,  factitious  and  accidental.  How,  then, 
shall  we  dispose  of  these?  Abjure  them  both  !  Proscribe  them  both ! 
Substitute  for  them  the  five  historical  books  of  Moses,  and  the  five 
historical  books  of  the  Evangelists  and  Apostles  of  Jesus  Christ ! 
The  wisdom  of  God  was  and  is  displayed  in  presenting  neither  a 
theory  nor  an  abstract  formula  of  doctrine  or  mere  learning,  but 
facts,  documents,  precepts  and  promises.  These  are  the  only  appro- 
priate themes  of  faith,  hope  and  love.  And  these  three,  says  Paul, 
shall  ever  abide  in  the  Church. 

On  these  views  and  premises,  Bethany  College  was  first  conceived, 
matured  and  founded.  We  have  had  an  ample  and  a  most  satisfactory 
experience  and  proof  of  the  perfect  practicability  of  the  views  long 
cherished  upon  the  whole  premises  of  mental  development  and  mora' 
culture.  There  is  an  energy  of  spirit  and  a  moral  polish  of  character 
which  this  system  has  demonstrated  as  perfectly  practicable,  and 
exhibited  as  a  natural,  necessary  and  rational  result. 

The  calamity  which  has  befallen  Bethany  College*  will,  we  hope, 
soon  be  turned  to  good  advantage,  through  the  liberality  already 
developed,  and  still  being  developed,  to  raise  its  towers  and  bulwarks^ 
and  to  furnish  its  libraries  and  laboratories  with  all  that  is  essential 
to  the  increasing  demands  of  the  age — to  place  it  in  the  front  rank  of 
beneficent  and  potent  institutions,  literary,  scientific  and  moral. 

With  these  aims  and  objects,  and  through  the  encouragement  already 
vouchsafed  by  a  generous  public — the  friends  and  patrons  of  Bethany 
College,  and  especially  by  the  alumni  of  this  institution,  we  now  proceed, 
this  thirty-first  day  of  May,  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  the  edifice  of  the 
second  edition  of  Bethany  College,  enlarged  and  improved.  Hie  jacet 
non  lapis  terminalis,  sed  lapis  angularis,  Collegii  Bethaniensis,  litera- 
turce,  scientioB  et  religioni  sacri  ;  hoc  die  trigressimo  primo  Mai,  Anno 
Domini  unum  mille,  octingenti  quinquaginta  acta. 

In  this  corner-stone  we  deposit  a  copy  of  the  Holy  Bible,  not  to  bury 
it  in  the  earth,  but  as  a  monumental  symbol  of  the  fact  that  this  book, 


*  It  was  recently  destroyed  by  fire,  and  is  now  upon  a  magnificent  scale  being  rebuilt. 


490 


CORNER-STONE  OF  BETHANY  COLLEGE. 


this  everlasting  document,  ought  to  be  the  true  and  proper  foundation 
of  every  literary,  scientific,  moral  and  religious  institution — that  it  is 
of  right  Divine  entitled  to  be,  and  ought  to  be,  the  basis,  the  sub-basis, 
of  every  public  and  benevolent  institution — essential  to  the  perfect  and 
complete  development  of  man  in  his  whole  constitution — as  a  citizen 
of  the  commonwealth,  a  citizen  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  an  heir  of 
the  universe  through  all  the  cycles  of  an  eternal  future.  To  God,  who 
is  its  author,  be  all  glory  and  honor,  now,  henceforth  and  forever ! 

This  is  in  harmony  with  the  all-suggestive  and  eloquent  fact 
that  the  whole  universe  was  founded  and  continues  to  rest  securely 
upon  the  Word  of  God — the  everlasting  Word.  John,  the  beloved 
apostle,  the  most  philosophic  and  elevated  in  his  conceptions  among 
the  original  twelve,  thus  speaks  : — "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word, 
and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God."  All  things 
were  made  for  him,  as  well  as  by  him.  Hence  he  is  the  Alpha  and 
the  Omega"  of  universal  being  and  blessedness. 

It  is,  in  our  esteem,  apposite  to  the  occasion — this  solemn  and  sublime 
occasion — that  of  erecting  a  monument  in  honor  of  the  paramount 
claims  of  literature,  science,  religion  and  the  arts,  both  the  useful  and 
the  ornamental,  to  call  upon  all  true  patriots,  philanthropists  and 
Christians,  irrespective  of  local  or  partisan  feelings,  pro  or  con.,  to  co- 
operate with  us  on  the  broad  basis  of  a  common  humanity — a  common 
country — a  common  political  destiny  and  a  common  Christianity. 

We,  therefore,  desire  it  to  be  known  and  realized,  that  we  do  not 
selfishly  refuse  the  generous  and  liberal  contributions  of  our  fellow- 
citizens,  of  every  creed  and  of  every  name,  to  re-erect,  furnish  and 
garnish  Bethany  College ;  which,  we  doubt  not,  wiU  be  an  investment 
on  their  part,  as  profitable  to  themselves,  their  heirs  and  representa- 
tives, as  it  will  be  acceptable  and  gratifying  to  us.  We  have  taken 
pleasure  in  assisting  our  fellow-citizens  in  similar  benevolent  enter- 
prises. And  may  it  not  be  proper  to  extend  to  them  such  opportunities 
as  they  have  been  pleased  to  vouchsafe  to  us  ? 

But  to  conclude  :  The  legitimate  position,  end  and  aim  of  all  colleges, 
properly  so  called,  is,  or  ought  to  be,  the  education  or  development  of 
the  whole  man — body,  soul  and  spirit;  and  this,  too,  in  harmony  with 
the  attributes  and  laws  of  God,  exhibited  and  developed  in  the  five 
cardinal  dramas  of  the  universe — creation,  legislation,  providence, 
moral  government  and  redemption. 

The  analytic  and  synthetic  methods  of  investigation  and  develop- 
ment, already  canonized,  with  the  consent  and  concurrence  of  the  great 
masters  of  science,  truly  so  called,  are  those  we  have  judged  supreme 


CORNER-STONE  OF  BETHANY  COLLEGE. 


491 


in  the  conduct  and  career  of  all  schools  adapted  to  the  wants  and 
cravings  of  man  in  the  world  that  now  is,  and  also  in  reference  to  that 
which  is  to  come.  Years  of  experience  in  schools  and  colleges  have 
folly  satisfied  us  that  this  is  the  true  philosophy  of  education,  and 
that  it  has  the  approval  of  every  well-informed  man,  indeed,  of  all 
who  are  capable  of  understanding  the  subject. 

We,  therefore,  have  no  new  positions  to  assume  or  defend  on  the 
premises.  We  consequently  do  no  more  than  to  pledge  ourselves  to 
proiecAite  the  same  course  which  at  the  commencement  we  adopted 
and  have  prosecuted  till  now.  It  is  simply  that  which  educationally 
meets  and  satisfies  all  the  wants  of  man,  in  reference  to  the  present 
and  to  the  eternal  future,  of  his  being,  relations,  obligations  and 
destiny. 


\ 


BACCALAUREATE  ADDRESS. 


TO  THE  GRADUATES  OF  BETHANY  COLLEGE. 


READ  BY  THE  VICE-PRESIDENT,  JULY  8,  1847  * 

Young  Gentlemen: — 

Venerating  as  we  all  do  the  president  of  our  institution,  we  cannot 
but  regret  his  absence  on  this  interesting  occasion.  The  fields  of  his 
usefulness,  however,  are  too  varied  for  any  one  interest  exclusively  to 
claim  his  attention,  and  therefore,  whilst  our  feelings  would  have  him 
here,  our  better  judgment  must  make  us  content  that  he  is  away.  It 
will  be  gratifying  to  you  to  know  that  even  amidst  the  solitudes  of 
the  sea,  floating  on  its  boundless  bosom  and  wrapt  in  the  spell  of  its 
sublimity,  his  heart  is  still  turned  towards  this  scene  of  his  labors, 
and,  as  the  prophet  of  old,  when  a  captive  among  strangers,  opened 
his  windows  towards  Jerusalem  and  prayed  before  Grod,  so  he  looks 
back  to  this  our  loved  institution,  and  sends  up  his  petition  for  its 
welfare  and  growth.  He  neither  forgets  you,  gentlemen,  nor  would  be 
forgotten  by  you,  but  both  as  an  evidence  of  his  affectionate  remem- 
brance, and  as  a  further  claim  upon  your  gratitude,  has  sent  you,  from 
the  midst  of  the  Atlantic,  a  testimonial  of  his  regard,  which  I  shall 
now  read  you. 

Atlantic  Ocean,  East  of  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland, 

Longitude  38°  10'  TT.  ;  Latitude  41°  20'  N 

Young  Gentlemen: — Though  absent  from  you  in  person,  and  now 
gently  moving  under  as  bright  a  sky  and  on  as  smooth  an  ocean  aa 
you  can  well  imagine,  I  feel  myself,  in  spirit,  present  with  you  on  the 
auspicious  day  which,  while  it  records  the  birth  of  the  greatest  nation 
and  the  happiest  community  on  the  earth,  terminates  your  collegiate 
years,  and  awards  to  you  the  honors  due  to  those  who  have  success- 


492 


*  Written  by  President  A.  Campbell  at  sea. 


BACCALAUEEATE  ADDRESS. 


493 


fully  pursued  their  way  through  the  academic  paths  of  literature  and 
science.  Having  not  only  directed  your  studies,  but  participated  in 
your  education,  watched  over  your  morals  and  tested  your  attain- 
ments at  the  stated  examinations,  I  cannot  but  regret  that  I  have  not 
the  pleasure  of  hearing  your  last  performances,  of  taking  you  per- 
sonally by  the  hand,  and  of  giving  you  severally  the  parting  bene- 
diction. Still,  I  have  the  pleasure,  though  in  the  midst  of  the  vast 
Atlantic,  and  far  removed  from  the  halls  in  which  we  have  so  often 
met,  of  communicating  to  you  a  few  suggestions  of  practical  import- 
ance, which,  indeed,  as  the  occasion  demands,  must  be  few,  and  which, 
I  assure  you,  are  dictated  not  merely  by  a  sense  of  duty,  nor  simply 
in  conformity  with  ancient  usage,  but  which  flow  from  attachments 
already  formed,  and  from  desires,  long  cherished,  that  your  future  years 
may  be  full  of  usefulness  and  happiness,  the  only  rational  and  prac- 
ticable preparation  for  a  blissful  immortality. 

In  order  to  this,  it  is  expedient  that  you  clearly  and  fully  understand 
your  exact  position  in  the  great  family  of  man,  and  the  claims  which 
your  country,  the  church  of  God,  and  the  human  race  have  upon  you. 
A  general  knowledge  of  the  past  and  present  condition  of  the  world, 
of  its  bearings  on  the  future,  and  of  your  interests  in  it,  is  highly  im- 
portant to  your  judicious  choice  of  a  profession,  and  to  the  filling  up 
the  proper  measure  of  your  duties  to  yourselves,  to  your  fellow-men, 
and  to  God. 

You  have  long  since  subscribed  to  the  adage  that  ''knowledge  is 
power,"  not  merely  to  govern  others,  but  also  to  govern  ourselves. 
Equally  evident  to  you  I  presume  it  is,  that,  in  the  intention  of  your 
parents  to  impart  to  you  an  education,  as  well  as  in  your  ow^n  efforts 
to  obtain  it,  you  both  regarded  it,  not  merely  as  conferring  upon  him 
who  possesses  it  a  power  to  promote  his  own  interest  and  happiness, 
but  also  the  interests  and  happiness  of  his  contemporaries  and  posterity. 
The  preparation  which  it  affords  its  possessor  to  accomplish  these 
ends,  you  are  aware,  consists  not  only  in  the  amount  of  information 
which  he  obtains,  but  in  the  habits  of  thinking  which  he  forms,  and  in 
the  strength  and  vigor  of  mind  which  he  acquires,  in  pursuing  it,  to 
make  his  acquisitions  available  to  his  own  advantage  and  to  that  of 
others.  Hence,  it  invariably  comes  to  pass,  in  the  struggle  and  busi- 
ness of  life,  that  an  educated  mind  excels  an  uneducated  mind  in  every 
conflict  in  which  the  parties  enter  the  lists  on  equal  terms ;  that  is,  all 
things  except  education  being  equal.  The  victory  gained,  too,  in 
such  competition  is  great  in  the  direct  ratio  of  the  difference  in  the 
education  possessed  by  the  aspirants.    Now,  as  educated  mind  governs 


494 


BACCALAUREATE  ADDRESS. 


the  universe  by  a  law  not  of  human  but  of  Divine  legislation,  it  ought 
to  be  remembered  by  every  young  man  that  he  may  and  ought  to 
possess  a  moral  power  in  the  full  ratio  of  his  talents  and  education,  in 
any  sphere  in  which  his  lot  may  be  cast. 

Having  on  several  occasions  called  your  attention  to  these  subjects, 
I  intend  not  now  to  generalize  or  moralize  upon  them ;  but,  assuming 
them  as  matters  no  longer  debatable,  I  wish  on  the  present  occasion 
to  advert  to  a  momentous  conflict  which  not  myself  only,  but  very 
many  truly  intelligent  and  well-informed  men  in  both  Europe  and 
America,  anticipate  as  inevitably  to  occur  in  our  own  country,  and 
that,  too,  in  all  probability,  before  your  days  shall  be  numbered. 

In  order  to  this,  we  must  first  glance  at  our  country,  at  its  immense 
resources,  its  population,  its  institutions  as  compared  with  those  of  the 
Old  World,  and  its  destiny.  These  are  the  materials  for  a  volume  or  a 
series  of  volumes  yet  to  be  written.  Having  now  but  a  few  moments 
to  devote  to  them,  I  shall  merely  name  the  topics,  or  state  a  few  facts 
from  which  these  are  yet  to  be  developed ;  and  this  with  special  refer- 
ence to  two  or  three  suggestions  which  I  desire  to  make  to  you  on  the 
present  occasion. 

Time  was  when  thirteen  English  colonies  became  the  thirteen 

FREE,  SOVEREIGN   AND   INDEPENDENT   STATES   OF   NORTH  AMERICA. 

Their  territory  extended  from  a  line  passing  through  the  great  North- 
western lakes  to  the  thirty-first  degree  of  north  latitude,  and  from  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  on  the  east  to  the  Mississippi  on  the  west.  But,  in 
less  than  the  life  of  one  man,  to  this  domain  we  have  added  Louisiana, 
and  the  territories  beyond,  extending  westward  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
On  the  south  we  have  thrown  our  arms  around  the  Floridas  and  Texas, 
stretching  to  the  Mexican  Gulf,  while  on  the  north  we  have  secured 
possession  on  Oregon  extending  to  latitude  forty-nine."  This  im- 
mense territory,  reaching  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Eio  Grande  to  the  forty-ninth  of  Oregon,  is  now  owned 
by  only  twenty  millions  of  people,  exclusive  of  the  wandering  tribes  of 
Indians  continually  wasting  away  under  the  baleful  influence  of  the 
stern  vices  of  a  portion  of  our  Christian  civilization. 

But  it  is  not  alone  the  amplitude  of  our  country  that  demands  either 
our  admiration  or  our  gratitude.  I  would  not  compare  America  with 
Asia,  but  I  would  advantageously  compare  our  portion  of  it — our  own 
national  domain — with  that  of  any  one  people  or  nation  now  existing 
on  the  face  of  the  earth,  in  all  the  elements  that  impart  interest, 
grandeur,  beauty,  prosperity  and  happiness  to  a  country. 

In  wh^it  other  country  are  fruitful  mountains  and  luxuriant  plains, 


BACCALAUREATE  ADDRESS. 


495 


navigable  lakes  and  rivers,  fertile  hills  and  valleys,  projected  on  a  scale 
of  such  varied,  grand  and  magnificent  dimensions?  What  immense 
defiles  of  stupendous  mountains,  decorated  with  variegated  forests 
and  towering  cliffs,  storehouses  of  the  richest  minerals,  as  well  as  of 
the  fuel  to  refine  them  and  of  the  streams  to  convey  them  to  market, 
are  seen  lifting  their  proud  eminences  to  the  clouds,  both  in  the  east  and 
west,  the  north  and  south,  of  our  immense  territory !  In  what  other 
land  are  seen  such  inland  seas,  in  the  form  of  lakes,  and  such  rivers, 
measured  by  thousands  of  miles,  on  whose  broad  bosoms  is  yet  destined 
to  float  the  wealth  of  nations  ?  Where  else  shall  we  find,  connected 
with  such  highways  of  commerce,  unmeasured  prairies  of  the  richest 
soils,  whose  luxuriant  grasses  and  fields  of  corn  wave  to  the  winds  of 
heaven  like  inland  seas  of  verdure  and  beauty?  And  where  such 
myriads  of  hills  and  valleys,  covered  with  rich  harvests  or  crowned 
with  green  pastures,  teeming  with  flocks  and  herds  that  can  neither  be 
told  nor  numbered  ? 

But,  leaving  this  field  of  admiration,  which  I  cannot  survey  any 
more  than  I  can  fathom  this  mighty  ocean,  on  whose  fair  bosom  I 
move  so  majestically  along,  let  us  for  a  moment  look  at  the  increasing 
number,  the  gigantic  strides,  the  mighty  commerce  and  the  unparal- 
leled enterprise  of  our  people. 

In  1755  our  entire  population  was  twenty  thousand  less  than  one 
million.  Now,  in  1847,  it  cannot  be  less  than  twenty  millions.  In 
1855,  one  century  after  its  first  census,  it  will  have  advanced  from 
one  million  to  twenty-five/  England,  the  prodigy  of  Europe  and  of 
the  world,  in  a  little  more  than  half  a  century  has  doubled  its  popu- 
lation. In  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  United  States  have 
doubled  theirs.  On  this  ratio  of  increase,  which  cannot  be  expected 
to  diminish  during  the  present  century,  the  next  century  wiU  com- 
mence with  a  population  of  seventy-five  millions  I  Young  gentlemen, 
there  are  some  of  you  standing  here  to-day  who  may  live  to  see  the 
day,  not  quite  fifty-three  years  hence,  when  the  American  family  shall 
number  its  seventy-five  millions  of  citizens  ! 

The  commerce  of  our  country  is  still  more  wonderful  than  its  in- 
crease of  population.  It  now  amounts  to  two  millions  and  a  half  of 
tonnage — twelve  times  greater  than  it  was  half  a  century  ago.  During 
this  period.  Great  Britain,  the  greatest  maritime  Power  in  the  world, 
has  only  increased  her  tonnage  by  about  one-half  of  what  it  was  some 
fifty  years  ago.  Having  lake-shores  with  their  tributaries  extending 
almost  five  thousand  miles,  draining  an  immense  territory,  the  city  of 
New  York  already  receives,  of  all  the  products  of  our  soil,  more  than 


496 


BACCALAUREATE  ADDRESS. 


the  city  of  New  Orleans ;  althougli  on  our  Western  waters  there  ply 
some  eight  hundred  steamboats,  carrying  but  a  portion  of  the  produce 
that  grows  on  the  banks  of  the  Father  of  Waters  with  his  unnumbered 
tributaries,  draining  over  one  million  throe  hundred  thousand  square 
miles,  and  bearing  to  New  Orleans  the  gleanings  of  shores  twelve 
thousand  miles  in  extent ! 

Next  to  these  immense  rivers  and  lakes,  another  element  of  our 
national  greatness  is  our  inland  means  of  communication  and  trans- 
port. Of  these  I  shall  only  say  that  they  are  no  less  wonderful  and 
unexampled  than  those  already  mentioned.  In  1790,  only  fifty-seven 
years  ago,  in  all  the  United  States  we  had  but  seventy-five  joost- 
offices,  and  the  whole  mail-routes  were  short  of  two  thousand  miles. 
Now  we  have  thirteen  thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty-eight  post- 
offices,  and  mail-routes  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
miles  in  extent !  Already  we  travel  on  canals  more  than  four  thousand 
miles,  and  on  railroads  over  five  thousand ! 

With  another  element  we  shall  complete  our  allusions  to  the  more  im- 
pressive indications  of  our  national  greatness.  It  is  the  all-absorbing 
subject  of  education — with  me  the  alpha  and  the  omega  of  a  people's 
greatness,  usefulness  and  happiness.  While  Prussia,  in  the  number  of 
her  schools  and  in  the  mode  of  conducting  them,  may  excel  us,  as  well 
as  in  the  number  of  children  that  attend  them,  it  is  presumed  that  we 
excel  her  and  aU  the  world  beside  in  the  character  of  the  education  im- 
parted to  our  youth.  There  is,  indeed,  one  class  of  natives  in  our  country 
most  imprudently,  most  unphilosophically,  and  in  a  manner  the  most 
unchristian-like,  debarred  from  scholastic  education.  This  every  Chris- 
tian and  every  philanthropist  in  the  country  sincerely  deplores.  But 
taking  our  white  population  into  view,  in  all  the  Union  there  was,  in 
1840,  one  child  in  every  seven  at  school.  Should  we  divide  the  Union 
into  districts,  and  place  the  free  States  in  one  district,  there  was  one 
in  every  five  ;  or  should  we  take  all  New  England  and  New  York  only, 
there  was  more  than  one  in  four.  Compared  with  England,  Scot- 
land and  Wales,  our  country  is,  indeed,  very  considerably  in  advance. 
In  Wales,  but  one  in  twenty,  in  England,  but  one  in  twelve,  in  Scot- 
land, but  one  in  ten  were  attending  school  in  1840.  Of  England  and 
Wales  I  lately  saw  it  somewhere  stated  that  not  more  than  one-half 
of  the  whole  adult  population  can  write  their  own  names.  I  will  not 
speak  of  churches,  for  in  these  it  is  known  that,  as  respects  the  numbe: 
of  them  in  our  old  settlements,  we  excel  all  the  world. 

When,  then,  gentlemen,  we  look  into  the  elements  of  a  nation' 
greatness — territory,  soil,  climate,  population,  commerce,  post-offices 


BACCALAUREATE  ADDRESS. 


497 


public  highways,  education,  schools  and  colleges — in  all  of  which  it  is, 
I  believe,  conceded  that  we  excel  all  the  world  beside ;  and  when  it  is 
remembered  that  we  are  but  in  our  infancy,  while  other  nations  with 
whom  we  compare  are  in  more  than  their  manhood  prime,  what  reasons 
of  thankfulness  have  we  for  our  happy  lot !  What  bright  anticipations 
of  future  greatness !  What  a  glorious  destiny  seems  to  await  us ! 
But  we  must  also  ask  ourselves,  What  obligations  are  laid  upon  us 
to  act  a  part  in  the  great  drama  of  life  worthy  of  ourselves,  har- 
monious with  our  national  birthriarhts  ?    And  how  shall  we  most 

o 

certainly  transmit  to  posterity  the  rich  inheritance  which  God  has  put 
into  our  hands  for  them  ? 

Still,  the  main  cause  of  our  true  greatness  as  a  people  is  the  result 
of  a  happy  combination  of  those  several  causes  co-operating  in  the 
production  of  a  new  order  of  society,  which  has  been  developed  in  our 
free  institutions,  both  religious  and  political.  I  do  not  say  political 
and  religious,  but  religious  and  political;  because,  however  startling 
to  some  ears,  it  is  nevertheless  true,  that  the  political  institutions  of 
every  nation  and  people  on  earth  are  but  the  legitimate  offspring  of 
their  religion,  whatever  it  may  be. 

Whence  came  that  peculiar,  distinguishing  freedom  of  thought,  of 
speech  and  of  action,  which  is  the  quickening  spirit  of  our  social 
system,  and  the  supreme  characteristic  of  our  political  institutions  ? 
Believe  me,  gentlemen,  it  is  but  a  portion  of  the  emancipating,  enlarg- 
ing and  soul-redeeming  spirit  of  the  Christian  religion,  as  developed 
in  part  through  the  Protestant  Reformation,  carried  to  this  continent 
by  our  stern,  uncompromising  Puritan  ancestors.  Could  you,  or  any 
one  else,  accustomed  to  seek  for  adequate  causes  for  important  events, 
imagine  that  the  intolerant  hierarchal  spirit,  whether  it  exist  in  the 
form  or  under  the  name  of  an  English  or  a  Roman  despotism,  which 
compelled  the  founders  of  our  free  institutions  to  seek  for  a  refuge  and 
a  home  in  a  North  American  wilderness,  could  have  originated  and 
developed  such  a  social  system  as  that  which  we,  through  their  instru- 
mentality, now  enjoy?  As  the  stream  cannot  rise  above  its  fountain, 
so  free  institutions  cannot  possibly  spring  out  of  absolute  despotisms, 
whether  religious  or  political. 

We  find  in  the  ancient  Pagan  idolatries  the  beau-ideal  of  an  abso- 
lute monarchy,  just  as  we  find  in  the  Jewish  institution  the  reasons 
of  a  pure  theocracy,  and  in  the  gospel  the  proper  and  justifiable  ele- 
ments of  a  christocracy.  So  in  every  form  and  theory  of  religion  we 
can  find  the  outlines  and  the  elements  of  the  political  institutions  of 
the  people  that  receive  them.    Had  there  never  been  the  idea  of  a 

33 


498 


BACCALAUREATE  ADDRESS. 


Eoman  emperor,  there  never  would  have  been  either  a  Pagan  or  a 
Papal  supreme  pontiff  claiming  political  authority  over  the  persons  and 
the  estates  of  men.  The  spirit  of  the  supremacy  of  the  Messiah,  as 
Lord  of  all,  which  we  properly  denominate  the  christocracy,  is 
essentially  the  spirit  of  liberty,  justice  and  love;  because,  having 
himself  absolute  control  of  the  affections  of  the  human  heart,  he  sets 
us  free  from  every  allegiance  to  man  which  he  himself  has  not  by  a 
clear  and  express  warrant  instituted.  In  the  christocracy,  therefore, 
we  find  the  never-failing  spring  of  that  aversion  to  ecclesiastic  dogma- 
tism which  has  given  to  pure  Protestantism  its  noble  characteristics  of 
mental  independence,  sense  of  equal  rights,  and  love  of  perfect  free- 
dom. If  the  Son  of  God  emancipate  a  man,  he  is  free  indeed.  This, 
also,  was  the  proper  and  immediate  cause  of  that  peculiar  energy  of 
character  which  has  done  so  much  for  us  as  a  people,  which  gave  rise 
to  our  political  organization,  our  general  education  and  our  ecclesiastic 
independence. 

Opposed  to  the  christocracy,  there  are  yet  three  grand  powers  in 
the  field.  They  are  most  familiarly  known  under  the  designations  of 
Idolatry,  Mohammedanism  and  Popery.  Light  and  darkness,  good  and 
evil,  do  not  present  a  more  evident  contrast  than  these  severally  do 
to  the  spirit  and  tendency  of  the  Christian  religion.  Before  the  chris- 
tocracy, therefore,  can  be  fully  developed  in  all  its  redeeming  and 
transforming  excellency,  these  three  great  rivals  of  the  Messiah  must 
be  driven  from  the  field. 

The  head  of  idolatrous  Rome  was  Coesar  imperator  et  pontifex  max- 
imus.  That  form  of  idolatry  has  faded  from  Europe.  The  mitre  and 
the  cross  distinguish  his  Papal  successor,  while  the  crescent  and  the 
sword  are  the  proper  symbols  of  the  Arabian  impostor.  The  religion 
of  the  false  prophet  of  Mecca  totters  to  its  fall,  while  that  of  Rome, 
according  to  prophecy,  must  remain  yet  a  little  longer.  Its  doom, 
however,  is  written,  and  we  need  no  new  prophet  to  reveal  its  final 
catastrophe.  The  theatre  of  the  Koran  and  that  of  the  ancient 
idolatries  are  very  far  distant  from  us,  and,  therefore,  we  cannot  be 
expected  to  be  directly  or  personally  implicated  in  their  overthrow, 
its  precursors  or  its  concomitants.  But  the  last  great  conflict  of  the 
Papacy,  and  that  in  which  we  are  most  likely  to  be  interested,  seems 
to  be  reserved  for  a  theatre  somewhere  in  the  New  World :  most  pro- 
bably it  will  be  found  in  the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  We  fight 
against  the  idolatries  of  Asia  and  Africa  through  our  Missionary  and 
Bible  Society  operations ;  but  we  must  personally  act  a  part  in'  that 


BACCALAUREATE  ADDRESS. 


499 


conflict  which  must  necessarily  precede  the  long-predicted  triumph  of 
the  Christian  church  over  all  her  enemies. 

That  you  may  properly  apprehend  the  nature  of  this  conflict,  and 
what  is  rightfully  expected  from  you,  you  must  know  that  there  is  one 
man  in  Europe,  of  whom  you  have  often  heard,  whom  we  have  to  fear 
more  than  any  other  man  in  the  world.  He  calls  himself  "  the  vicar 
of  Christ,"  the  prince  of  the  apostles,"  the  pontifex  maximum"  of 
the  whole  Christian  empire.  As  vicegerent  of  God  Almighty,  he  sits  on 
the  throne  of  St.  Peter,  as  chief  of  the  hierarchs  of  earth.  From  his 
girdle  hang  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  He  opens  and  shuts 
the  gates  of  mercy  according  to  his  own  will.  Myriads  of  ecclesiastic 
aspirants  burn  incense  at  his  shrine,  and  worship  at  his  feet.  Legions 
of  hungry  monks  and  begging  friars  proclaim  his  intercessory  power 
while  pious  matrons  and  vestal  nuns  present  his  claims  to  every  infant 
€ar  to  which  they  can  find  access.  One  hundred  millions  of  admiring 
worshippers  recognize  his  spiritual  jurisdiction,  and  through  their 
bishops  swear  eternal  allegiance  to  his  will.  His  power  is,  indeed, 
spiritual,  unearthly,  transcendent,  immortal. 

Through  his  arrogant  abuse  of  power,  a  portion  of  the  Old  World 
has  been  partially  alienated  from  him ;  on  which  account  his  spiritual 
despotism  has  not  its  wonted  admiration.  He  is,  however,  seeking  to 
regain  it  in  the  Old  World  and  to  establish  it  in  the  New.  Since  his 
European  fortunes  have  begun  to  wane,  because  of  the  development  of 
his  spiritual  despotism  in  the  miseries  of  his  most  faithful  worshippers 
— the  plundered  and  down-trodden  millions  that  are  crying  for  bread 
— he  looks  to  America,  and  especially  to  the  vast  and  fruitful  valley  of 
the  Mississippi,  with  a  peculiar  intensity  of  affection,  and  yearnings  of 
paternal*  commiseration,  to  impart  to  us  the  holy  consolations  which 
he  alone  has  power  to  administer,  and  from  which  he  regards  us  as 
most  unfortunately  debarred,  through  our  obstinate  and  uncompro- 
mising Protestantism. 

Possessing,  as  he  does,  undivided  empire  over  South  America,  the 
devoted  allegiance  of  Mexico,  with  the  majority  of  Canadian  professors, 
he  onlv  wants  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  to  secure  the  spiritual 
monarchy  of  the  New  World.  He  already  boasts  of  two  millions  of 
true  sons  of  the  church  in  the  United  States  of  America.  For  these 
few  sheep  in  the  wilderness  he  has  created  bishops  and  ecclesiastic 
helps  for  them  with  unprecedented  liberality.  With  the  zeal  of  Peter 
the  Hermit,  his  missionary  Jesuits  peregrinate  our  country  from  New 
York  to  New  Orleans,  and  leave  no  valley  in  all  the  West  unexplored, 
up  to  the  summit  of  every  tributary  stream.    Alre-ady  Papal  gold  has 


500 


BACCALAUEEATE  ADDRESS. 


filled  our  Western  cities  and  towns  with  Gothic  cathedrals  of  enormous 
dimensions.  Everywhere  are  magnificent  altars  being  reared  on  which 
new  sacrifices  are  to  be  offered.  Through  the  sacerdotal  power  of  her 
priesthood  the  bread  and  wine  of  our  country  is  to  be  converted  into 
the  flesh  and  blood  of  a  new-made  Christ,  to  be  both  eaten  and  wor- 
shipped on  the  banks  of  our  rivers  and  in  the  great  radiating  centres 
of  our  literature,  wealth,  commerce  and  civilization.  From  the  Vatican, 
from  the  throne  of  St.  Peter  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber,  the  decree  has 
already  gone  forth  that  our  Protestant  American  liberties  shall  be 
new-modelled  and  rebaptized  at  the  sacred  font  of  the  prince  of  the 
apostles,"  and  made  to  minister  to  the  dictates  of  a  confessor,  accord- 
ing to  the  interests  and  honors  of    Holy  Mother  Church." 

Now,  then,  young  gentlemen,  you  may  comprehend  the  nature  of 
that  anticipated  conflict  to  which  we  call  your  attention.  It  is  no 
ordinary  struggle,  I  assure  you,  which  presents  itself  to  our  vision. 
Popery  has  passed  its  zenith  in  Europe.  Indeed,  the  metes  and  bounda- 
ries of  Koman  and  Protestant  states  in  the  Old  World  have  been 
stereotyped  centuries  ago.  In  the  midst  of  both  a  third  power  has 
arisen.  I  allude  to  the  infidel  power,  that  revolutionized  France,  and 
kindled  a  flame  of  war  all  over  Europe  which  is  yet  scarcely  extin- 
guished. The  infidel  power  is  yet  of  fearful  stature.  On  its  banners 
are  direful  omens  and  portents  of  woe  to  all  potentates  and  powers, 
spiritual  and  temporal.  Proselytes  from  Romanism  to  Protestantism, 
and  from  Protestantism  to  Romanism,  combined,  do  not,  probably,  equal 
in  numbers  those  who  renounce  the  pretensions  of  both  and  unite  their 
fortunes  with  the  infidel  power.  It  does  not,  indeed,  always  organize 
itself,  and  publicly  assume  the  attitude  of  a  separate  and^distinct  power. 
But  on  that  account  it  is  the  more  dangerous  and  the  more  to  be 
feared,  because  the  more  pervading  and  the  less  vulnerable.  It  aspires 
after  the  liberty  to  hate  religion  without  shame,  and  to  inveigh  against 
it  without  reproach.  It  seeks  to  create  a  new  public  opinion,  that  it 
may  annihilate  respect  for  the  Bible  and  those  who  delight  to  honor  it. 
While  Romanists  luxuriate  on  the  outbreaks,  heresies  and  divisions  of 
Protestants,  and  while  Protestants  make  reprisals  from  the  hundred 
abominations  of  Romanism,  infidels  seize  the  vices  and  blemishes  of 
both,  and  eloquently  declaim  in  favor  of  universal  skepticism.  They 
have  no  creed,  no  principle,  no  bond  of  union,  other  than  a  common 
hatred  of  religion,  and  a  mere  negation  of  every  thing  believed  by  Jew 
or  Gentile,  Romanist  or  Protestant.  This  party,  I  fear,  already 
holds  the  balance  of  power,  if  not  a  majority,  both  in  Europe  and 
America.    Its  policy  is  always  to  take  sides  with  what  it  de^s  tha 


BACCALAUREATE  ADDRESS.  501 

weaker  party.  Unfortunately,  too,  for  itself,  as  well  as  for  us,  it  seems 
to  regard  Protestantism  and  Eomanism  as  alike  tyrannical,  proscrip- 
tive  and  intolerant.  It  gives  no  preference.  On  any  emergency,  it 
will  coalesce  with  either  party,  so  far  as  thereby  it  may  promote  its 
own  ends.  It  will  help  the  weaker  party,  on  the  assumption  that  the 
strong  either  is  a  tyrant  or  will  become  one  if  successful.  Hence  the 
sympathy  now  displayed  by  infidels  for  the  Romanist  party  in  the 
"United  States.  This,  gentlemen,  is  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  my 
fears  for  the  destiny  of  our  country.  The  influx  of  Romanists,  though 
somewhat  alarming,  is  not  so  much  to  be  deprecated  as  the  still  greater 
influx  of  infidels,  because  these  together  are  certainly  more  than  two- 
thirds  of  all  the  immigrants  into  our  country.  Now,  from  the  junction 
of  infidels  and  Romanists,  I  contend,  our  country  has  much  to  fear,  if  not 
with  regard  to  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  christocracy,  with  regard 
to  the  ordeal  and  tribulation  through  which  it  must  pass.  Let  us  not 
dream  of  perpetual  prosperity,  of  indefinite  ages  of  tranquillity,  of  an 
unbroken  series  of  splendid  triumphs.  Depend  upon  it,  a  conflict  will 
as  certainly  come,  in  this  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  between  the  friends 
of  one  Mediator  and  the  friends  of  many,  as  it  must  come  in  the  plains 
of  India  between  the  worshippers  of  one  God  and  the  worshippers  of 
many.* 

Allow  me,  in  conclusion,  to  tender  you  a  suggestion  or  two  on  the 
premises,  with  regard  to  your  duties  in  such  an  issue.  First,  then, 
you  ought  to  inform  yourselves  on  all  the  premises  now  laid  before  you. 
Make  yourselves  familiar  with  the  history  of  both  Protestantism  and 
Popery.    You  owe  it  to  yourselves,  your  country  and  the  human  race, 


*  The  Newtons  in  philosophy  and  theology  have  anticipated  and  predicted  a  mighty 
struggle  between  Popery  and  Protestantism  before  the  final  triumph.    Tillotson,  almost 
two  centuries  ago,  interpreted  the  barbarous  verses  of  Herbert  on  the  translation  of 
Protestantism  to  America  from  England  in  this  way.    Herbert  says, — 
"  Religion  stands  on  tiptoe  in  our  land, 

Ready  to  pass  to  the  American  strand. 

When  Seine  shall  swallow  Tiber,  and  the  Thames, 

By  letting  in  them  both,  pollute  her  streams, 

Then  shall  religion  to  America  flee ; 

They  have  their  time  of  gospel  as  we." 
The  archbishop,  who  flourished  in  1660,  remarked  on  these  verses,  "When  the  vices  of 
Italy  shall  pass  into  France,  and  the  vices  of  both  shall  overspread  England,  then  the 
gospel  will  leave  them  both,  and  pass  into  America  to  visit  those  dark  regions."  (Vol.  iiu 
p.  587.)  This  has  come  to  pass;  and  recent  events  make  it  quite  as  evident  that,  as 
American  Protestantism  is  now  the  purest  in  the  world,  the  great  struggle  for  tht 
empire  of  the  world  between  Protestantism  and  Popery  may  be  expected  in  the  centrt 
-if  this  New  World. 


502 


BACCALAUREATE  ADDRESS. 


to  understand  the  genius  and  character  of  your  own  age,  and  its  lear- 
ings  upon  the  future,  as  far  as  you  can.  The  history  of  Romanism 
and  the  dark  ages  you  must  thoroughly  digest.  I  will  commend  but 
two  books  at  present — Bowling's  History  of  Romanism,  and,  for  both 
sides  of  the  controversy,  a  Discussion  with  Bishop  Purcell,  in  Cincin- 
nati, in  1837,  endorsed  by  the  parties.  With  regard  to  infidelity  I 
will  also  name  two — Simpson's  Plea  for  Religion,  and  a  Discussion 
with  Robert  Owen,  Esq.,  in  Cincinnati,  1829,  endorsed  by  the  parties. 
These  works  will  suggest  to  your  own  minds  others. 

But  I  especially  entreat  you  to  be  always  prepared  to  lift  up 
your  voices  for  the  free  circulation  of  the  Bible  without  note  or 
comment,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  to  plead  the  cause  of  universal 
education.  These  are  the  main  piUars  of  all  our  valued  institutions. 
Intelligence  and  virtue  are  the  foundations  of  a  free,  representative 
and  popular  government.  They  are  the  unfailing  souroos  of  a  nation's 
greatness,  prosperity  and  happiness.  Be,  then,  the  constant,  fearless 
and  zealous  champions  of  universal  education,  without  which  writing, 
printing  and  speaking  are  of  comparatively  little  value  to  the  world. 
For  these  works  of  benevolence  and  humanity,  gentlemen,  you  must 
qualify  yourselves.  You  must  read,  think,  write  and  talk  much  on 
these  great,  soul-redeeming  topics.  Your  own  destiny  and  that  of 
your  country,  more  or  less,  depend  upon  the  faithful  and  able  dis- 
charge of  these  duties.  Assail  Romanism  and  infidelity  with  the  Bible 
in  every  man's  family,  and  with  a  good  common  school  for  every  man's 
children  in  the  land.  A  well-educated,  Bible-reading  nation  has 
nothing  to  fear  from  Popery,  prelacy  or  infidelity;  but  without  the 
Bible  and  the  common  school  no  nation  can  be  free,  virtuous  and 
happy. 

With  these  premises  before  you,  my  young  friends,  with  your  ad- 
vantages of  mental  discipline,  and  with  your  acquirements  in  the 
various  branches  of  a  liberal  education,  most  of  you  also  professors 
of  religion,  you  may  form  a  proper  estimate  of  your  possible  influence 
for  good  or  for  evil  on  human  destiny.  Possessing,  in  common  with 
your  contemporary  friends  and  fellow-citizens,  the  largest  and  the 
richest  patrimony  kind  Heaven  now  bestows  on  any  people;  speakiiioj 
a  language  the  most  copious,  rich  and  forcible  of  any  living  tongue ; 
enjoying,  too,  the  advantages  of  the  most  improved  literature,  science 
and  civilization ;  inferior  to  no  nation  or  people  in  the  arts  of  war  or 
in  the  arts  of  peace ;  living  in  an  age  in  which  we  print  by  light, 
converse  by  lightning  and  travel  by  steam,  by  means  of  which  we  have 
almost  annihilated  both  time  and  space,  communing  with  one  another 


BACCALAUREATE  , ADDRESS. 


503 


across  oceans  and  continents  with  more  certainty  and  despatch  than 
our  fathers  did  with  neighboring  towns  and  counties  a  century  ago ; 
having  in  our  hands  the  Bible  so  cheap  and  so  abundant  that  a  man 
can  buy  the  New  Testament  for  sixpence,  and  the  whole  Bible  for 
three  shillings ;  with  a  Government  the  least  expensive  and  with  civil 
institutions  the  most  rational,  equitable  and  free  ever  vouchsafed  to 
man :  what,  I  ask,  are  your  responsibilities  and  duties  to  God,  your 
country  and  the  human  race  ? 

Consider  well,  I  beseech  you,  what  you  can  do,  for  what  you  ca?i 
you  ought  to  do,  in  preparation  for  the  business  and  conflicts  of  life. 
You  must  take  some  side  in  the  great  controversies  of  the  age. 
Survey  the  battle-ground  before  you.  On  the  one  side  are  ranged 
antiquated  error,  superstition,  despotism  and  misanthropy;  on  the 
other,  truth,  intelligence,  liberty,  religion  and  humanity.  In  such 
a  war  no  good  man  can  be  neutral.  Are  you  not  ardent  for  the 
encounter  ?  May  I  not  say  for  you  all,  that  you  will  go  heart  and 
hand  into  the  work  of  man's  redemption  from  ignorance,  error  and 
sin?  Certainly  you  will  espouse  the  cause  of  the  Bible,  education 
and  human  liberty. 

I  call  not  upon  you,  young  gentlemen,  to  furnish  yourselves  with 
swords  and  spears,  with  the  weapons  of  desolation  and  death,  for  the 
impending  conflict.  This  is  not  the  work  of  scholars,  or  philosophers, 
or  Christians.  Your  profession  is  not  to  kill  and  to  destroy,  but  to 
redeem  and  to  rescue  man  from  evil.  Camps,  not  colleges,  are  the 
seminaries  for  warriors,  heroes  and  conquerors.  The  weapons  of  this 
our  warfare  are  not  swords  and  spears,  but  reason,  truth,  persuasion. 
Under  the  broad  banners  of  peace,  righteousness  and  love,  with  the 
sharp  two-edged  sword  of  reason,  argument  and  truth,  approach  the 
lines  of  the  enemy,  saying,  with  one  of  old,  Nil  desperandum,  te  duce 
Christe,  and  the  victory  is  yours  I 


BACCALAUREATE  ADDRESS. 


TO  THE  GRADUATES  OF  BETHANY  COLLEGE 


DELIVERED  JULY  4,  1846 


Young  Gentlemen  : — 

A  DISTINGUISHED  poet  has  said,  "  The  world's  a  stage,  and  all  the 
men  and  women  players."  On  such  a  stage,  covered  with  so  many 
actors,  one  might  expect  a  splendid  drama.  And  such  indeed  is  the 
momentous  drama  of  human  life. 

Its  acts  are  numerous  and  eventful.  Its  scenes  are  infinitely  diver- 
sified and  interesting.  Its  principal  characters  are  few.  They  are  the 
thunderbolts  of  war  and  the  angels  of  peace.  Its  master-spirits  are  a 
fallen  seraph  and  a  risen  Lord. 

On  the  proper  performance  of  our  respective  parts  eternal  issues 
hang.  Not  empires  nor  worlds  only,  but  the  universe  itself,  is  the  prize 
for  which  we  play.  All  ranks  and  orders  of  intelligence,  celestial  and 
terrestrial,  are  interested  in  the  grand  result.  The  galleries  above  and 
around  us  are  filled  with  an  assembly  of  spectators  and  auditors  as 
immense  as  it  is  grand  and  imposing ;  while  the  pit  beneath  is  crowded 
with  classes  of  a  very  different  character,  but  equally  interested  in  the 
whole  performance — in  the  development  of  the  plot  and  in  the  awfuUy 
sublime  and  glorious  catastrophe. 

The  players  are  grouped  in  generations,  making  their  respective 
debuts  and  exits  in  good  keeping  with  the  immense  area  of  the  stage, 
the  length  of  the  performance,  the  infinite  number  of  actors  engaged 
and  the  eternal  hazards  in  debate.  The  antagonistic  genii  of  the  stage 
have  so  conducted  the  plot  as  to  have  every  human  being  acting  a  part 
in  subordination  to  their  conflicting  views,  characters  and  designs. 
The  drama  is  divided  into  seven  nights  of  a  thousand  years  each. 
Almost  six  of  them  are  already  past,  and,  as  the  consummation  ad- 
vances, the  scenes  become  more  interesting  and  the  struggle  more 
impetuous  and  absorbing. 

few,  very  few,  indeed,  of  the  actors  comprehend  the  part  they  as- 

604 


TO  THE  GRADUATES  OF  BETHANY  COLLEGE. 


505 


8ume,  because  they  do  not  apprehend  the  master-spirits  nor  their  de- 
signs. The  points  at  issue  between  them,  the  plot  and  the  catastrophe, 
are  not  understood  nor  appreciated  by  one  in  a  thousand  of  either  the 
actors  or  the  spectators.  The  multitude  are  not  informed  that  some 
six  thousand  years  ago  a  seraph,  the  most  puissant  of  the  peers  of 
heaven,  rebelled  against  God  and  formed  a  party  against  his  govern- 
ment. This  caused  their  expulsion  from  the  court  and  palace  of  the 
King  of  Eternity,  and  secured  their  banishment  to  the  desolate  regions 
of  unending  night. 

Man,  not  long  after,  made  his  appearance  in  Eden,  sitting  under  the 
shade  of  the  Tree  of  Life,  hard  by  a  crystal  stream  of  living  water 
issuing  from  a  hidden  fountain  near  the  throne  of  God.  No  sooner 
seen  than  envied,  he  became  the  object  of  the  implacable  hate  of  the 
lapsed  archangel.  His  ruin  was  instantly  plotted,  undertaken,  and  as 
far  accomplished  as  was  possible  under  the  first  constitution  of  hu- 
manity. The  Divine  Father  of  man  had,  however,  anticipated  the  prince 
of  demons,  bearing  in  his  bosom  deep  concealed  a  counterplot  of  mercy 
and  judgment.  Soon  after  the  first  act  of  the  mighty  drama,  the  scheme 
was  darkly  intimated  to  man  and  put  into  the  hands  of  the  heir  of  the 
universe  for  its  consummation.  This  illustrious  person,  during  a  suc- 
cession of  full  forty  centuries,  conducted  incog,  this  scheme  of  redemp- 
tion in  the  persons  of  prophets,  priests  and  kings,  till  in  the  fulness  of 
time  he  appears  in  person  upon  the  stage  and  commences  the  work  of 
illumination,  setting  on  foot  schemes  of  remedial  mercy  profoundly  wise 
yet  divinely  simple  and  intelligible.  He  associates  with  him  all  the 
liege  angels  of  heaven,  and  enlists  into  his  service  all  the  truly  noble 
of  earth.  He  institutes  a  new  form  of  government,  and  presents  a 
splendid  scheme  of  bringing  light  out  of  darkness,  good  out  of  evil, 
beauty  from  deformity,  and  immortality  from  the  grave.  The  fallen 
seraph,  under  the  name  of  Satan,  the  antagonist  of  the  Great  Philan- 
thropist, brings  upon  the  battle-ground  of  earth  his  confederate  angels 
of  darkness  and  revolt,  and  makes  a  strong  party  of  worshippers.  He 
embodies  all  the  passions  of  men  in  the  form  of  "  gods  many  and  lords 
many,"  and  in  their  worship  fills  the  earth  with  ignorance  and  idolatry, 
with  lust  and  violence.  Meanwhile  his  career  is  suddenly  and  unex- 
pectedly arrested  for  a  time  by  the  catastrophe  of  a  watery  deluge,  then 
by  the  confusion  of  human  language  and  the  abbreviation  of  human  life. 

Numerous  and  various  acts  and  scenes  of  this  complicated  and  mys- 
terious drama  are  made  to  pass  before  us,  during  a  succession  of  many 
generations  of  actors.  Many  prominent  characters,  of  much  conspicuity 
and  a  long- enduring  fame,  appear  upon  the  stage.    After  Noah  and 


506 


BACCALAUREATE  ADDRESS 


Shem,  Ham  and  Japheth,  we  see  the  great  actors  Abraham,  Isaac, 
Jacob,  Joseph,  Moses,  Joshua,  Samuel,  David,  with  illustrious  lines 
of  Jewish  prophets,  priests  and  kings.  Finally,  the  Incarnate  Word 
and  Oracle  of  Jehovah  is  solemnly  announced  by  his  harbinger  as 
"  the  Light  of  the  world,"  the  High-Priest  of  the  human  race,  and  the 
Founder  and  King  of  a  new  order  of  society. 

He  associates  around  him  a  school  of  evangelists  and  apostles, 
selects  a  host  of  prime  ministers  of  light  and  sends  them  to  the  world 
on  missions  of  mercy.  He  voluntarily  falls  into  the  hands  of  his  ene- 
mies, who,  as  wickedly  as  foolishly,  murder  him,  and  thus  seek  to  extir- 
pate his  party.  But  while  among  the  dead,  and  in  the  dungeon  of  the 
grave,  he  grapples  with  the  monster  Death  and  gives  him  a  fatal  wound. 
He  revives  again,  unbolts  the  mighty  gates  of  the  grave,  and,  like 
Samson  of  old  imprisoned  in  Gaza,  he  carries  upon  his  shoulders  the 
gates  and  bars  and  pillars  of  the  city  of  death,  and  upon  Mount  Olivet 
breaks  them  to  atoms. 

Soon  after  he  leaves  the  battle-ground  and  ascends  to  heaven.  Being 
there  received  with  great  honor,  he  sends  to  earth  a  new  and  omni- 
potent agent,  who,  in  the  person  of  apostles,  evangelists  and  teachers, 
takes  the  field,  becomes  the  advocate  of  his  cause,  the  true  esprit  du 
corps  of  his  party,  and  more  than  copes  with  all  the  unseen  agents  that 
animate  and  inspire  the  opposition.  He  plants  his  standard  in  a  hun- 
dred cities  in  less  than  one  generation,  and  soon  constrains  the  homage 
of  his  enemies,  who,  after  a  few  acts  of  the  drama,  instigated  by  the 
evil  spirit,  make  for  him  a  Vicar  Christ  and  a  politico-ecclesiastic  sanc- 
tuary. The  sable  goddess  from  her  ebon  throne,"  in  "  rayless  ma- 
jesty," again  extends  her  ''leaden  sceptre  o'er  a  slumbering  world," 
and  ignorance,  superstition  and  error  regain  much  of  their  former 
ascendency.  Under  the  mask  of  an  humble  sanctity,  the  stage  is  filled 
with  new  hosts  of  actors.  From  a  cardinal  down  to  a  begging  friar, 
the  world  is  filled  with  spiritual  wretches,  seeking,  Satan-like,  whom 
they  might  devour.  Meantime,  skepticism,  in  the  person  of  Leo  X., 
perches  itself  on  the  altar  of  St.  Peter.  Literature  revives.  Luther  is 
born.  The  Elector  of  Saxony  espouses  his  cause.  Princes  smile  upon 
him,  kings  wink  at  him,  emperors  do  him  homage.  Many  were  willing 
to  patronize  the  bright  star  of  a  new  destiny,  and  the  school-master 
rose  in  rank  next  to  the  priest. 

From  that  time  to  the  present,  Christian  society  has  advanced  in 
intelligence  and  civilization.  And  the  nations  that  most  revere  the 
Bible  and  patronize  the  school-master  have  greatly  transcended,  in  lite- 
rature and  science,  in  the  arts  of  war  and  the  arts  of  peace,  in  all  the 


TO  TEE  GRADUATES  OF  BETHANY  COLLEGE. 


507 


elements  of  national  greatness  and  national  glory,  those  who,  disparaging 
the  school-master  and  the  Bible,  have  done  obeisance  at  the  shrine  of 
a  Papal  supremacy  or  offered  incense  to  the  genius  of  atheism  or  uni- 
versal skepticism.  Still,  the  work  of  illumination  and  human  exaltation 
is  but  advancing  to  a  higher  standard.  The  conflicts  between  a  true 
and  false  philosophy  of  God  and  man,  of  nature  and  society,  of  literature 
and  science,  have  not  yet  wholly  ceased.  We  are,  indeed,  but  partially 
convinced  (for  the  conviction  is  not  yet  deep  and  universal)  that  man 
is  susceptible  of  a  better  education  than  he  has  hitherto  enjoyed,  and 
that  it  is  the  interest  of  the  whole  community  that  it  be  universal. 

What  education  is,  and  who  should  participate  in  it — whether  it  should 
be  universal  or  partial — are  indeed  the  peculiar  themes  of  the  present 
century.  And,  young  gentleman,  this  leads  me  to  address  you  specially 
on  the  part  you  should  act  in  the  pending  controversy  on  the  two  great 
questions.  What  is  education,  and  who  should  enjoy  it  ? 

I  need  not  now  intimate  to  you  what  education  is,  nor  need  I  even 
say  to  you  that,  in  some  reasonable  portion,  it  ought  to  be  secured  to 
every  child  born  within  the  confines  of  what  we  call  our  country.  My 
present  purpose  is  to  call  your  attention  to  the  obligations  resting  upon 
you  to  advocate  this  cause,  and  to  suggest  to  you  how  you  may  do  it 
most  effectually. 

1.  As  to  your  obligation  to  plead  this  cause,  be  it  observed  that  our 
obligations  are  sometimes  both  common  and  special.  Every  man  is 
under  obligation,  so  far  as  talent,  opportunity  and  means  are  possessed, 
to  use  his  influence  to  promote  the  happiness  of  the  human  race,  and 
especially  in  that  way  most  important  to  thera  and  to  him  most  ready 
and  available. 

2.  But  especially  are  you  under  obligation  to  advocate  just  views  of 
education,  and  to  plead  for  its  universal  diffusion  throughout  society. 
You  are  to  consider  yourselves  as  charged  with  this  duty  from  the 
special  call  given  you  in  this  dispensation  of  Divine  Providence.  You 
enter  the  drama  of  life  under  peculiar  advantages — Americans  by  birth, 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  the  gifted  sons  of  a  gifted  ancestry,  a 
majority  of  you  Christians,  and  all  of  you  ought  to  be.  You  have  your- 
selves laboriously  passed  through  the  whole  course  of  a  liberal  educa- 
tion. You  have  read  Grecian  and  Roman  history,  philosophy,  poetry 
and  eloquence,  in  the  language  of  Greece  and  Rome.  You  have  made 
the  grand  tour  of  the  sciences,  physical,  intellectual  and  moral.  You 
are  well  read  in  mathematics,  pure  and  mixed,  and  in  the  mysteries 
of  number  and  magnitude.  Few  of  your  juvenile  contemporaries  will 
enter  the  arena  of  public  life  with  more  advantages  than  you  possess. 


•508 


BACCALAUREATE  ADDRESS 


You  ouglit,  then,  to  occupy  a  large  space  in  the  pending  conflicts,  in 
the  passing  acts  of  the  grand  drama  now  in  progress  in  this  department. 
You  may  be  captains  not  of  hundreds  only,  but  of  thousands  and  of 
ten  thousands ;  provided  you  can  only  comprehend  your  abilities  and 
opportunities,  and  the  virtue  of  making  preparations  to  plead  this 
cause  ably  and  persuasively. 

But  I  must  speak  to  you  more  definitely,  and  perhaps  more  perspi- 
cuously. I  do  not  say,  then,  that  you  should  all  become  authors  of  treat- 
ises on  these  subjects.  Alas!  this  is  an  age  too  prolific  of  authors — 
of  mushroom  authors — of  books  with  one  idea,  and  of  books  without 
one  idea,  original  or  useful.  We  have  many  writers  of  very  expansive 
minds,  who  can  convert  one  drop  of  water  into  many  gallons  of  vapor ; 
who  can  from  one  grain  of  sense  manufacture  pounds  of  nonsense  ;  who 
can  transform  some  of  the  primers  of  our  fathers  into  ponderous  tomes 
of  huge  dimensions,  in  which  a  man  may  read  a  hundred  pages  with- 
out knowing  what  the  author  means.  G-entlemen,  I  do  not  mean  that 
you  should  punish  the  world  or  afflict  your  country  with  new  books — 
short  methods  to  be  wise,  easy  ways  to  be  learned,  the  art  of  making  a 
fortune  out  of  nothing,  or  of  being  great  or  good  by  wishing.  Leave 
this  task  to  the  authors  of  panaceas,  catholicons  and  specifics  for  all 
maladies — to  the  herbalists,  the  vaporists,  the  mineralists,  who  profess 
to  heal  all  diseases  and  to  remove  all  obstructions  by  one  sovereign 
remedy.  No,  gentlemen :  we  mean  nothing  so  superlatively  ridiculous 
and  absurd. 

Nor  do  we  mean  that  you  should  all  become  professional  teachers  and 
school-masters;  though  I  know  of  no  calling  in  which  you  could  act  a 
more  useful  or  honorable  part,  if  a  sense  of  duty  or  if  your  taste  or 
inclination  should  incline  you  to  it.  .  Some  of  the  greatest  philosophers, 
statesmen,  authors  and  public  benefactors  have  been  teachers  of  schools. 
Nor  do  I  say  that  you  are  to  study  any  particular  profession  or  calling 
with  a  reference  to  the  performance  of  this  duty.  But,  whatever  be 
your  calling  or  profession  or  position  in  life,  you  are,  one  and  ail,  to 
prepare  yourselves  to  advocate  this  cause,  to  seek  an  influence  and  a 
power  to  promote  this  great  object.  You  are  to  make  yourselves  able 
to  expose  the  abuses  of  the  word  "education."  You  must  show  what  is 
rioi  education,  and  what  is  education — that  it  is  not  the  art  of  reading, 
writing,  and  ciphering  as  far  as  Vulgar  Fractions ;  that  it  is  not  the 
acquisition  of  languages,  living  or  dead;  that  it  is  not  the  cultivation  of 
the  head,  nor  the  activity  of  the  hand,  nor  the  improvement  of  any  fraction 
or  part  of  a  human  being.  You  are  to  show  that  the  intellect,  the  con- 
science and  the  heart  are  to  be  educated,  first  at  home,  then  in  the  pri- 


THE  GRADUATES  OF  BETHANY  COLLEGE. 


509- 


noLiary  school,  in  the  academy  and  in  the  college.  On  the  development, 
training  and  corroboration  of  the  physical,  intellectual  and  moral  con- 
stitution of  man  you  must  learn  to  speak  clearly,  forcibly,  learnedly 
and  convincingly. 

But,  gentlemen,  the  great  point  to  which  I  would  now  specially  call 
your  attention,  and  for  which  I  have  introduced  this  subject,  is  to  show 
some  reasons  and  to  offer  some  suggestions  why  you  ought  to  become 
advocates  of  universal  common-school  education.  It  is  not  to  plead  the 
cause  of  education  in  general  terms,  nor  to  plead  for  a  liberal  collegiate 
education.  It  is  not  to  lift  either  your  pen  or  your  voice  in  favor  of 
grand  schemes  of  education  for  the  aristocracy  of  the  community,  to 
induce  them  to  patronize  and  build  up  great  universities  for  the  benefit 
of  their  sons  and  wards,  the  future  patricians  and  nobles  of  our  coun- 
try. "  Capital,"  as  the  saying  is,  "  can  take  care  of  itself,"  and  the  patri- 
cians can  take  care  of  themselves  and  their  families.  Should  they  prefer 
wealth  to  education,  and  seek  to  build  up  banks  rather  than  schools  or 
colleges — if  they  prefer  to  make  deposites  of  their  superabundant  wealth 
in  lands  and  tenements  and  njortgages,  rather  than  in  the  minds  of 
their  sons  and  daughters,  permitting  them  to  continue  a  dreary,  uncul- 
tivated desert,  to  grow  up  a  moral  waste — you  cannot  help  it,  and  you 
need  not  grieve  for  it.  But  there  are  the  plebeians  in  all  communities, 
and  these  are  the  great  majority.  Besides  these,  there  is  a  third  caste: 
these  are  the  improvident,  thriftless,  dissipated  tatterdemalions,  whose 
wealth  consists  in  an  open  cabin,  that  needs  neither  light  nor  ventilation, 
well  filled  with  a  numerous  retinue  of  ragged,  squalid,  ill-fed  and  un 
taught  children.  These  also  furnish  a  respectable  class — if  not  in  rank, 
at  least  in  number — in  some  of  our  States  and  Territories.  Have  these 
no  claims  upon  our  benevolence  nor  upon  our  selfishness?  These 
are  to  be  your  neighbors — possibly  your  servants,  the  inmates  of  your 
families.  To  prevent  the  increase  of  such  a  caste,  of  such  poverty  and 
wretchedness,  of  such  vice  and  misery,  is  an  object  worthy  of  every 
patriot,  philanthropist  and  Christian  in  the  land.  Common-school  edu- 
cation is  an  essential  element  of  every  scheme  of  human  improveinent, 
of  social  enjoyment,  of  true  national  prosperity,  without  which  all  other 
means  will  fall  short  of  that  great  desideratum. 

Do  you  ask  me  how  you  are  to  contribute  to  such  a  consummation? 
I  will  make  a  few  suggestions,  and  leave  the  subject  to  your  own  reflec- 
tions. 

You  are,  first,  to  make  yourselves  well  acquainted  with  the  subject  of 
common-school  education — what  it  means,  what  it  comprehends,  and 
what  stakes  and  interests  the  state  has  in  it,  the  church  has  in  it,  what; 


510 


BACCALAUREATE  ADDRESS 


interest  yourselves  have  in  it.  When  these  subjects  are  well  under- 
stood, you  will  not  lack  arguments  to  convince  every  thinking  and 
intelligent  man  that  it  is  the  paramount  interest  and  duty  of  every 
government  and  community  to  provide  by  law  for  the  education  of  its 
entire  population, — nay,  that  it  is  the  first  duty  of  every  government 
to  make  provision  for  the  practical  literary  and  moral  education  of 
its  youth,  by  levying  and  collecting  imposts  for  this  purpose,  by  set- 
ting on  foot  and  supporting  a  vigorous  and  efficient  system  of  common 
schools,  commensurate  with  the  means,  the  wants,  the  interests,  of  the 
whole  community. 

To  make  such  a  system  popular,  you  must  make  it  appear  that  it  is 
not  only  the  public  interest,  but  the  individual  interest  of  every  man, 
that  such  an  education  be  universal.  You  must  show  that  it  costs  more 
to  have  an  ignorant,  immoral,  thriftless  and  wretched  state  or  com- 
munity than  to  have  such  a  one  as  that  of  Massachusetts,  Connecticut, 
or  Rhode  Island.  This  you  can  do  only  by  opening  to  the  mind  of  the 
community  the  sources  of  national  wealth,  national  greatness  and 
national  prosperity.  You  must  be  able  to  charge  upon  ignorance  and 
vice  all  the  poverty,  wretchedness  and  misery  in  any  country  possessed 
of  a  soil  and  climate  worthy  of  human  residence. 

The  statistics  of  every  well-read  political  economist  will  furnish  yC'U 
with  the  data  for  such  a  development.  You  need  only  to  assume  that 
the  natural  wealth  of  a  community  is  found  in  its  territor}',  in  its  soil, 
its  climate,  its  mineral,  vegetable  and  animal  products,  and  in  its  in- 
dustry, skill  and  economy  in  discovering  and  applying  these,  or  in 
importing  them  from  other  countries  and  raanufactaring  them  for  them- 
selves and  for  others.  You  must  prove — because  it  can  be  proved 
— and  you  must  be  able  to  prove  it  to  the  conviction  of  every  man  of 
good  common  sense,  that  the  wealth  of  a  community — its  entire  wealth, 
personal  and  real — is  but  the  embodiment  of  its  science,  industry  and 
virtue. 

The  materials  of  all  human  wealth  are  in  the  earth  and  upon  it,  in 
the  form  of  minerals,  vegetables  and  animals.  These  three  kingdoms 
contain  it  all.  Science  directs  and  art  converts  it  all  to  human  health, 
wealth  and  happiness.  Of  what  use  the  metals  without  the  smelter, 
the  furnace,  the  crucible  and  the  smith  ?  Of  what  use  the  most  pre- 
cious gems  without  the  lapidary  ? — the  Egyptian  and  the  Parian  marble 
without  the  polisher,  the  mason  and  the  sculptor  ?  Of  what  use  the 
forests  of  Lebanon,  the  cypress,  the  shittim,  the  olive  and  the  mahogany, 
without  the  carpenter  and  his  tools  of  art?  Of  what  mercantile  value 
are  oceans  without  ships,  the  earth  without  the  plough,  the  spade,  the 


TO  THE  GRADUATES  OF  BETHANY  COLLEGE. 


511 


scythe  and  the  sickle  ?  What  avail  the  cotton,  the  wool,  the  flax  and 
the  silk  without  the  machinist,  his  spindle  and  his  loom? 

I  speak  not  of  the  great  achievements  of  science  and  learning,  that 
have  circumnavigated  the  earth  and  measured  the  heavens.  I  speak 
not  of  that  science  that  foretells  for  ages  the  phenomena  of  suns,  and 
comets,  and  stars.  I  speak  not  of  that  science  that  directs  and  manages 
the  lightnings  of  heaven,  that  inscribes  upon  them,  as  they  pass  along, 
the  events  of  the  day,  and  that  makes  them  angels  of  intelligence  from 
city  to  city  and  from  nation  to  nation.  I  speak  not  of  those  develop- 
ments of  science  and  art  that  have  almost  annihilated  distance,  that 
have  converted  nations  into  neighborhoods  and  placed  us  on  terms 
of  intimacy  and  daily  intercommunication  with  those  who  a  few  years 
since  were  regarded  as  aliens  and  foreigners,  never  to  be  seen  and 
seldom  to  be  heard  from.  But  I  speak  of  those  familiar  sciences  and 
arts  of  social  life  that  make  the  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  glad 
and  that  cause  deserts  to  rejoice  and  to  blossom  as  the  rose.  I  speak 
of  that  education  and  science' that  make  the  man,  that  clothe  and  feed 
him — that  education  and  science  that  furnish  him  with  a  house,  a  table, 
a  chair  and  a  bed — and  those  arts  that  minister  to  his  daily  comforts 
by  supplying  him  with  all  the  implements  and  instruments  essential  to 
the  maintenance  of  the  social  state  and  the  fruition  of  social  life.  And 
these,  I  affirm,  he  can  neither  possess  nor  enjoy  without  schools  and 
colleges  and  the  provisions  necessary  to  their  establishment  and  con- 
tinuance. 

But  this  is  only  one  reason  why  common  schools  and  colleges  should 
be  publicly  and  liberally  supported.  Another  reason  is,  the  safety 
of  the  state.  Education,  in  its  proper  import,  not  only  enlightens  the 
understanding,  but  forms  the  conscience  and  humanizes  the  heart  of 
man.  Some  philanthropist  has  said,  and  very  properly  said,  ''The 
education  required  by  the  people  is  that  which  will  give  them  the  full 
command  of  every  faculty,  both  of  mind  and  body,  which  will  call  out 
their  powers  of  observation  and  reflection,  which  will  change  mere  crea- 
tures of  impulse,  prejudice  and  passion  to  thinking,  living  and  reason- 
ing men;  an  education  that  will  lead  to  objects  of  pursuit  and  habits 
of  conduct  favorable  to  the  happiness  of  each  individual  and  of  the  com- 
munity; an  education  that  will  multiply  the  means  of  moral  enjoy- 
ment and  diminish  the  temptations  to  vice  and  sensuality."  Such  an 
education  is  a  better  defence  to  a  state  than  standing  armies  and  puissant 
navies.  "To  govern  men,"  said  some  writer,  ''there  must  be  either 
soldiers  or  school- masters,  camps  and  campaigns  or  schools  and  churches, 
the  cartridge-box  or  the  ballot-box."  "  Education,"  said  Edmund  Burke, 


512 


BACCALAUREATE  ADDRESS 


"  is  the  cheap  defence  of  nations."  There  is  no  defence,  indeed,  from 
vice,  but  in  education.  Neither  wars  nor  prison-ships,  neither  jails  nor 
workhouses,  neither  laws  nor  civil  magistrates,  can  secure  the  person, 
the  family  or  the  fortune  of  a  good  man  from  the  assaults  of  the  malig- 
nant and  the  wicked.    This  is  the  province  of  education. 

A  Bostonian  plebeian  said  to  a  Bostonian  patrician,  who  had  but  one 
son,  and  who  was  very  rich,  whose  annual  tax  for  the  common  school  in 
his  own  district  was  some  one  hundred  and  fifty -six  dollars  per  annum, 
and  who  was  complaining  that,  having  but  one  son,  and  educating  him 
at  "his  own  expense,  he  should  be  compelled  by  law  to  pay  one  hundred 
and  fifty-six  dollars  per  annum  to  educate  his  neighbors'  children,  ''You 
must  not  complain,  sir:  you  are  as  much  bound  to  educate  your  neigh- 
bors' sons  as  you  are  to  educate  your  own;  for,"  continued  he,  '^your 
son  inherits  a  large  fortune,  and  his  estate  will  be  amongst  our  poor 
children :  if  then  our  sons  are  not  educated,  but  immoral  and  wicked 
men,  what  guarantee  can  your  son  have  for  his  life  or  property,  living 
among  them?  None  whatever.  Your  love  for  your  son,  then,  had  you 
no  love  for  our  sons,  demands  of  you  that  our  sons  be  morally  and  re- 
ligiously trained  as  well  as  yours,  that  he  may  enjoy  the  fortune  and  the 
life  that  he  has  derived  from  you."  This  speaks  volumes ;  and,  gentle- 
men, I  hope  you  will  make  volumes  out  of  it.  No  insurance  of  life  or 
property  will  compare  with  that  insurance  of  both  from  wicked  men 
which  a  rational  and  moral  education,  universally  dispensed,  confers  on 
every  citizen.  As  a  means  of  self-defence,  then,  it  is  the  paramount 
duty  of  every  community  that  taxes  and  imposts  be  laid  upon  the  whole 
community  to  secure  a  good  and  an  efficient  system  of  common-school 
education.  "  Taxes,"  said  a  sensible  gentleman  to  a  rich  old  bachelor, 
"  for  the  support  of  schools  are  like  vapors  which  rise  only  to  descend 
again,  to  beautify  and  fertilize  the  earth.  Education  is  the  great  in- 
surance-company which  insures  all  other  insurance-companies.  No  one 
is  so  high  as  not  to  need  the  education  of  the  people  as  a  safeguard. 
No  one  is  so  low  as  to  be  beneath  its  uplifting  power.  The  safety  of 
life  and  the  security  of  property  lie  in  the  virtue  and  intelligence  of  the 
peo-ple ;  for  what  force  has  law,  u-nless  there  is  intelligence  to  perceive 
its  justice,  and  virtue  to  which  that  law  can  appeal?" 

There  yet  remains  a  third  topic  of  argument,  which  must  not  be 
omitted  in  every  efficient  appeal  in  favor  of  universal  common-school 
education.  Eeligion  is  founded  upon  learning  so  far  as  it  is  founded 
upon  truth  and  the  knowledge  of  truth.  The  Bible  is  a  written  com- 
munication from  Heaven  to  man,  and  must  be  read  in  order  to  bo 
understood,  believed  and  obeyed.    Of  what  use  is  the  art  of  writing 


TO  THE  GRADUATES  OF  BETHANY  COLLEGE.  513 

• 

or  the  art  of  printing  without  the  art  of  reading  ?  Why  translate  the 
Scriptures  of  truth  into  various  languages,  unless  those  amongst  whom 
they  are  distributed  are  taught  to  read  them  ?  While  it  is  possible — 
barely  possible — to  communicate  a  saving  portion  of  religious  know- 
ledge to  those  who  cannot  read,  certain  it  is  that  it  is  impossible  to 
make  any  one,  however  gifted,  master  of  any  book,  human  or  divine, 
which  he  cannot  read.  To  withhold  from  myriads  the  means  of  read- 
ing and  understanding  the  Book  of  God — the  volume  of  human  destiny 
— is  the  greatest  sin  of  omission  of  duty  to  God  and  man  that  any  com- 
munity, acknowledging  the  Divine  authority  of  that  volume,  can  be 
guilty  of.  How  it  will  answer  for  it,  I  presume  not  to  say.  But  such 
is  the  melancholy  fact. 

If,  then,  the  wealth,  the  safety  and  the  eternal  happiness  of  a  people 
depend  upon  education — and  education  depends  upon  schools,  as  we 
are  all  constrained  to  admit — is  it  not  the  paramount  duty  of  every 
individual  member  of  the  community  to  advocate  and,  as  efficiently  as 
possible,  to  plead  the  cause  of  universal  education  ?  And  is  it  not  the 
first  duty  of  a  civilized  Government  to  provide  for  and  to  carry  out  an 
adequate  and  an  efficient  system  of  common-school  education  at  the- 
public  expense  ? 

I  shall  institute  no  investigation  of  matters  which  you,  as  political 
economists,  can  easily  demonstrate — such  as  that  it  will,  in  the  long 
run,  cost  very  little  more,  to  those  who  do  educate  their  children,  to 
have  the  blessing  universally  difi'used,  than  it  now  does  to  educate 
their  own  families  under  the  present  system.  I  affirm  the  position, 
and  will  leave  you  to  prove  it  hereafter.  One  of  the  darkest  clouds 
that  lowers  over  our  good  Old  Dominion  of  Virginia  is  the  melan- 
choly fact  that  she  has  at  this  moment  some  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  adults,  male  and  female,  and  these  not  slaves,  but  white  men 
and  women,  who,  if  their  eternal  destiny  were  staked  on  it,  could  not 
read  one  verse  of  Holy  Writ. 

Gentlemen,  it  is  with  peculiar  earnestness  and  solicitude  that  I  now 
[     press  this  matter  upon  your  consideration,  because  of  the  part  you  are 
soon  to  assume  in  the  grand  drama  of  human  life  as  respects  your- 
selves, and  because  of  the  bearings  of  the  part  you  are  to  act  upon  the 
destinies  of  your  country  and  the  world.    No  man  lives  for  himself 
i    alone.    If  we  have  some  claims  upon  the  world  and  something  at  stake 
I     in  it,  the  world  has  its  claims  upon  us  and  some  interest  in  us.  We 
I    can  all  in  some  degree  make  the  world  the  better  or  the  worse  for 
our  having  lived  in  it.    It  is  all-important,  then,  that  we  enter  upon 


514 


BACCALAUREATE  ADDRESS 


the  stage  on  the  right  side  of  every  question  affecting  or  involving  the 
moral  destinies  of  the  world. 

If  God  began  the  creation  by  first  creating  light,  we  also  should 
resemble  him  so  far  as  to  begin  our  career  in  life  by  diffusing  light 
ourselves  or  by  making  some  effort  to  have  it  diffused  throughout 
society.  The  illuminators  of  the  world  are  its  greatest  benefactors. 
The  Grreat  Philanthropist  himself  was  the  light  of  the  world  and 
the  life  of  man,  and  those  next  to  him  were  the  prime  ministers  of 
light  to  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

Of  all  the  trees  in  the  forest,  the  olive  is  the  most  verdant,  because 
its  product  is  the  oil  that  once  illuminated  the  sanctuary  of  the  Lord. 
They,  too,  are  the  most  verdant  in  virtue  and  the  most  productive  of 
good  to  the  human  race  whose  good  fortune  it  is  to  resemble  the  sun 
in  scattering  light  upon  society,  or  who,  if  they  cannot  become  ra- 
diating centres  themselves,  at  least  resemble  the  moon  in  reflecting 
upon  others  the  light  which  they  have  themselves  received  from  others. 

But,  gentlemen,  the  sands  of  our  hour-glass  are  almost  exhausted, 
and  I  am  admonished  to  remind  you  once  more  that  the  acts  of  the 
drama  and  the  scenes  in  which  you  are  to  take  a  part  are  but  of  mo-  I 
mentary  continuance.  More  than  the  one-third  of  the  average  of  your 
lives  has  already  passed  into  eternity,  and  what  portion  of  the  remain- 
ing two-thirds  may  yet  be  yours  is  involved  in  impenetrable  obscurity. 
The  young  generally  calculate  on  long  years  of  pleasure  yet  to  come ; 
but  their  extended  visions  of  those  happy  years  are  often  unex- 
pectedly cut  short  by  some  sudden  stroke  of  death.  It  has  often  been 
observed  that  parents  have  more  frequently  to  weep  over  their  chil- 
dren's tomb  than  their  children  have  to  carry  them  to  that  place 
where  '4ies  the  mouldering  heap"  of  generations  already  gone,  and 
that  the  land  of  silence  is  more  densely  peopled  by  the  young  than  by 
the  old. 

Of  ten  of  your  fellow-students  who  graduated  where  you  now  stand, 
but  one  short  year  ago,  two  have  already  passed  into 

"that  undiscover'd  country 
From  whose  bourn  no  traveller  returns." 

And  who  of  you  now  less  expects  such  an  event  than  they  did  then  ? 
I  am  sure  you  will  all  agree  with  me  that  if  moral  excellency  and  real  . 
worth  of  character  and  preparation  for  extensive  usefulness  could  have 
secured  to  them  a  long  and  happy  life,  that  life  would  have  been  theirs. 
But,  alas !  there  is  in  this  mysterious  world  of  ours  no  guarantee  of  a 
single  hour  to  youth,  to  beauty  or  to  virtue,  not  even  to  the  most 


TO  THE  QRADUATES  OF  BETHANY  COLLEGE. 


515 


athletic  frame.  Man's  life  is  forfeited  as  soon  as  he  is  born;  and 
whether  the  respite  allotted  to  him  shall  be  one  year  or  one  hundred, 
is  hidden  in  the  deep  counsels  and  sovereign  will  of  Him  to  whom  the 
issues  of  life  and  death  belong.  But,  gentlemen,  your  incumbent  duty 
it  is  to  be  prepared  to  live  many  years  and  to  die  at  any  hour.  A  life 
of  usefulness  is  a  life  of  wisdom,  a  life  of  happiness  and  the  best  pre- 
paration for  a  triumphant  exit.    While  on  the  stage,  then, 

"Act  well  your  part:  there  all  the  honor  lies." 

But,  in  acting  that  part  which  wisdom  prompts  ana  taste  prefers, 
remember  that  your  Alma  Mater,  your  country  and  the  world  expect 
from  you  that  on  every  proper  occasion  you  will  lift  up  your  voice  and 
give  your  support  in  favor  of  universal  common-school  education  as  the 
only  solid  basis  of  a  nation's  wealth,  the  only  invincible  palladium  of 
its  safety  and  the  only  enduring  charter  of  its  independence,  prosperity 
and  happiness. 


ADDRESS 

TO  THE 

CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


CINCINNATI,  1853. 


Beloved  Brethren  in  the  Cause  of  Christian  Missions  : — 

Missions  and  angels  are  coeval,  inasmuch  as  message  and  messenger 
are  correlates :  the  one  implies  the  other.  As  message  implies  a  mes- 
senger, so  both  imply  two  parties — one  that  s^nds  and  one  that  re- 
ceives the  message. 

Christianity  itself  is  a  message  from  God  to  man ;  not  to  man  as  he 
was  at  first,  but  to  man  as  he  now  is.  It  was  conceived  in  eternity, 
executed  and  revealed  in  time,  and,  in  the  wisdom  and  graxje  of  God, 
it  is  the  only  sovereign  specific  for  all  the  diseases  and  maladies  of  our 
fallen  and  degenerate  race. 

The  Messiah,  the  Prince  of  Peace,  was  himself  the  great  ambassador 
of  God.  The  apostles  were  his  ambassadors  to  the  world.  Hence, 
Christianity  itself  is  a  message  of  peace,  and,  "by  the  commandment 
of  the  everlasting  God,  is  made  known  to  all  nations  for  the  obedience 
of  faith." 

So  essentially  difi'usive  and  missionary  is  the  spirit  of  Christianity, 
that  all  forms  of  it  have  acknowledged  the  duty  and  obligation  to  ex- 
tend its  empire  and  to  propagate  it  in  all  lands  and  amongst  all  people. 
Hence,  Romanists  themselves,  and  Protestants  of  every  name,  have 
instituted  and  sustained  missions,  domestic  and  foreign,  and  sacrificed 
both  property  and  life,  to  a  large  amount,  in  their  endeavors  to  evan- 
gelize the  world,  by  bringing  it  under  the  sceptre  and  the  sway  of 
the  Prince  of  Life  and  Peace. 

It  was  not,  indeed,  till  the  sixteenth  century  that  the  Papal  See  was 
engaged  to  any  extent  in  establishing  missions  beyond  its  own  limits. 

£16 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


517 


Then  it  was  that  Dominicans,  Franciscans  and  Jesuits  took  part  in  a 
missionary  field  as  broad  as  Asia,  Africa  and  America.  Their  mis- 
sionary St.  Xavier  penetrated  the  Portuguese  settlements  not  only  in 
the  East  Indies,  but  in  the  Indian  Continent,  in  Ceylon  and  Japan. 
Chili  and  Peru  were  visited  by  Papal  missionaries,  and  Greeks,  Nes- 
torians  and  the  Egyptian  Copts  came  in  for  a  share  of  their  labors. 

Early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  the  Pope  was  induced  to  establish 
a  congregation  of  cardinals,  with  large  revenues,  called  De  Propaganda 
Fide.  They  penetrated  through  the  wilds  of  America  and  those  of 
Siam,  Tonquin  and  Cochin-China.  Even  the  Chinese  Empire  was 
penetrated,  and  Japan,  for  a  while,  permitted  their  efforts.  They  en- 
dured numerous  and  various  hardships  amongst  these  Pagans,  but 
were  finally  expelled  from  their  territories. 

Protestants  followed  their  example  early  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
Formosa,  Java  and  Malabar  heard  them  gladly.  It  seems  that  the 
great  Indian  apostle,  Eliot,  of  Old  England,  visited  New  England  as 
early  as  1631,  and  spent  fifty-nine  years  of  his  long  life  in  this  new 
missionary  field,  now  the  territory  of  the  New-England  colonies.  He 
even  translated  some  of  the  Christian  books  into  the  Indian  dialects. 
The  Mayhews  followed  him.  Father  Mayhew,  his  son  and  grandson, 
were,  for  almost  a  century,  pastors  of  an  Indian  church,  gathered  and 
nurtured  by  their  untiring  exertions.  But  the  Moravians  transcended 
all  others  in  their  free  gospel  and  in  their  free  labors.  Historians 
have  assigned  to  them  the  conversion  of  some  twenty-three  thousand 
Indians. 

Nine  islands  of  the  ocean  were  more  or  less  evangelized  and  civilized 
by  these  bold  heralds  of  the  cross.  Not  only  the  islands  of  St. 
Thomas,  St.  Juan  and  St.  Croix,  under  Danish  rule,  but  also  the  Eng- 
lish islands  of  Antigua,  Jamaica,  Barbadoes  and  St.  Kitts,  yielded,_ 
more  or  less,  to  the  claims  of  Messiah  the  Prince,  through  their  bene- 
volent operations.  Negroes  of  Surinam  and  Berbice,  Indians  of 
Arrowack,  Canadians  and  citizens  of  these  United  States,  have  loudly 
attested  their  work  of  faith  and  their  labors  of  love  in  many  a  mission- 
field.  Not  content  with  these  fields  of  labor,  they  have  penetrated  the 
realms  of  the  Hottentots,  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  coasts  of  Coro- 
mandel,  Abyssinia,  Persia  and  Egypt,  and  have  even  scaled  the  moun- 
tains of  Caucasus.  They  have  gained  the  palm  of  all  Christendom  for 
sacrifices  and  labor  in  the  cause  of  missions. 

So  late  as  1795,  the  London  Missionary  Society  was  formed,  and, 
four  years  after,  a  Particular  Baptist  Society,  for  propagating  the  gos- 
pel among  the  heathen,  under  whose  benignant  auspices  missionaries 


518  ADDRESS  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


were  sent  to  India,  and  by  their  instrumentality  the  Holy  Scriptures 
were  translated  into  sundry  Indian  dialects  of  speech. 

In  the  year  1700,  a  society  was  formed  in  Scotland  for  promoting 
Christian  knowledge;  and,  just  one  hundred  years  after,  in  England, 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  was  instituted.  It  has  now  no  less 
than  sixty  stations.  This  is  one  of  the  most  affluent  institutions  in 
Protestant  Christendom.  More  than  twenty  years  ago,  almost  two 
millions  of  dollars,  in  one  year,  were  paid  into  its  treasury,  for  propa- 
gating Christian  knowledge. 

It  is  to  the  honor  of  our  own  country  that  its  citizens  are  generally 
more  or  less  imbued  with  the  missionary  spirit.  An  unequivocal  proof 
of  this  statement  lies  found  in  the  fact  that  the  missionaries  of  our 
country  are  now  found  laboring  in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  in  Africa, 
Palestine,  Armenia,  India,  Burmah,  Siam,  the  Greek  Islands  and  China. 

Do  we  not,  then,  safely  argue,  a  posteriori  as  well  as  a  priori,  that 
the  spirit  of  Christianity  is  naturally  and  necessarily  a  missionary 
spirit?  Hence,  I  take  the  ground  that  every  man's  spirituality  and 
humanity  are  to  be  estimated  according  to  his  zeal,  industry  and 
liberality  in  the  cause  of  missions,  or,  in  other  words,  in  endeavoring 
to  convert  the  world.  Need  we  argue  this  as  a  doubtful  question? 
Does  any  one  hesitate  to  concede  this  assumption  ?  It  is  scarcely  a 
supposable  case.  But,  for  the  sake  of  developing  the  fact,  we  shall 
assume  that  it  is  questionable. 

It  is  said  by  some  that  the  two  forms  of  true  religion — the  patriarchal 
and  the  Jewish — which  preceded  ours  were  both  true  and  divine,  but 
that  neither  of  them  was  proselyting  or  missionary  in  its  character. 
In  the  nature  of  things,  the  Adamic  and  the  Noahic  institutions  were 
purely  family  institutions,  and  necessarily  knew  nothing  beyond  them- 
selves. There  was  no  family  beyond  Adam's,  none  beyond  Noah's,  at 
the  commencement  of  the  two  sections  of  the  patriarchal  age.  Besides, 
the  head  of  every  new  household  was  constituted  prophet,  priest  and 
king  of  his  own  immediate  family ;  and,  if  he  discharged  his  paternal 
or  parental  duties  faithfully,  there  was  nothing  wanting  to  the  per- 
fection of  that  economy.  There  were  no  communities,  no  public  assem- 
blies, no  preachers,  no  meeting-houses,  from  Adam  to  Moses.  Every 
father  or  godfather  or  patriarch  had  his  true  and  proper  family  altar 
and  family  worship.  They  had  neither  Bible,  law  nor  gospel  other 
than  the  traditional  institutions.  Every  thing  was  oral,  visible, 
sensible,  that  affected  the  religion  and  moral  character  of  families  and 
tribes  from  Adam  to  Moses. 

Of  Abraham — the  beau-ideal  of  a  good  and  venerable  patriarch — 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


519 


God  said,  ''I  know  Abraham,  that  he  will  command  his  children  and 
his  nousehold  after  him,  and  that  they  will  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord, 
to  do  justice  and  judgment,  that  the  Lord  may  bring  upon  Abraham 
that  which  he  has  spoken  of  him." 

To  the  abuse  of  the  family  institution  polygamy  was  chargeable  ; 
and  for  a  licentious  intermarriage  of  saint  and  sinner  the  old  world 
was  drowned  and  the  ISToahic  institution  of  family  worship  reinstated. 
This  continued  to  the  exodus  of  Israel  from  Egypt,  and  then  com- 
menced a  national  religion.  This,  indeed,  made  provision  for  prose- 
lytop  and  additions  from  other  nations  and  peoples.  But  there  went 
abroad  no  missionaries ;  for  the  special  mission  of  the  Jews  was  accom- 
plished in  holding  up  the  golden  candlestick  to  all  the  nations  contem- 
porary with  them.  It  had  its  peculiar  spirit,  which  was  essentially 
that  of  one  blood,  for  the  sake  of  the  public  blessing  that  was  in  it. 

Neither  the  prophets,  nor  John,  the  harbinger  of  the  Messiah,  nor 
his  apostles,  were  constituted  missionaries  beyond  the  twelve  tribes.- 
Neither  our  Lord  himself — the  glorious  Founder  of  the  Christian 
kingdom — nor  any  one  of  his  apostles  during  his  lifetime,  was  a  mis- 
sionary beyond  the  ''lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel."  But  when 
his  work,  prophetic  and  legislative,  was  accomplished,  and  after  he 
had  tasted  death  for  all  mankind,  then,  indeed,  this  sublime  Philan- 
thropist established  a  grand  missionary  scheme,  in  the  persons  and 
mission  of  the  twelve  apostles.  That  commission  embraced  Jew  and 
Greek,  barbarian,  Scythian,  bond  and  free,  all  nations  and  peoples  and 
tongues  and  languages  of  earth.  The  whole  world — all  the  nations 
of  the  earth — became  one  great  missionary  field.  "  Go  into  all  the 
world,  announce  the  gospel  to  the  whole  creation,"  was  the  new  com- 
mission. 

The  missionary  institution  is,  therefore,  the  genuine  product  of  the 
philanthropy  of  God  our  Saviour.  It  is  the  natural  offspring  of  Almight/ 
love  shed  abroad  in  the  human  heart ;  and,  therefore,  in  the  direct  ratio 
of  every  Christians  love  he  is  possessed  of  a  missionary  spirit. 

That  ''God  is  love"  is  the  most  transforming,  soul-subduing  pro- 
position ever  propounded  to  a  fallen  world.  This  granted,  it  follows 
that  every  one  begotten  of  God  loves  God  and  his  brother  also.  And 
this  love  of  the  brotherhood,  superadded  to  the  native  philanthropy 
of  Christianity,  gives  to  its  possessor  an  ardent  zeal  for  the  conversion 
of  mankind,  which  cannot  be  dormant,  but  must  find  a  vent  for  itself 
in  such  efforts  as  those  which  a  true-hearted  Christian  missionary 
institution  delights  to  honor  and  to  institute  for  the  renovation  and 
beatification  of  man. 


520  ADURESS  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 

We  do  not  theorize  in  uttering  these  views ;  we  only  give  utterance 
to  the  sentiments  and  emotions  of  every  renewed  heart,  of  every  one 
who  has  ever  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious.  Of  all  the  rewards 
ever  conferred  upon  man,  that  of  receiving  souls  for  his  hire  is  the 
richest  and  the  best.  The  thought,  the  assurance,  the  sight  of  one 
sinner  transformed  into  a  saint,  refulgent  in  eternal  glory  and  blessed- 
ness, through  our  individual  enterprise  and  effort,  would  seem  to  be  a 
prize,  an  honor,  a  blessedness,  that  would  repay  the  labors  of  a  life 
like  that  of  Methuselan. 

Myriads  of  men  in  the  flesh  will  labor,  in  body,  soul  and  spirit,  for 
a  lifetime,  to  secure  temporal  honors  and  rewards.  They  will  imperil 
all  that  is  dear  to  the  human  heart,  for  some  imaginary  gain,  which, 
when  possessed,  fails  to  satisfy  an  ardent,  immortal  mind.  But  the 
Christian  herald  or  missionary  who,  with  a  true  heart,  an  enlightened 
zeal  and  untiring  labor,  engages  in  the  service  of  the  wisest,  richest, 
noblest  and  most  exalted  Potentate  in  the  universe,  and  for  the  honor, 
the  blessedness  and  the  glory  of  his  own  degenerate  race,  to  raise  them 
from  poverty,  wretchedness,  infamy  and  ruin,  to  glory,  honor  and 
immortality,  is  the  noblest  spectacle  that  earth  affords  or  that  angels 
have  seen  on  this  side  the  gates  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem. 

And  does  not  this  object  owe  all  its  alhirements  and  attractions  to 
the  discovery  of  the  estimate  that  the  great  God  places  on  man,  in 
that  sublime,  mysterious,  ineffable  love  which  he  cherishes  in  his  heart 
for  sanctified  humanity ;  which  he  always  cherished,  even  when,  in  the 
purposes  of  an  eternity  past,  he  held  sublime  counsel  with  himself,  in 
the  ineffable  fulness  of  the  Godhead;  when,  before  the  world  was,  ''the 
Word  that  was  in  the  beginning  with  God,  and  that  was  God" — "  by 
whom,  and  for  whom,  all  things  were  created  and  made" — was  set  up, 
appointed,  foreordained  to  become,  the  author  of  an  eternal  deliverance 
to  all  that  obey  him  ;  and,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  became  the  antitypical 
offering  of  every  lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  ? 

To  the  eye  that  descries  this — to  the  eye  anointed  with  the  true 
eye-salve  that  can  see  objects  of  -celestial  beauty  and  grandeur,  and  to 
the  heart  that  throbs  and  palpitates  with  the  vigorous  impulses  of 
Almighty  love,  what  object  of  time  or  sense,  what  employment  of  the 
human  faculties,  what  use  of  all  literary,  scientific  and  artistic  attain- 
ments, can  be  compared  with  the  effort  to  renovate  man  in  all  moral 
beauty  and  loveliness,  and  to  raise  him  from  his  state  of  ruin  to  the 
dignity  of  a  peer  of  the  celestial  realm,  and  to  an  inheritance  incor- 
ruptible, undefiled  and  unfading?  When  elevated  to  the  conception 
of  such  visions  of  real  grandeur,  beauty  and  loveliness — to  adequate 


ADDEESS  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


521 


views  of  the  infinite,  eternal  and  immutable  love  of  Jehovah — our 
spirits  are  roused  to  vigorous  impulses,  purposes  and  activities,  to 
become  co-workers  with  the  crowned  and  glorified  Immanuel  in  the 
work  of  the  Christian  ministry — the  most  dignified  and  honorable 
which  Grod  could  vouchsafe  to  fallen  man. 

Such  is  the  stand-point  and  bearing  of  the  truly  enlightened  and 
consecrated  Christian  missionary.  And  such  are  his  inspirations, 
drawn  from  a  right  conception  of  the  love  of  God  displayed  in  the 
person,  mission  and  work  of  the  Divine  Eedeemer. 

This  Christian  Missionary  Society,  my  beloved  brethren,  we  trust, 
originated  in  such  conceptions  as  these,  and  from  having  tasted  that 
the  Lord  has  been  gracious  to  us,  in  giving  to  us  a  part  in  his  own 
church,  a  name  and  a  place  in  that  Divine  institution  which,  in  his 
mind,  far  excels  and  outweighs  all  the  callings,  pursuits  and  enter- 
prises of  this  our  fallen  and  bewildered  world. 

The  great  capitals  of  earth — the  centres  of  nations  and  empires —  ' 
with  all  their  thrones,  their  halls  legislative,  judicia,ry  and  executive, 
are  but  for  the  present  scaffolding  of  humanity,  while  the  Christian 
temple — that  building  of  God's  own  Son — is  in  progress  of  erection, 
and  which  is  designed  to  hold  in  abeyance  the  impulses,  the  passions 
and  the  follies  of  the  children  of  the  flesh,  till  the  cap-stone  of  this 
glorious  fabric  of  grace  shall  be  laid  amidst  such  shoutings  of  joy  and 
glory  as  man  or  angel  never  heard  before. 

The  commission  given  to  the  apostles  embraced,  as  a  mission-field, 
the  whole  world.  "  Go  ye,"  said  the  great  Apostle  of  God,  ''into  all 
the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature."  Wide  as  humanity 
and  enduring  as  time,  or  till  every  son  of  Adam  hears  the  message  of 
salvation,  extends  this  commission  in  its  letter,  spirit  and  obligation. 
The  apostles,  indeed,  are  yet  upon  the  earth,  in  their  writings.  Though 
dead,  they  still  are  preaching. 

When  Jesus  our  Lord  ascended  to  heaven,  ''he  gave  gifts  to  men." 
H<^  gave  apostles,  prophets,  evangelists,  pastors  and  teachers.  "  Preach 
the  word,"  was  the  apostolic  charge  to  Timothy ;  and  so  long  as  there 
is  an  unbelieving  Jew  or  Gentile  in  the  world,  the  gospel  is  to  be 
preached  to  him  just  as  it  was  in  the  beginning. 

There  are  yet  nations,  great  and  mighty  and  populous,  without  the 
revelation  of  the  gospel,  as  much  under  the  dominion  of  Satan,  in  all 
the  forms  of  living  Paganism,  as  were  the  nations  of  the  earth  when 
the  commission  was  first  given  to  the  apostles.  These  have  just  as 
many  and  as  strong  claims  on  the  Christians  of  the  present  day  as 
Rome,  Athens,  Corinth  or  Ephesus  had  on  the  apostles  and  evangeKsta 


522 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


seven  years  after  the  ascension  of  our  Lord  to  heaven.  In  the  ears  of 
sanctified  humanity  the  cry  is  still  heard,  Come  over  and  help  us." 
The  harvest  is  yet  great,  very  great,  and,  alas !  the  reapers  are  stil! 
few,  very  few.  Shall  we,  then,  only  jpray  to  the  Lord  of  the  harvest 
to  send  forth  reapers  to  gather  it?  Shall  we  not  rather  send  and 
also  sustain  those  who  are  sent  by  the  Lord,  or  disposed  by  his  grace 
to  consecrate  themselves  to  this  great  work  ? 

The  solemn  and  awful  fact  that,  ''where  no  vision  is,  the  people 
perish,"  should,  in  all  that  believe  it,  awaken  every  sentiment  of  hu- 
manity, every  feeling  of  benevolence,  every  principle  of  true  philan- 
thropy, to  take  a  lively  and  active  interest  in  the  conversion  of  the 
world,  and  in  sending  out  heralds  to  announce  the  glad  tidings  to 
those  perishing  through  lack  of  Christian  knowledge,  ignorant  of  the 
only  name  given  under  the  heavens  by  which  they  can  be  saved. 

If  it  be  a  good  work — a  work  of  Christian  benevolence — to  feed  the 
starving  poor  with  the  bread  of  this  life,  to  clothe  the  naked,  to  take 
benevolent  care  of  widows  and  orphans  in  their  afflictions,  as  all  Chris- 
tians admit,  need  I  ask,  is  it  not  a  better  work,  a  more  enduring  work, 
a  work  of  greater  importance,  to  send  the  word  of  life,  and  the  living 
ministers  of  that  word,  to  nations  sitting  in  darkness — in  the  region 
and  shadow  of  death ;  to  translate  them  from  darkness  to  light,  from 
the  power  and  tyranny  of  Satan  to  God,  that  they  may  receive  the 
forgiveness  of  their  sins  and  "an  inheritance  amongst  them  that  are 
sanctified"  ?  Shall  we  weep  with  them  that  weep,  in  sympathy  with 
the  afflictions  and  sorrows  of  this  transitory  life,  and  have  no  tears  of 
commiseration,  no  bowels  of  mercies,  no  agony  of  soul,  for  those  who 
are  perishing  in  their  sins — aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel, 
strangers  to  the  covenants  of  promise — living  without  God,  without 
Christ,  and  without  hope  in  the  world  ?  Does  not  every  feeling  of  our 
hearts,  does  not  every  sentiment  of  piety  within  us,  conspire  to  urge 
us  to  take  a  paramount  interest  in  this  glorious  enterprise  of  enlighten- 
ing, converting  and  saving  our  fellow-men — participants  of  our  common 
humanity,  who  at  present  are  in  Pagan  darkness,  invoking  gods  formed 
by  their  own  hands  or  created  by  their  own  fears,  that  can  neither  hear 
nor  see,  that  can  neither  succor  nor  save  any  who  trust  in  them  ? 

This  missionary  enterprise  is,  by  universal  concession,  as  well  as  by 
the  oracles  of  God,  the  grand  work  of  the  age — the  grand  duty,  privi- 
lege and  honor  of  the  church  of  the  nineteenth  (ientury.  God  has  by 
his  providence  opened  up  the  way  for  us.  He  has  given  us  learning, 
science,  wealth,  and  knowledge  of  the  condition  of  the  living  world — of 
the  Pagan  nations,  their  languages,  customs,  rites  and  usages.    He  has 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSICXNARY  SOCIETY.  52ii 

given  to  us  the  earth,  with  all  its  seas,  lakes,  rivers  and  harbors.  He 
has,  in  the  arts  and  improvements  of  the  age,  almost  annihilated  dis- 
tance and  time,  and  by  our  trade  and  commerce  we  have,  in  his  pro- 
vidence, arrested  the  attention  and  commanded  the  respect  of  all  heathen 
lands,  of  all  creeds  and  of  all  customs.  Our  national  flag  floats  in  every 
breeze ;  our  nation  and  our  language  command  the  respect,  almost 
the  homage,  of  all  the  nations  and  the  peoples  on  earth.  God  has 
opened  the  way  for  us — a  door  which  no  man  or  nation  can  shut. 
Have  we  not,  then,  as  a  people,  a  special  call,  a  loud  call,  a  Divine  call, 
to  harness  ourselves  for  the  work,  the  great  work — the  greatest  work 
of  man — the  preaching  of  the  gospel  of  eternal  life  to  a  world  dead, 
spiritually  dead,  in  trespasses  and  sins?  And  shall  we  lend  to  it  a 
cold,  a  careless,  an  indifferent  ear  ? 

We  have  but  one  foreign  mission-station — a  station,  indeed,  of  all  others 
the  most  apposite  to  our  profession — the  ancient  city  of  the  Great  King, 
the  city  of  David,  on  the  summit  of  the  ''holy  hill,"  once  the  royal 
residence  of  Melchezidek,  priest  of  the  most  high  God — the  sacred 
Solyma — the  abode  of  peace.  There  stood  the  tabernacle,  when  its 
peregrinations  ended.  There  stood  the  temple,  the  golden  palace 
which  Solomon  built.  It  rested  upon  a  hallowed  foundation — Mount 
Moriah.  To  that  place  the  tribes  of  God  went  up  to  worship.  There 
was  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  with  its  tables  engraven  by  the  hand  of 
God.  The  Shekinah  was  there,  Calvary  was  there,  and  there  our  Lord 
was  crucified,  buried  and  rose  again.  There  clusters  every  hallowed 
association  that  binds  the  heart  of  man  to  man.  There  Christ  died, 
and  there  he  revived.  There  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  the  messenger  of 
Christ,  first  appeared.  There  the  gospel  was  first  preached.  There 
the  first  Christian  baptism  was  administered.  There  the  first  Christian 
temple  was  reared,  and  thence  the  gospel  was  borne  through  Judea, 
Samaria  and  to  all  the  nations  which  have  ever  heard  it.  Jerusalem, 
the  city  of  the  Great  King,  is  the  centre  of  all  Divine  radiations,  the 
centre  of  all  spiritual  attractions,  and,  in  its  ruins,  it  is  an  eternal 
monument  of  the  justice,  faithfulness  and  truth  of  God. 

But,  most  instructive  of  all,  it  was  decreed  and  predicted  by  the 
Jewish  prophets,  ages  before  Jesus  the  Messiah  was  born,  that  out  of 
Zion  should  go  forth  the  law,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem.* 

One  of  the  capital  points  of  this  Eeformation  is  the  location,  in  time 
and  place,  of  the  commencement  of  the  reign  of  grace,  or  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.    The  Christian  era,  and  the  commencement  of  Christ's 


*  Isaiah  ii.  3;  Micah  iv. 


^24  ADDRESS  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


Church,  have  long  been  confounded  by  every  sect  in  Christendom.  The 
materials  of  Solomon's  temple  and  of  Christ's  church  were  chiefly  pro- 
vided for  at  least  one  generation  before  either  of  these  was  erected. 
The  grand  elements  of  Christianity,  or  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  are 
his  life,  death,  burial,  resurrection,  ascension,  and  glorification  in 
heaven.  This  last  event  occurred  more  than  thirty-three  years  after  his 
nativity.  So  that  the  Christian  era,  and  the  commencement  of  Christ's 
reign  or  kingdom,  are  one  generation — thirty-four  years — apart.  The 
Holy  Spirit,  who  is  the  life,  the  bliss  and  the  glory  of  Christianity, 
was  not  given  till  Jesus  Christ  was  glorified.  Hence,  John  the  Har- 
binger, and  Jems  the  Messiah,  both  lived  and  died  under  the  Jewish 
theocracy- — a  fact  that  has  much  moral  and  evangelical  bearing  on  the 
Christian  profession,  as  exhibited  by  both  Baptists  and  Pedobaptists. 
This  alone  should  give  direction  to  all  our  eS'orts  in  all  missions,  domes- 
tic or  foreign.  It  is  the  only  legitimate  stand-point  at  which  to  place 
our  Jacob-stafi"  when  we  commence  a  survey  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
or  propose  to  build  a  tent  for  the  God  of  Jacob — the  Holy  One  of 
Israel,  our  King.  Had  we  no  other  object  than  to  give  publicity  and 
emphasis  to  this  capital  item,  it  is  worthy  of  the  cause  we  plead,  what- 
ever the  success  may  be,  to  erect  and  establish  our  first  foreign  mission 
in  the  identical  city  where  our  Lord  was  crucified;  where  the  Holy 
Spirit  first  descended  as  the  missionary  of  the  Father  and  the  Son ;  where 
the  gospel  of  Christ  was  first  preached,  and  the  first  Christian  church 
was  erected.  As  a  simple  monument  of  our  regard  and  reverence  for 
these  events,  it  is  worthy  of  all  that  it  has  cost,  and  more  than  it  will 
ever  cost  us,  to  have  made  our  first  foreign  mission-station  near  the 
cross,  the  mount  of  ascension  of  the  Saviour,  and  of  the  descension 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  sacred  guest  of  the  house  which  Jesus 
founded. 

But  this  alone,  worthy  though  it  be  of  all  the  honor  we  can  give  it, 
is  not  by  any  means  our  whole  argument  for  the  continuance  of  this 
station,  and  its  liberal  patronage  on  the  part  of  all  the  holy  brother- 
hood. It  is  not  contemplated,  at  least  by  me,  that  any  mission  or 
missionar}^  in  Jerusalem  is  to  convert  that  city,  or  even  raise  in  it  a 
flourishing  church,  in  a  few  years.  Still,  it  is  to  me  a  theatre  no  less 
inviting  or  important  in  this  view  of  it. 

Jerusalem  is  a  great  centre  of  attraction  in  the  eyes  of  aU  Christen-- 
dom,  in  the  esteem  and  admiration  of  all  Jews  and  Gentiles.  It  will 
long  continue  to  be  so.  The  crowds  of  tourists — Jews,  Turks,  Infidels, 
Eomanists  and  Protestants — that  visit,  sojourn  and  take  interest  in 
it,  give  it  a  paramount  interest  and  claim  to  locate  therein  a  herald 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY.  525- 

of  the  original  gospel  aid  of  the  apostolic  order  of  things,  free  from  the 
false  philosophies  of  an  apostate  Christendom.  An  accomplished  mis- 
sionary in  Jerusalem,  even  in  the  private  walks  of  life,  in  his  daily  in- 
tercourse with  strangers  and  sojourners,  may  sow  the  precious  seed  in 
many  a  heart,  that  may  spring  up  in  many  a  clime,  and  bring  forth  a 
large  harvest  of  glory  to  God  and  happiness  to  man,  when  those  who 
originated  the  mission  and  have  sustained  it  shall  repose  with  their 
fathers  in  the  bosom  of  Abraham. 

If  there  were  but  a  single  church  in  that  city  of  the  true  type  of  a 
Christian  family,  exhibiting,  in  word  and  deed,  in  faith,  in  piety,  in 
humanity,  the  beauty  of  holiness  and  the  graces  of  the  Christian  life,  it 
would  justify  all  the  costs  of  our  missionary  station. 

But  we  have  reaped,  as  well  as  sown,  in  Palestine.  Some,  of  differ- 
ent languages  and  creeds,  have  been  baptized  into  Christ  in  Jerusalem, 
through  the  labors  of  the  beloved  Barclay.  And  had  he,  as  have  some 
missionaries  of  the  Anglican  and  other  communities  represented  in 
Jerusalem,  the  means  of  supporting  the  converts,  or  had  he  the  dis- 
position to  cater  to  worldly  interests  and  to  use  such  arguments  as 
savor  of  worldly  policy,  he  might  already  have  numbered  more  than  an 
Anglican  Episcopal  mission  has  there  enrolled  as  the  fruit  of  some 
thirty  years'  labor. 

But  the  personal  labors  of  a  missionary  in  Jerusalem,  and  the  im- 
mediate visible  fruits,  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  the  sum-total  of  the 
avails  of  his  services.  He  personally  distributes  Bibles,  in  all  the  lan- 
guages spoken  in  the  East,  to  those  visiting  that  great  centre  of  Asiatic 
and  African  attraction.  Bibles  in  Arabic,  Syriac,  Syro-Chaldaic,  Judeo- 
Arabic,  Armenian,  Turkish,  modern  Greek,  German,  Spanish,  Italian, 
may  be  almost  daily  distributed,  by  those  residing  in  Jerusalem,  to  the 
foreigners  who  daily  crowd  its  streets  and  explore  its  solemn  ruins  and 
revolutions.  Moslem  intolerance,  too,  is  annually  waning,  and  the 
dupes  of  the  grand  impostor  are  now  more  accessible  than  at  any  former 
period. 

But,  as  it  is  a  settled  point  with  us  that  Jerusalem  is,  and  ought  to 
be,  our  first  choice,  we  presume  not  to  argue  her  special  claims  upon 
our  Christian  benevolence.  When  we  speak  of  "  the  rapidly  waning 
Crescent,"  of  the  ''drying  up  of  the  Euphrates,"  of  Jerusalem  as  ''one 
of  the  foci  of  Mohammedanism,"  anciently  "  the  city  of  the  Great  King" 
and  long  destined  to  be  "the  joy  of  all  the  earth,"  "a  city  not  for- 
saken," "  of  the  year  of  recompenses  for  the  controversy  of  Zion," 
^'the  Mount  Zion  which  God  loves  for  his  servants'  sake,"  we  do  not 
ai  gue  these  glorious  and  sublime  indications  of  her  destiny  as  though. 


626 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


any  of  us  doubted  our  premises,  her  influence  or  her  destiny.  Jeru- 
salem's fall  is  already  written,  and  her  future  rise  and  glory  occupy  a 
large  space  in  the  visions  of  the  future.  Towards  the  end  of  the  Baby- 
lonish Captivity,  in  the  prophetic  visions  of  that  day,  as  presented  in 
the  102d  Psalm,  we  have  some  joyful  indications  of  the  rise  of  Jeru- 
salem : — 

"Thou,  Jehovah,  wilt  yet  arise  and  have  mercy  on  Zion; 
For  the  appointed  time  to  favor  her  is  come. 
For  thy  servants  take  pleasure  in  her  stones, 
And  show  tender  regard  to  her  very  dust ; 
Then  shall  the  Gentiles  fear  thy  name,  Jehovah, 
And  all  the  kings  of  the  earth  thy  glory. 
When  Jehovah  hath  rebuilded  Zion, 
He  will  appear  in  his  own  glory. 

Let  this  be  written  for  a  future  generation, 
That  a  people  to  be  born  may  praise  Jehovah, 
Because  he  looked  from  his  high  sanctuary. 
From  the  heavens  Jehovah  beheld  the  earth, 
To  attend  to  the  groaning  of  the  prisoners, 
To  release  those  that  were  doomed  to  death ; 
That  Jehovah's  name  may  be  declared  in  Zion, 
And  his  praise  again  resounded  in  Jerusalem." 

It  is  good  to  love  Jerusalem,  and  to  seek  her  peace  and  prosperity 
So  sang  and  prayed  the  Jews  in  their  songs  of  degrees — Psalm  cxxii. : — 

"  Pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem  : 
They  shall  prosper  who  love  thee. 
Peace  be  within  thy  walls, 
And  prosperity  within  thy  palaces  ! 
For  my  brethren  and  companions'  sakes, 
I  will  now  say,  Peace  be  within  thee. 
Because  of  the  house  of  Jehovah,  our  God, 
I  will  ever  seek  thy  prosperity." — Ps.  cxxii.  (Boothroyd's  Ver.) 

Jerusalem,  indeed,  has  long  been  given  up  to  desolation,  and  it  is  to 
continue,  according  to  Daniel,  "  till  the  consummation  determined,"  or 
until  the  purposes  of  God  respecting  it  are  accomplished.  Our  Lord, 
by  Luke,  speaks  still  more  plainly : — Jerusalem  shall  be  trodden  down 
by  the  Gentiles,  till  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled."  This  is  our 
index  to  the  prophecies  concerning  the  Jewish  reign.  "  The  times  of 
the  Gentiles"  yet  continue.  God  permitted  them  to  destroy  Jerusalem, 
and  thereby  to  crush  its  persecuting  power.  Its  fall  contributed  much 
to  the  spread  of  the  gospel  throughout  the  world.  Hence  Paul  reasons, 
"If  the  casting  off  of  the  Jews"  from  their  relation  to  God  "became 
the  reconciling  of  the  world,  [the  Gentiles,]  what  will  the  resumption 
of  them  be  but  life  from  the  dead?" 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


527 


The  fall  of  the  Jews  became  the  rise  of  the  Gentiles.  The  Gentiles 
have  yet  their  times.  And  ''blindness,"  not  total,  but  ''in  part,  has 
happened  to  the  Jews,"  and  will  continue  "  till  tbe  fulness  of  the  Gen- 
tiles" be  come  in.  Then  will  come  the  fulness  of  the  Jews ;  "for  the 
Redeemer  shall  come  out  of  Zion,"  the  city  of  David,  "and  shall  turn 
away  ungodliness  from  Jacob." 

This  mystery  is  now  revealed.  It  was,  in  the  Hebrew  style,  mystery, 
a  thing  hidden  or  concealed.  It  is  no  longer  so.  The  Jews,  as  a 
people,  are  still  beloved,  because  of  their  fathers,  though  long  punished, 
as  was  threatened ;  for,  said  Jehovah,  by  his  prophet,  "  Thee,  0  Jeru- 
salem, have  I  acknowledged"  more  than  the  Gentiles;  "therefore  will 
I  punish  you  for  aU  your  iniquities."  But  the  time  "to  favor  her"  is 
not  far,  distant. 

"  For  thy  servants  take  pleasure  in  her  ruins, 
And  show  a  tender  regard  for  her  very  dust." 

Hence  David  sings — 

*'  Then  shall  the  Gentiles  fear  thy  name,  Jehovah, 
And  all  the  kings  of  the  earth  thy  glory." 

With  Paul,  we  rejoice  in  the  prophetic  drama,  and,  therefore,  anti- 
cipate a  glorious  triumph  of  grace  in  the  redemption  of  ancient  Israel 
according  to  the  flesh. 

Our  duty  on  all  the  premises  is  plain.  During  these  times  of  the 
Gentiles,  we  have  a  dispensation  of  the  gospel  committed  to  us.  We 
have,  therefore,  established  a  mission  in  Palestine,  in  the  literal  city 
of  David.  It  is  not  designed  merely  for  the  Jews  residing  in  their 
own  hallowed  metropolis  or  visiting  it,  but  also  for  the  Gentiles  now 
sojourning  in  this  great  centre  of  mingled  attractions. 

We  have,  also,  happily  found  a  brother  and  his  family  who  not 
only  fully  meet  our  anticipations,  but,  in  fact,  transcend  them.  Their 
qualifications  for  the  station  are  acknowledged  not  only  by  all  our 
whole  brotherhood,  but  also  by  those  of  other  denominations  who  visit 
the  Monumental  City.  A  Presbyterian  minister  of  our  own  country, 
who  not  long  since  returned  from  Jerusalem,  having  made  his  acquaint- 
ance in  Jerusalem,  candidly  avowed  his  conviction  that  "a  more  ac- 
complished missionary  than  Dr.  Barclay  he  had  not  seen,  ard  one 
better  adapted  to  Jerusalem  he  could  scarcely  imagine." 

What,  then,  need  I  ask,  is  our  duty,  our  privilege,  our  honor,  in 
relation  to  our  Jerusalem  mission  and  our  missionarv  there  ?  I  need 
not  argue  this  question  with  any  one  present  on  this  occasion.  It  is 
cordially  conceded  that  he  shall  not  only  be  continued  there,  but  sus- 


528  ADDEESS  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


tained  with  ample  means  to  devote  his  whole  energies  to  the  great 
work.  If,  then,  the  means  are  not  sufficiently  ample,  let  those  who 
have  the  matter  confided  to  them  report  what  is  wanting  to  invest  him 
with  every  facility  to  consecrate  all  his  powers  to  this  grand  and  sub- 
lime undertaking.  Our  prayers  for  his  success,  our  counsels  and  our 
means,  are  all  justly  due  to  him,  and  certainly  will  not  be  withheld 
by  any  one  of  us.  Who  that  loves  the  Lord — the  grand  missionary 
of  Jehovah,  who  laid  down  his  life,  and  expiated  our  sins  by  the  volun- 
tary sacrifice  of  himself ;  who  that  loves  Abraham,  the  father  of  us 
all,  if  not  in  the  flesh,  certainly  in  the  faith ;  who  that  desires  that  the 
blessing  of  Abraham  might  come  upon  the  Grentiles,  at  home  or  abroad 
— can  withhold  his  aid  from  a  cause  so  noble,  so  rich  in  promise,  so  full 
of  blessing  to  ourselves,  our  children,  and  the  great  family  of  man? 
Surely  there  is  not  one  of  us  present  who  would  not,  according  to  his 
ability,  contribute  his  equal  part.  It  would  be  uncharitable  to  imagine 
that  there  is  one  Christian  present  who  does  not  freely  and  fully 
consent  to  this.  I  shall  not,  therefore,  further  press  this  matter  upon 
your  attention. 

But  this  is  not  the  exclusive  object  of  our  zeal,  ability  and  liberality. 
Jerusalem  and  Judea  do  not  constitute  the  world,  nor  is  our  Jerusalem 
mission  exclusively  the  longitude  and  the  latitude  of  our  missionary  obli- 
gation, enterprise  or  benevolence.  Has  Africa,  debased,  degraded  and 
down-trodden  at  home  and  abroad,  no  part  in  our  Christian  humanity 
and  sympathy?  Are  we  under  no  obligation  to  Africa?  Have  we 
forgotten  that  Ham,  though  degraded,  is  our  great-granduncle,  the 
brother  of  our  great-grandfather  Japheth,  and  the  brother,  too,  of 
our  more  illustrious  great-granduncle  Shem?  Or  do  we  not  believe 
that  God  has  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  to  dwell  on  all  the 
face  of  the  earth,  and  that  he  marked  out,  ages  since,  the  limits  of 
their  patrimonial  inheritance,  as  well  as  the  different  eras  of  the  world? 
Shall  one  of  our  great-granduncle's  sons  engross  and  exhaust  all  our 
humanity  and  all  our  Christian  benevolence,  leaving  the  others  unpitied, 
unaided  and  unprayed  for,  to  perish  in  their  idolatries  and  to  die  in 
their  sins  ?    Forbid  it  reason,  conscience,  humanity  and  mercy ! 

But  these  are  foreign  missions,  and  located  on  another  continent. 
Have  we  no  home  mission-stations  ?  Have  we  no  fields  to  cultivate 
beyond  the  precincts  of  our  American  Zion  ?  We  have  home  missions, 
as  well  as  foreign  missions,  and  these  have  claims  upon  us.  Have  we 
made,  or  can  we  make,  no  provision  for  these?  These  are  questions 
that  call  for  our  consideration ;  and  ought  we  not  as  a  brotherhood,  if 
not  as  a  missionary  society,  to  give  them  some  attention? 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


529 


Glorious  things  are  spoken  of  thee,  0  Zion,  city  of  our  God.  Thy 
foundations  are  on  the  holy  mountains.  Jehovah  loveth  the  gates  of 
Zion  more  than  any  of  the  dwellings  of  Jacob.  Shall  I  mention  Eahab 
and  Babylon  among  those  that  acknowledge  thee — Philistia  and  Tyre  ? 
and  last,  though  not  least,  shall  I  mention  Ethiopia  as  stretching  out 
her  hand  to  God?  Yes:  they  shall  say  of  Zion,  This  man  and  that  man 
of  Egypt,  of  Babylon,  of  Philistia,  of  Tyre,  and  of  Ethiopia,  was  born 
in  her  and  to  her.  For  the  Most  High  shall  himself  establish  Zion." 
In  the  records  of  peoples  born  unto  God,  Jehovah  shall  relate.  This  man 
and  that  man  were  born  in  her.  They  shall  sing  as  those  leading  the 
dance — ''all  my  springs  of  joy  are  in  thee." 

We  are  encouraged,  then,  to  raise  an  ensign,  to  establish  a  mission, 
and  to  invite  to  our  Zion  ''the  frozen  Icelander  and  the  sunburned 
Moor,"  the  Indian  and  the  negro,  the  Patagonian,  and  the  natives  of 
all  the  isles  of  the  ocean. 

It  is  not  for  me  or  for  any  one  to  choose,  but  for  us  all  to  unite,  to 
select,  to  contribute  and  to  co-operate  in  the  large  field  of  our  fallen 
humanity.  Let  us  open  our  hearts,  our  hands  and  our  treasure-houses 
to  the  Lord,  his  cause  and  his  people,  and  heaven  will  open  its  windows 
and  pour  out  a  blessing  more  than  we  can  receive. 

Let  no  one  say  he  is  straitened  in  God,  in  his  providence,  or  in  his 
own  means.  God  loves  a  cheerful  giver,  and  he  will  multiply  his  bless- 
ings upon  his  seed  sown;  for  God  is  able  to  make  every  blessing  abound 
toward  us,  that,  having  always  all  sufficiency  in  all  things,  we  may 
abound  in  every  good  work.  As  it  is  written,  "  he  hath  dispersed  abroad, 
he  hath  given  to  the  poor,  his  righteousness  remaineth  forever." 

That  we  should  have  an  African  mission  as  well  as  an  Asiatic  mis- 
sion— a  station  in  Liberia  as  well  as  in  Jerusalem — missionaries  pere- 
grinating accessible  portions  of  the  land  of  Ham  as  well  as  of  the  land 
of  Shem,  appears  to  me  alike  a  duty,  a  privilege  and  an  honor.  We 
have  an  abundance  of  means,  and  are  wanting,  if  wanting  at  all,  only 
in  will,  in  purpose  or  in  liberality. 

Through  the  benevolence  of  brethren  in  Kentucky,  there  has  been 
emancipated  from  slavery  a  colored  brother,  a  gifted  preacher  of  the 
gospel — a  workman,  we  are  informed,  well  qualified  for  such  a  field  of 
labor.  Bro.  Ephraim  A.  Smith,  whose  praise  is  in  all  the  churches, 
has,  of  his  own  ^accord  and  at  his  own  expense,  volunteered  to  visit 
Africa,  to  survey  the  premises  in  Liberia,  and  to  return  and  report  the 
condition  of  things  there.  He  asks  nothing  from  this  Society  in  the 
form  of  pecuniary  aid,  nor  has  he  ever  suggested — to  me,  at  least — a 

desire  to  be  specially  noticed  on  this  occasion.    Still,  knowing  him  so 

u 


530 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


well  and  so  long  as  I  do,  I  conceive  it  my  duty,  before  sitting  down,  to 
offer  the  following  resolution,  viz.  That  Bro.  Ephraim  A.  Smith  he 
requested  to  report,  at  proper  intervals,  to  the  Corresponding  Secretai  y 
of  tihis  Board,  whatever  he  may  deem  important  on  the  condition  and 
prospects  of  Liberia  in  particular  and  of  Africa  in  general,  with  sp? 
cial  reference  to  the  location  of  a  missionary  station  in  Africa,  and  that 
the  prayers  of  the  brethren,  not  only  of  this  organization,  but  of  all  the 
brethren  everywhere,  be  offered  to  the  throne  of  grace  for  his  safe-keeping 
and  protection,  and  for  the  Divine  blessing  upon  his  work  of  faith  and 
his  labor  of  love  in  this  philanthropic  and  noble  enterprise,  and  also 
for  the  brother  who  is  to  accompany  him  in  his  labors. 

"  Now,  may  he  that  supplieth  seed  to  the  sower  and  bread  for  food, 
supply  and  multiply  your  seed  sown,  and  increase  the  fruits  of  youi 
righteousness  and  humanity — being  enriched  in  every  thing  to  all  boun- 
tifulness,"  which  will  yield  a  rich  harvest  of  glory  to  God  and  blessed- 
ness to  man. 


ADDRESS 


AT  THE 

ANNUAL  MEETING  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY, 


A.D.  1857. 


Men  and  Brethren: — 

Missions  are  essential  and  rudimental  elements  of  creation  and  of 
the  universe.  They  are  older  than  our  earth.  The  angels  of  God  are 
one  and  all  messengers  or  ministers  of  God.  The  "  chariots  of  God," 
said  the  sweet  Psalmist  of  Israel,  "are  thoicsands  of  angels" — each  of 
whom  is  a  missionary  acting  under  a  Divine  commission.  By  mis- 
sionary agencies  God  intercommunicated  with  the  primitive  fathers 
of  mankind.  Through  them,  as  his  functionaries,  he  held  converse 
with  men  and  women  in  the  primitive  conditions  of  human  society. 
Through  these  missionaries  he  communed  with  Abraham,  Isaac  and 
Jacob,  Hagar,  Lot  and  Moses,  and  others,  down  to  the  beloved  John, 
the  last  amanuensis  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Besides  these  missionary  spirits,  he  also  employed  and  constituted 
men  as  his  missionaries  to  the  world  and  to  his  ancient  servants  and 
people. 

The  first  missionary  in  the  Christian  Scriptures  was  John  the 
Baptist,  who  was  sent  by  God  to  prepare  a  people  to  receive  and 
welcome  the  Lord  Jesus  on  his  entrance  upon  his  grand  mission. 
Angels  ministered  to  him  during  his  whole  life,  and  occasionally  waited 
apon  the  apostles  and  evangelists  in  the  execution  of  their  respective 
missions. 

Missions  and  missionaries  are  comparatively  of  modern  date  in  our 
nomenclature.  But  they  are  older  than  creation — certainly  older  than 
the  creation  of  our  earth. 

Jehovah  said  to  Job,  "Where  wast  thou  when  I  founded  the 
<?arth? 


532  ADDKESS  AT  THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF 

"  Declare,  if  thou  hast  attained  such  knowledge, 
Who  fixed  its  proportions  :  for  thou  knowest. 
On  what  are  its  foundations  fixed  ? 
Or  who  laid  its  corner-stone — 
When  the  morning  stars  sang  together, 
And  all  the  sons  o  f  God  shouted  for  joy  ?" 

This  antedates  all  the  missions  and  missionary  operations  in  the 
annals  of  nations — in  the  annals  of  time.  It  is  the  beau-ideal  of  the 
grandeur  of  the  missionary  institution  of  the  Christian  age  and  dis- 
pensation. John  the  Harbinger  was  the  pioneer  missionary  to  preuare 
a  people  to  give  an  honorable  reception  to  the  Prince  of  missions  and 
missionaries.  His  superlative  oracle  was,  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God, 
who  bears  away  the  sin  of  the  world  f 

Jesus,  after  the  manner  of  the  Peripatetics,  immediately  opened  his 
missionary  school,  and  in  person  taught  twelve  missionaries  during  his 
public  ministry.  Thus  commenced  the  Christian  ministry  and  the 
Christian  mission. 

It  may  be  expedient  emphatically  to  note,  in  the  opening  of  this 
subject,  that  missions  and  missionaries  are  the  natural,  the  necessary 
and  the  immediate  results  of  the  appreciation  of  the  dignity,  grandeur 
and  eternal  importance  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  its  soul-engrossing 
and  soul-captivating  end  and  aim. 

A  silent  Christian  is  an  anomaly  in  creation.  The  blessed  are  ever 
blessing.  A  full  heart  makes  an  eloquent  tongue.  A  heaven-mag- 
netized soul  magnetizes  all  within  its  periphery.  The  Christian's 
gospel  is  a  theme  as  lofty  as  the  throne  of  God,  and  as  deep  as  the 
mansions  of  the  dead.  It  imparts  true  light  to  them  that  are  in  dark- 
ness— hope  to  the  disconsolate,  joy  to  those  that  mourn,  and  life  eter- 
nal to  those  dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins.  There  is,  in  truth,  no 
theme  imprinted  on  the  tables  of  time  that  compares  with  it,  in  its 
attractions,  in  its  soul-reviving,  soul-subduing,  soul-transforming  power 
and  virtue.    It  is,  indeed,  incomparably  worthy  of  universal  acceptance. 

It  is,  too,  as  wisely  as  it  is  philanthropically  adapted  to  the  actualities 
of  our  condition.  As  light  is  to  the  eye,  as  music  to  the  ear,  as  bread 
to  the  hungry,  as  water  to  the  thirsty  soul,  so  does  the  gospel  adapt 
■  itself  to  all  the  native  longings,  cravings  and  aspirations  of  that  inner 
man,  awakened  to  an  adequate  conception  of  himself  in  the  light  of 
God's  own  book,  as  he  was,  as  he  is,  and  as  he  must  forever  be  in 
Christ  or  out  of  him. 

One  of  the  first  impulses  of  the  new-born  soul  is  to  desire  the  sincere 
milk  of  the  word,  that  he  may  grow  thereby ;  and,  next  to  this,  that 
he  may  have  it  in  his  power  to  bless  others,  as  he  himself  is  blessed  of 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


533 


God,  in  having  them  united  with  himself  in  the  same  Lord,  in  the  same 
hope,  in  the  same  joy,  in  the  same  peace  and  in  the  same  inheritance,  in- 
corruptible, undefiled  and  unfading,  in  the  heavens.  His  soul  is  all  alive 
to  the  gospel  facts — the  birth  of  Christ,  the  life  of  Christ,  the  character 
of  Christ,  his  miracles,  his  sayings,  his  doings,  his  sufferings,  his  death, 
his  burial,  his  resurrection,  his  ascension,  his  glorification  in  heaven, 
his  exaltation,  the  honors  paid  him  there.  He  joyfully  anticipates 
his  second  coming,  his  descent  to  our  horizon,  his  appearance  on  the 
throne  of  his  glory  arching  the  whole  heavens,  surrounded  by  all 
the  hosts  of  heaven,  with  all  the  sons  of  men  on  his  right  and  on  his 
left,  and  the  books  of  all  human  history  opened  before  him,  and  in 
their  midst  the  book  of  life.  He  distinctly  hears  him  say,  "  Come, 
ye  blessed,"  to  those  on  his  right;  and,  ''Depart,  ye  cursed,"  to  those 
on  his  left  hand. 

Such  is  the  faith,  such  is  the  hope  and  such  is  the  joy  of  every  true 
and  faithful  disciple  and  follower  of  the  Lord  Jesus — the  Christ  of 
God. 

Now,  by  these  visions,  realizations  and  hopes  is  every  true  mis- 
sionary of  the  cross  influenced,  moved,  excited,  animated,  strengthened 
and  encouraged  to  go  forth  into  the  world,  and  to  battle  against  all  its 
lusts  and  passions ;  against  its  frivolities  and  trifles ;  against  its  errors, 
illusions  and  delusions ;  against  its  sordid  and  demoniacal  passions,  and 
every  lust  and  temptation  that  wars  against  man's  true  interests,  honor, 
usefulness  and  happiness  in  the  present  world,  and  in  that  which  is 
to  come. 

But  let  us  trace  out  the  footprints  of  the  missionary  spirit  and 
character,  as  developed  in  the  providence  of  God,  from  the  fall  of  our 
lather  Adam  to  the  consummation  of  the  fulness  of  the  times  of  the 
Jewish  age. 

The  ministry  of  angels  was  instituted  immediately  after  the  apostasy 
and  fall  of  our  father  Adam.  God  drove  him  out  of  Paradise,  and  on 
the  east  of  the  garden  he  located  cherubs  with  flame  brandishing 
swords  to  guard  the  way  to  the  tree  of  life.  The  first  angel  or  mis- 
sionary  named  in  the  Sacred  History  is  he  who  appeared  to  Abra- 
ham, (Gen.  xxii.  11,)  in  the  year  of  the  world  two  thoicsand  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-two — eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-two  years  after 
the  first  FIAT,  and  on  a  most  interesting  occasion — that  of  the  volun- 
tary sacrifice  of  his  dearly-beloved  son  Isaac,  in  whom  was  deposited 
the  promise  of  the  blessing  of  all  nations.  This,  too,  occurred  on 
Mount  Moriah,  most  probably  on  the  identical  spot  on  which  David 
ouilt  his  altar,  the  threshing-floor  of  Araunah,  where  the  Temple  was 


534 


ADDRESS  AT  THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF 


afterwards  built.  Some,  indeed,  suppose  it  to  have  been  on  Mount 
Calvary.  On  one  or  the  other  of  these,  most  probably,  Isaac  was 
voluntarily  offered  up  by  Abraham,  in  obedience  to  a  Divine  command. 
"  Here  the  angel  Jehovah"  called  to  him  from  the  heavens  and  said, 
"  Abraham,  Abraham !  Stretch  not  forth  thy  hand  against  thy  son, 
nor  do  him  any  harm."  A  ram  was  caught  by  his  own  horns  in  a 
thicket,  and  that  was  substituted  for  Isaac.  Hence  to  the  end  of  the 
Jewish  history  the  place  was  called  Jehovah-jieeh,  (Jehovah  will 

PROVIDE.) 

Two  promises  followed  this  splendid  scene.    God  said  to  Abraham, 

Thy  seed  shall  possess  the  gates  of  their  enemies.''  ''And  in  troy  seed 
shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed."  In  the  Jewish  Scriptures, 
after  this,  angels  of  God,  or  of  the  Lord,  are  frequently  named  in  their 
missions  and  employments. 

The  Jewish  prophets  were,  in  the  full  import  of  their  calling  and 
work,  missionaries.  Such,  too,  was  John  the  Baptist,  the  immediate 
harbinger  of  Jesus  the  Son  of  Mary.  Such  were  the  seventy  whom  the 
Lord  appointed  and  sent,  two  and  two,  "into  every  city  and  place 
whither  he  intended  to  come.' 

This  mission  of  the  Seventy  is  replete  with  wisdom  and  instruction 
to  the  church  in  all  ages  down  to  this  our  day  and  generation.  Let  us 
state  it  more  fully. 

Afterwards,  th-e  Lord  appointed  seventy  others,  also,  and  sent 
them,  two  and  two,  before  him,  into  every  city  and  place  whither  he 
intended  to  go.  And  he  said  to  them.  The  harvest  is  plentiful,  but  the 
reapers  are  few :  pray,  therefore,  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  he  should 
send  laborers  to  reap  it.  Go,  then ;  behold,  I  send  you  forth  as  lambs 
amongst  wolves.  Carry  no  purse,  nor  bag,  nor  shoes ;  and  salute  no 
person  by  the  way.  Whatever  house  you  enter,  say  first.  Peace  be  to 
this  house.  And  if  a  son  of  peace  be  there,  your  peace  shall  rest  upon 
him ;  if  not,  it  shall  return  upon  yourselves.  But  remain  in  the  same 
house,  eating  and  drinking  such  things  as  it  affords ;  for  the  workman 
is  worthy  of  his  wages :  go  not  from  house  to  house.  And  whatever 
city  you  enter,  if  they  receive  you,  eat  such  things  as  are  set  before 
you ;  cure  the  sick,  and  say  to  them.  The  reign  of  God  comes  upon 
you.  But  whatever  city  you  enter,  if  they  do  not  receive  you,  go  out 
into  the  streets,  and  say,  The  very  dirt  of  your  streets  which  cleaves 
to  us,  we  wipe  off  against  you ;  know,  however,  that  the  reign  of  God 
draws  nigh  to  you.  I  assure  you  that  the  condition  of  Sodom  shall 
be  more  tolerable  on  that  day,  than  the  condition  of  that  city."  Luke 
I.  1-2,  (Campbells  Ver.) 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


535 


These  missionaries,  the  instructions  given  them,  and  their  faithfulness 
in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  their  mission,  are,  in  our  opinion,  most 
suggestive  models  to  all  missionaries  how  they  should  be  instructed, 
how  they  should  be  initiated,  how  they  should  attend  upon  the  work 
and  duties  assigned  to  them ;  how  they  should  mind  their  own  business, 
not  naming  politics — monarchy,  aristocracy  or  democracy,  pro-slaveoy 
or  anti-slavery  politics — whether  monarchists  or  oligarchists,  Whigs  or 
Democrats,  or  of  any  other  school,  ancient  or  modern;  and,  with  Paul, 
say,  ''God  forbid  that  we  should  know,  or  make  known,  any  thing 
amongst  you,  save  Jesus  the  Christ,  crucified  in  weakness,  but  raised  in 
power;"  and  especially  dwell  upon  the  momentous  fact  that  he  is  Lord 
OF  all;  that  it  is  by  him  that  all  kings  do  reign  and  that  all  princes 
decree  justice;  that  he  is  ordained  by  God  the  Father  to  be  the  judge, 
the  final  judge,  of  angels,  men  and  demons,  and  that  he  will  without 
partiality  ''reward  every  man  according  to  his  works." 

While  the  missionary  spirit  and  the  missionary  work  are  essentially 
the  same,  the  condition  of  the  missionaries,  and  the  condition  of  the 
field,  or  the  area  of  their  missions,  are,  or  may  be,  greatly  diversified. 
The  mission  of  the  Harbinger  John,  of  the  Messiah  himself,  as  a  prophet 
and  as  a  preacher  of  his  own  mission  and  work,  the  mission  of  the 
seventy  heralds,  the  mission  of  the  twelve  apostles,  the  mission  of  special 
churches,  such  as  that  of  the  seven  churches  in  Asia  Minor,  were  not 
identically  the  same.  They  were,  indeed,  in  certain  points  the  same. 
They  were  one  and  all  to  preach  and  teach  Jesus  as  the  Christ.  His 
person,  offices,  mission  and  work  were  to  be  announced  and  developed 
in  all  their  attitudes  and  bearings  upon  heaven  and  earth,  upon  time 
and  eternity — the  world  that  now  is,  and  that  which  is  to  come.  But 
not  simultaneously  ;  not  in  each  and  every  address.  In  this,  as  in  every 
other  work,  there  is  a  time  and  a  place,  there  are  conditions  and  cir- 
cumstances, which  call  for  special  attention,  special  development  and 
special  application.  No  two  discourses  in  the  four  Gospels  or  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  are  identically  the  same.  True  it  is  that  the 
person  and  mission,  the  character  and  work,  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in 
all  the  inspired  evangelists  and  proclaimers  of  the  glad  tidings  of  great 
joy  unto  all  people  reported  to  us  in  the  Christian  Scriptures,  were, 
in  their  facts  and  documents,  one  and  all,  the  same  in  sense  and  purport, 
though  diversified  in  style  and  manner,  in  general  and  special  details. 

There  were,  indeed,  but  a  few  facts,  however  diversified  in  style  and 
manner  of  exhibition,  continually  pressed  upon  the  attention  and  cordial 
reception  of  those  to  whom  the  glad  tidings  were  announced.  These 
were  propounded  not  in  identical  terms  and  phrases,  not  in  stereotyped 


536 


ADDRESS  AT  THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF 


formi>la-s  of  speech,  but  in  all  the  varieties  of  terms  and  phrases  oest 
adapted  to  the  diversified  education  and  training,  to  the  peculiar  modes 
of  thinking  and  speaking,  of  the  persons  addressed.  Still,  the  materials 
that  constitute  the  gospel,  with  their  evidences  and  claims  upon  the 
understanding,  the  conscience  and  the  affections,  were  fully  presented 
in  such  forms  and  imagery  as  were  most  appreciated  by  the  parties 
addressed. 

The  difference  between  preaching  and  teaching  Christ,  so  palpable  in 
the  apostolic  age,  though  now  confounded  in  the  theoretic  theologies  of 
our  day,  must  be  well  defined  and  clearly  distinguished  in  the  mind,  in 
the  style  and  utterances  of  an  evangelist  or  missionary  who  would  be 
a  workman  that  needs  not  to  blush,  a  workman  covetous  of  the  best 
gifts  and  of  the  richest  rewards. 

Facts  versus  theories  have  revolutionized  the  scientific  world.  Facts 
versus  human  traditions  have  protestantized  much  of  the  Papal  world. 
Facts  versus  natural  religion*  have  christianized  many  theists,  deists 
and  atheists ;  while  between  nature  and  theology,  properly  so  called,  there 
is  not  one  discordant  note,  in  heaven,  earth  or  hades.  Nature  may 
create  theists  and  annihilate  atheists ;  but  she  cannot  create  a  Christian 
nor  bestow  the  hope  of  immortality.  Christianity  is,  therefore,  super- 
sensuous,  supernatural,  super-intellectual  and  superlatively  Divine. 

Hence  the  indispensable  necessity  of  spiritual  regeneration  in  order  to 
the  appreciation  of  the  reality,  the  beauty,  the  glory,  the  paramount 
excellency,  of  that  life  and  immortality  brought  within  our  vision 
through  the  condescension  and  affiliation  with  us  on  the  part  of  Him 
who  hath  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light  by  his  own  triumph  over 
death  and  the  grave. 

The  didachee,  or  the  doctrine,  that  is,  the  teaching,  of  Christianity, 
is  the  exposition  of  its  own  peculiar  developments — of  its  history,  its 
facts,  its  precepts,  its  promises,  its  rewards  or  retributions.  The  mis- 
sionary— the  would-be-successful  missionary — must  be  well  versed, 
fully  indoctrinated,  in  these.  They  are  his  directory  or  guide  in  suc- 
cessfully executing  the  great  work  of  his  mission.  He  must  be  able 
to  contemplate  the  parts  in  the  whole,  and  the  whole  in  its  parts.  He 
must  not  only  have  a  large  and  rich  treasury  well  assorted,  but  he  must 
have  it  at  command.  He  must  be  able  to  bring  out  of  it,  on  demand, 
things  new  and  old.  He  must,  therefore,  have  in  his  evangelical  treasury 
a  place  for  every  thing,  and  every  thing  in  its  place. 


*  By  natural  religion  we  do  not  mean  natural  theology.  These  are  frequently,  and 
rather  unceremoniously,  used  as  verbal  equivalents 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


537 


.  Still,  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  this  work  he  must  properly 
and  fully  understand  the  whole  oracles  of  God,  and  clearly  distinguish 
the  difference  between  preaching  and  teaching  Jesus  Christ. 

This  is  no  mere  speculative  distinction.  It  was  appreciated,  fully 
understood  and  acted  upon,  or  carried  out,  in  the  apostolic  ministry. 
Hence  we  read,  in  Acts  v.  42,  that,  after  thousands  of  Jews  had  been 
converted  to  Christ,  the  apostles  ''daily  in  the  temple,  and  from  house 
to  house,  ceased  not  to  teach,  and  to  preach  (or  to  announce  the  glad 
tidings)  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ."    Keerux,  the  preacher,  keerussoo, 

1  preach,  and  keerugma,  the  speech,  or  the  preaching — and  also  euang- 
gelistees,  the  evangelist,  euaggelion,  the  gospel,  and  euaggelizoo,  I  preach 
the  gospel — frequently  occur  in  the  Creek  Christian  Scriptures,  and 
are  of  nearly  equal  circulation,  but  are  always  distinguished  from  di- 
daskoo,  I  teach,  didaskalia  and  didachee,  a  doctrine,  and  didaskalos,  a 
teacher.  No  two  such  families  of  words  of  so  many  branches  and  of 
so  large  a  currency  are  more  distinguishable  or  more  frequently  dis- 
tinguished in  the  whole  nomenclature  of  the  Christian  Scriptures.  An 
evangelist  or  preacher,  or  missionary,  in  our  present  ecclesiastic  currency, 
may  have  both  these  works  committed  to  his  hands.  This,  however, 
does  not  make  them  one  and  the  same,  any  more  than  preaching 
and  baptizing  are  one  and  the  same  act  because  performed  by  one  and 
the  same  person  or  functionary.  For  the  sake  of  accurate  and  intelli- 
gible language  and  a  clear  appreciation  of  the  Christian  Scriptures  and 
the  Lord's  will  concerning  us,  these  words  and  works  should  be  clearly 
understood  and  employed  by  every  evangelist  or  missionary  of  the 
church  sent  out  and  patronized  by  the  church;  and  more  especially  by 
our  brotherhood,  who  unite  on  the  apostolic  platform  of  church  union, 
communion  and  co-operation. 

A  doctrine,  a  theory  or  a  science  is  always  in  the  eye  and  aim  and 
effort  of  the  teacher.  A  person  his  office,  work  and  character  are 
always  in  the  heart  and  aim  and  effort  of  the  evangelist,  preacher  or 
missionary.  Indeed,  these  three  words  in  ecclesiastic  or  religious  cur- 
rency are  interchangeably  used  as  indicative  of  one  and  the  same  func- 
tionary. We  are  aware  that  we  find  the  word  evangelist  but  three  times  in 
the  apostolic  writings — Acts  xxi.  8,  "Philip  the  evangelist,"  Ephesians 
iv.  11,  "He gave  some  evangelists,  and  some  prophets,  and  teachers,"  and 

2  Timothy  iv.  5,  "The  work  of  an  evangelist."  There  being  two 
Philips,  one  was  called  the  evangelist,  in  contradistinction  from  Philip 
the  Apostle.  See  Matthew  x.  2;  Mark  iii.  18;  Acts  i.  13 ;  but  especiall} 
Acts  xxi.  8. 

Every  selected  and  ordained  preacher  of  the  gospel  is,  ex  officio^  an 


538 


ADDKESS  AT  THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF 


evangelist.  Every  missionary  selected,  sent  and  ordained  to  act 
out  the  duties  of  a  missionary,  domestic  or  foreign,  is,  ex  officio,  an 
evangelist.  And  may  we  not  ask.  Why  should  any  one  be  selected, 
ordained  and  sent  to  preach  the  gospel,  beyond  the  precincts  of  any 
church — to  convert  pagans,  infidels  or  sinners  of  any  category — and  not 
be  invested  with  the  requisite  power  to  collect  his  converts  into  socie- 
ties, called  congregations,  or  churches,  and  not  have  the  power  to  unite, 
set  in  order,  or  constitute  such  converts  into  communities,  called  churches, 
and  leave  them  in  the  hands  and  under  the  supervision  of  such  officers, 
usually  called  elders,  or  overseers,  and  deacons,  or  servants,  as  may  be 
selected  by  such  communities  to  be  ordained  to  such  services  ?  This  is 
not  only  the  order,  the  suggestion,  but  the  oracle,  of  reason,  of  prudence, 
of  propriety,  as  well  as  consentaneous  with  apostolic  order  and  prece- 
dent. 

But  this  is  not  our  present  theme.  It  is  only  an  allusion  to  the  great 
object  and  the  grand  subject  before  us  as  a  missionary  society.  We 
have  all,  we  trust,  learned  that  Christianity  is  neither  more  nor  less 
than  Divine  philanthropy. 

It  is  Divine  philanthropy  in  harmony,  too,  with  every  other  attri- 
bute of  God ;  in  harmony  with  his  rectoral  government  of  the  whole 
universe ;  in  harmony  with  all  that  is  known  of  God  in  heaven,  appre- 
ciated, loved  and  revered  by  all  the  principalities  and  powers  and  lord- 
ships in  all  the  celestial  realms  of  this  grand  and  awful  and  glorious 
universe.  Angels  of  all  ranks  and  orders  desire  to  contemplate  it; 
because  they  delight  to  study,  to  admire  and  to  adore  the  perfections, 
the  grandeur,  the  glory  and  the  majesty  of  Jehovah  in  the  lofty  and 
profound  study  and  admiration  of  the  infinite  perfections  and  the  ado- 
rable attributes  of  the  Father  of  the  whole  family  of  natural,  moral, 
worshipful,  adoring  spirits,  whether  known  as  angels  or  spirits,  che- 
rubim or  seraphim. 

We  are  satisfactorily  informed  that  all  the  spiritual  and  angelic  hosts 
desire  more  and  more  profoundly  to  contemplate  the  mysterious,  divine 
and  wonderful  revelation  of  God,  exhibited,  developed,  aggrandized,  in 
and  by  the  incarnation,  substitution,  humiliation  unto  death,  the  resur- 
rection, the  ascension,  and  the  coronation  of  humanity  and  Divinity  in 
the  union  of  the  finite  and  the  infinite,  of  the  earthy  and  the  heavenly, 
of  the  temporal  and  the  eternal,  in  the  person  of  the  Son  of  man  and 
the  Son  of  God. 

The  thought  of  securing  an  eternal  weight  of  glory  purposed,  pro- 
mised and  guaranteed  to  every  true,  sincere,  honest,  enlightened  and 
obedient  Christian,  man,  woman  or  child,  is,  or  ought  to  be,  the  all- 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


53^ 


absorbing  aim.  object,  desire,  effort  and  endeavor  of  every  disciple 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  In  open  vision  of  the  glory  and  grandeur 
of  this  great  salvation — the  inheritance  of  God  himself  and  of  all  his 
creatures — what  manner  of  persons  ought  we  to  be  in  zeal,  in  diligence, 
in  effort,  in  self-government,  self-sacrifice,  liberality,  generosity,  bene- 
ficence, magnanimity!  xso  mean,  penurious,  selfish,  penny-wise  and 
pound-foolish  professor  or  nominal  Christian  can  rise  to  such  a  con- 
ception of  future  glory  and  blessedness  as  that  which  warms,  animates, 
enlarges,  beatifies,  the  believing,  confiding,  hoping,  longing  soul  thvit 
has  tasted  the  rich  grace  of  God  in  the  delightful  antepast  and  soul- 
cheering  foretaste  of  the  glory  to  be  revealed  when  the  Lord  Jesus  shall 
come  in  all  his  glory  and  majesty,  with  ten  thousand  times  ten  tliou- 
sand,  even  thousands  of  thousands,  of  angels. 

No  living 'man,  no  living  tongue  of  man,  can  estimate  or  express  that 
exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory.  Pauls  himself  labors  (2  Cor. 
iv.  17)  with  the  aid  of  two  hyperboles  as  prefixes  to  his  auovtoi^  ^d{jo^ 
oo^fj^:,  his  exceeding  and  eterncd  burden  of  glory.  No  such  phrase  as 
this  is  found  in  any  lexicon  or  dictionary,  of  any  language  living  or 
dead,  ever  consulted  by  me ;  and  we  have  the  largest  number  of  them 
that  I  have  ever  seen  in  any  private  library. 

Christianity — the  gospel — cannot  be  fully  appreciated  by  any  living 
man,  in  any  language  living  or  dead.  It  is  well  said,  and  it  is  truthfully 
Baid,  that  "  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  has  it  entei^d  the 
heart  of  man  to  conceive,  the  things  which  God  has  prepared  for  them 
that  love  him."  We  know,  too,  that  Dr.  A.  Clarke,  Dr.  MacKnight,  and 
some  others  regard  these  words  as  applying  to  Greek  and  Roman  phi- 
losophers not  having  been  able  to  conceive  of  a  Christian's  birth- 
rights. This  may  be  conceded,  though  of  doubtful  propriety ;  and  could 
we  call  them  all  by  name — like  the  names  and  titles  of  God  the  Father 
and  of  the  Lord  Jesus — it  were  then  true  that  we  have  no  conception, 
no  adequate  conception,  of  the  eternal  glory  of  ransomed  humanity 
in  that  inheritance  which  is  imperishable,  unpolluted,  and  everlasting 
as  the  throne  of  God.  Still,  we  have  in  the  Christian's  charter  an  in- 
heritance iacorruptible,  unpolluted  and  unfading,  rich  as  the  price  paid 
for  it  by  the  second  Adam,  the  Lord  from  heaven — an  exceeding  weight 
of  glory.  We  know  that  we  shall  see  our  Lord  in  ail  his  gi'andeur, 
and  we  know  that  he  will  be  our  elder  brother,  and  that  we  shall  be 
heirs  in  common  with  him  of  all  the  glories  of  God's  own  heaven. 

Now,  I  propound  the  question — and  may  I  not  put  it  with  all  earnest- 
ness and  propriety  on  the  premises  submitted? — What  are  we  doing^ 
for  the  Lord  Jesv^ — his  cause  and  people?    What  are  we  doing  to 


640 


ADDRESS  AT  THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF 


enlarge  his  dominion,  to  extend  his  empire,  to  bless  the  church,  to  con 
vert  the  world  f  I  put  this  question,  not  to  a  people  enslaved  to  or 
by  a  dominant,  avaricious,  worldly,  selfish,  grasping  priesthood.  You, 
my  Christian,  my  beloved  brethren,  greatly  appreciate  your  political 
birthrights,  your  Christian  birthrights,  which  in  prospect  present  to  us 
a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away.  We  are  permitted,  we  ai*e  in- 
vited, we  are  most  cordially  pressed  by  the  tender  mercies  of  our  God, 
by  the  importunities  of  Him  who  made  himself  poor,  houseless,  home- 
less, penniless,  that  he  might  inaugurate  us  citizens  of  heaven  and 
make  us  joint  heirs  with  himself — I  say,  he  has  permitted  us  to  aspire 
to  great  honor,  by  leaving  something  for  us  to  do,  not  engrossing  to 
himself  the  exclusive  honor  and  glory  of  the  conversion  and  salvation 
of  our  families,  our  relations,  our  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh,  our 
fellow-citizens,  our  neighbors,  our  down-trodden  and  oppressed  fellow- 
men,  at  home  and  abroad.  We  have  always  with  us  not  the  poor  only 
in  this  world's  goods  and  chattels,  but  the  ignorant,  priest-ridden,  slaves 
■of  lying  fables  and  fanatical  imaginations.  He  has  spread  out  before 
us  a  large  area  of  ignorant,  uneducated — almost  uncivilizod — heathen 
at  home — in  our  cities,  our  villages,  our  hamlets — even  living  in  our 
houses  and  on  our  farms. 

W^hat  humane  and  Christian  interest  take  we  in  them,  in  approach- 
ing them,  in  addressing  them,  in  preaching  to  them  the  words  of  eter- 
nal life  ?  Do  we  go  out  to  the  lanes,  the  squalid  huts,  of  cheerless 
poverty — the  filthy  cellars  that  germinate  our  epidemics  and  our 
-endemics  ?  Do  we  gather  their  children  to  our  Sunday-schools  ?  Do 
we  send  our  evangelists,  our  young  preachers,  to  them?  Do  we  ap- 
proach them  ourselves  ?  What  do  we  for  them  ?  What  do  we  for  our 
fellow-citizens  scattered  over  the  West,  the  Southwest,  the  Northwest  ? 
What  do  we  across  the  seas  ?  What  for  Pagandom,  abroad  or  at  home? 
What  for  Jerusalem  ?  We  h^ve  done  some  good,  probably  much  good, 
there.  Why  not  carry  on  the  work  ?  The  door  is  open — quite  open. 
And  what  shall  we  do  for  Jerusalem  ? — the  city  of  David  and  Solomon, 
in  whose  environs  the  work  of  redemption  was  consummated  ?  "  They 
rihall  prosper  that  love  thee."  Oh,  Jerusalem !  Jerusalem  !  "  I  can  feel 
both  wrath  and  pity  when  I  think  of  thee  !"  "Unto  that  city  the  tribes 
of  G-od  went  up — the  tribes  of  God  went  thither."  I  am  far  from  hope- 
less as  to  that  field.  Let  us  not  abandon  it.  It  is  a  great  centre  of 
attraction.  It  is  also  a  city  of  radiation.  Let  our  prayers  and  our 
means  go  hand  in  hand  in  behalf  of  Jerusalem  and  the  venerated 
Mount  Zion,  and  will  not  the  Lord  pour  out  a  blessing  upon  them  and 
uuon  us  ?    Let  us  do  our  duty,  and  the  Lord  will  not  withhold  his  bless- 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


541 


iug.  We  cannot  sow  and  reap  the  same  day,  the  same  month,  some- 
times not  even  the  same  year.  Have  we  no  tears  for  Jerusalem? 
What  said  the  songs  of  degrees — in  the  days  of  the  captivity  of  ancient 
[srael  ?    Hearken  to  these  words  : — 

"When  Jehovah  reversed  the  captivity  of  Zion, 
We  were  like  those  that  dream. 
Then  were  our  mouths  filled  with  laughter, 
And  our  tongues  with  rejoicing ; 
Then  said  they  among  the  nations, 
Jehovah  hath  done  great  things  for  them. 
Jehovah  hath  done  great  things  for  us  ; 
And  therefore  we  are  glad. 
They  who  sow  with  tears  shall  reap  with  joy. 
For  he  who  goeth  forth  weeping  to  sow  the  seed 
Shall  assuredly  come  again  with  joy, 
Bringing  his  sheaves  with  him." — i'salm  cxxvi. 

So  reads  the  seventh  of  the  fifteen  degrees,  or  of  the  psalms  of  degrees^ 
sung,  most  probably,  by  the  Jews  on  the  event  of  their  deliverance- 
from  the  captivity  of  Babylon. 

My  Christian  brethren,  my  fellow-citizens  of  every  ecclesiastic  plat- 
form, can  we  not  unite  and  harmonize  and  sympathize  with  old  Jeru- 
salem, and  co-operate  in  behalf  of  the  ancient  city  of  the  Great  King — 
the  city  of  David — the  city  of  Solomon — the  city  of  the  Temple — the  city 
over  which  the  Lord  Messiah  wept  in  anticipation  of  her  long,  long 
years  of  moral  and  religious  desolation?  Oh,  Jerusalem!  Jerusalem!' 
We  have  had  for  years  a  missionary  there.  And  if  of  the  inhabitants 
of  that  city  few,  very  few,  were  benefited,  so  far  as  reported  on  earth, 
others  have  been,  and  the  blessing  of  having  labored  there  has  re- 
dounded to  our  honor  and  beatified  ourselves. 

We  have  still  on  the  premises  there  a  sister,*  of  strong  faith  and 
large  hope,  toiling  every  day  m  her  school  of  Jewish  and  Gentile  chil- 
dren— a  matter-of-fact,  missionary-school.  It  appears  from  a  late  letter 
from  her,  received  at  Bethany,  that  Christian  Jews  are  building  a  mis- 
sion-house in  Jerusalem,  and  that  Mr.  Cohen,  a  missionary  Jew,  with, 
his  son,  are  teaching  over  fifty  Jewish  children  in  his  school.  Mr. 
Coleman,  also,  a  Eussian  Jew,  late  superintendent  of  the  hospital  there 
— now  a  Christian — addressed  a  congregation  assembled  at  the  laying 
of  the  foundation  of  their  first  dwelling-house,  from  the  127th  Psalm  : — 

"Except  the  Lord  do  build  the  house, 
The  builders  lose  their  pain  ; 
Except  the  Lord  the  city  keep, 
The  watchmen  wake  in  vain." 


*  Mrs.  Mary  Williams,  (since  dead.) 


-54:2  ADDBESS  AT  THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF 

The  very  interesting  theme  of  Mr.  Coleman's  address  was  the 
dawning  day  of  mercy  to  Israel.  Mr.  Graham,  also,  late  Secretary 
of  the  Jewish  Society  in  Jerusalem — greatly  devoted  to  the  promotion 
of  their  best  efforts — in  his  prayer  on  the  above  occasion,  while  impor- 
tuning the  Divine  blessing,  commended  them  to  His  keeping  who  said, 
''As  you  have  been  a  curse,  0  house  of  Judah  and  house  of  Israel, 
so  will  I  bless  you,  and  you  shall  be  a  blessing." 

There  is,  from  these  indxcations,  much  to  encourage  our  efforts  even 
in  Jerusalem — not  for  the  sake  of  the  Jews  only,  but  also  for  the  sake 
of  all  kindreds  and  tongues  and  people,  who  from  all  nations  meet  there 
in  their  respect  for  that  monumental  city,  hallowed  in  the  memories  of 
all  who  appreciate  the  great  work  of  human  redemption  consummated 
there. 

But  this  is  not  the  only  cry  in  our  ears.  "  Come  over  and  help  us," 
echoes  from  every  point  of  the  compass.  Myriads  are  yearly  perishing 
in  ignorance  and  unbelief — living  and  dying  without  God,  without 
Christ  and  without  hope !  If  we  cannot  evangelize  the  whole  world 
perishing  in  Pagan  and  Papal  darkness,  superstition  and  error,  let  us 
select  our  fields  of  labor,  domestic  and  foreign,  and  send  out  our  mis- 
sionary evangelists  to  such  fields  as  promise  the  most  fruit,  whether  at 
home  or  abroad.  Unless  we  do  this,  I  ask,  what  evidence  have  we  of 
the  sincerity  of  our  faith  in  that  commission  which  was  given  to  the 
apostles,  and  through  them  to  the  Christian  church  and  "ministry,  till  the 
curtain  shall  fall  upon  the  stage  of  earth  and  time?  Is  not  the  whole 
unconverted  world  within  the  area  of  the  missionary  field,  and  within 
the  commission  given  to  the  apostles  and  through  them  to  the  people  ? 
— ''  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature." 
Upon  the  church,  the  united  church,  founded  on  the  apostles*  doctrine 
and  faith,  rests  this  solemn  and  authoritative  oracle. 

''Charity,"  it  is  said,  "begins  at  home.'*  True,  very  true,  if  there 
be  objects  at  home.  But  it  is  no  proverb  in  our  Israel  that  charity 
tarries  at  home.  Like  nature's  brightest  type  of  God,  our  sun,  it  shines 
not  upon  our  country  and  our  homes  alone,  but  also  spreads  its  vivify- 
ing beams  upon  all  the  nations  and  tribes  of  our  humanity.  So  shines 
the  Sun  of  righteousness  and  of  mercy.  If  the  East  witnesses  his  ear- 
liest dawn,  the  West  rejoices  in  his  last  lingering  ray.  Indeed,  he  is 
rising  and  setting  every  moment  of  the  four-and- twenty  hours  upon 
myriads  of  our  race. 

Shall  we  not,  then,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  as  far  as  God  has  vouchsafed 
to  us  any  instrumentality — shall  we  not  send  the  light  of  life  everlast- 
ing to  all  the  world,  if  God  vouchsafes  to  ub  the  honorable  opportunity 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


543 


and  instrumentality?  At  all  events,  shall  we  not  avail  ourselves  of 
every  opportunity,  and  create,  as  far  as  we  can,  opportunities  to  send 
the  word — the  gospel  of  life  everlasting — to  a  perishing  world — em- 
bracing in  the  arms  of  a  common  humanity,  a  common  paternity,  a 
common  fraternity,  the  whole  family  of  man  ?  Christianity  in  another 
point  resembles  our  sun.  In  its  own  system  it  is  both  radiating  and 
attractive.  Hence  said  our  Lord,  "  If  the  Son  of  man  be  lifted  up,  he 
will  draw  all  men  to  him."  We  are  not  straitened  in  God;  we  are 
straitened  in  ourselves.  He  commanded  the  gospel  to  be  preached  not 
only  in,  but  to,  the  whole  world.  ''The  fields,"  as  Jesus  once  said, 
"are  already  white  to  harvest."  And  why  is  not  the  harvest  reaped? 
Because  the  reapers  have  fallen  out  by  the  way,  and  have  thrust 
their  sickles  into  one  another.  This  is  enrolled  in  heaven  as  the 
curse  of  Grod  upon  all  the  sectarists  and  sectaHsms.  ''  A  house"  or 
an  army  ''divided  against  itself  cannot  stand."  So  said  the  highest 
authority  in  the  world. 

For  almost  three  centuries — at  least  two  and  a  half  centuries — Greek, 
Eoman  and  Protestant  Christendom  have  had  their  troops  and  com- 
manders, captains,  majors  and  generals,  engaged  in  ecclesiastic  wars, 
stratagems  and  spoils.  Church  politics,  church  philosophies,  church 
doctrines,  church  ordinances,  have  been  the  apples  of  discord,  the  bitter 
fruits  of  an  apostasy  from  primitive,  original,  apostolic  Christianity. 
We  charge  the  existing  Mohammedanism,  Patriarchism,  Papalism, 
Protestantism  and  its  four  forms  of  church  politics — Episcopacy,  Pres- 
byterianism,  Independency  and  Methodism — I  say  we  charge  these, 
one  and  all,  to  the  substitution  of  human  prudence,  human  policy  and 
Human  philosophy  for  the  plain  and  truthful  oracles  of  the  Lord  Mes- 
siah and  for  the  teachings  of  his  inspired  apostles. 

Associated  with  these  have  been  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  the  lusts  of 
the  eye  and  the  pride  of  life.  And  to  ^is  last  category  we  must  assign 
much  of  all  the  strifes,  discords  and  schisms  which  now  superabound 
and  constitute  what  is  appropriately  called    modern  Christendom." 

We  would  not  if  we  could,  and  we  could  not  if  we  would,  exaggerate 
the  fearful  paralysis  superinduced  upon  the  body  of  Christ,  his  mystical 
body — the  church,  of  which  he  is  the  head,  and  of  which  the  Holy 
Spirit,  or  Holy  Guest,  is  the  heart — by  this  fearful  apostasy,  now  exist- 
ing more  or  less  in  all  communities,  paralyzing  every  heart  and  every 
arm  engaged  in  the  great  work  of  harmonizing  Christians  upon  the 
seven  pillars  erected  by  the  great  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  viz.  ono 
Lord,  one  faith,  one  immersion,  one  God  and  Father  of  all,  one  body, 
one  Spirit  and  one  hope.    And  must  we  not  fear  that  while  this  para- 


544 


ADDRESS  AT  THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF 


lysis  continues  the  great  field  of  the  world,  in  its  Jewish  infidelity,  its 
Mohammedan  delusions,  its  Pagan  idolatries  and  its  Papal  despotisms, 
will  not  be,  cannot  be,  successfully  approached  by  any  ordinary  mis- 
sionary enterprise,  however  evangelically  originated,  constituted  and 
conducted?  Suppose  this  were  more  or  less  in  any  degree  to  be  the 
case :  would  that,  should  that,  could  that,  justify  cessation  from  all 
endeavors  ?  Certainly  not.  Has  not  the  Lord  commanded  the  gospel 
to  be  preached  to  all  the  world,  and  constantly  preached,  till  he  per- 
sonally appear  on  the  field  himself  and  call  the  world  to  judgment? 
This  is  the  identical  mission  of  the  church ;  this  is  her  duty,  her  pri- 
vilege, her  honor,  as  it  is  now  and  will  ever  be  her  chief  glory  and  her 
highest  happiness. 

At  this  stand-point  we  most  profoundly  regret  the  jars  and  schisms, 
so  rife,  so  antagonistic  and  so  antagonizing,  within  the  area  of  what 
we  call  Protestant  Christendom.  We  spend  more  in  keeping  up  these 
rival  distinctions,  differences  and  animosities  than  we  spend  in  all  our 
missionary  fields  and  stations  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  sun.  Could 
we  have  the  sum-total  expended  first  in  erecting,  then  in  adorning, 
our  splendid  churches — our  stone  and  lime  churches — with  their  splendid 
pulpits,  galleries,  ornaments,  organs,  paintings,  &c.,  our  rival  theolo- 
gical seminaries,  professors,  libraries,  and  all  other  contributions  to 
the  denominational  pride  and  ambition  consecrated  to  Christian  mis- 
sions, we  might  have  Asia  and  Africa,  with  the  outposts  of  America, 
more  civilized,  humanized  and  evangelized  in  one  century  than  any 
State  in  our  confederation.  We  can  tax  ourselves  to  hundreds  and 
thousands  to  secure  the  pride  of  life — and  cast  our  weekly  dimes  into 
the  Lord's  treasury,  to  bless  our  souls  and  to  convert  the  world  !  I  say 
we,  not  denominationally,  but  we,  of  the  living  fashionable  world  of 
hebdomadal  Christians,  and  high-church  and  low-church  conformists; 
we  can  adorn  our  persons,  our  churches  and  our  pews,  our  horses  and 
our  carriages,  if  not  our  livery-servants,  at  the  expense  of  thousands, 
and  then  give  twenty,  or  fifty,  or  a  hundred  dollars  a  year  lo  convert 
the  Jews  and  the  paganized  Gentiles  of  the  whole  world !  Is  this  a 
fancy  sketch,  a  freak  of  imagination,  or  a  positive, -substantial  reality? 
Is  it  an  Indian  pagoda,  a  Papal  palace,  a  Mohammedan  mosque  ?  Such 
was  not  a  Jewish  synagogue.    Such  is  not  a  Christian  meeting-house. 

The  Christian  church  is,  indeed,  a  much  more  expensive  institution. 
It  cost  the  sacrifice  of  prophets  and  apostles,  of  saints  and  martyrs. 
It  cost  the  blood  of  that  precious  Lamb  of  God  foreordained  and 
symbolized  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  It  cost  the  confiscation 
of  goods  unpriced,  the  banishment,  the  imprisonment  and  the  cruel 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONAEY  SOCIETY. 


545 


slaughter  of  myriads  of  the  purest,  the  most  just  and  generous  and 
magnanimous  men  and  women  that  ever  adorned  the  annals  of  the 
world.  And  whai  does  it  propose  ?  Ay !  This  is  the  question  that 
places  all  our  powers  of  reason  and  imagination  under  tribute  to 
prophets  and  aposiles,  to  saints  and  martyrs  who  sealed  their  testimony 
by  the  voluntary  sacrifice  of  themselves.  They  loved  not  their  lives 
as  they  loved  their  Lord.  They  joyfully  imperilled  theii'  all  on  earth, 
their  all  in  time.  They  took  joyfully  the  plundering,  the  spoiling  of 
all  their  earthly  goods  and  chattels,  that  they  might  glorify  their  Lord 
and  obtain  for  themselves  a  crown  of  martyrdom,  "  a  crown  of  glory 
that  fadeth  not  away."  They,  indeed,  counted  all  things  but  loss  that 
they  might  gain  Christ.  But  the  inventory  given  of  some  of  their 
estates  in  reversion  proves  them  to  have  been  the  most  rational  and 
far-seeiifig  of  human  kind.  They  had  a  guarantee  to  the  following 
effect : — "  All  things  are  yours,  whether  Paul,  or  Apollos,  or  Cephas,  or 
the  world,  or  life,  or  death,  or  things  present,  or  things  to  come ;  all 
are  yours,  and  you  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's,"  and  all  this  for 
an  eternal  future. 

I  ask  you,  my  fellow-citizens,  in  your  cool,  deliberate  reason  and 
foresight,  were  they  not  the  most  rational  persons  of  whom  you  have 
ever  read  ?  There  is  no  wild  enthusiasm  in  all  this.  "Who  would  not 
give  a  cent  for  a  thousand  millions  ?  a  day,  a  year,  or  a  century,  for  all 
the  millions,  billions,  trillions,  quadi'illions,  or  quintillions  of  ages  of 
my  number  within  the  precints  of  earth's  largest  figures  ? 

Who  would  not,  of  earth's  richest  bankers,  give  all  the  treasures  of 
the  natural  universe  for  the  riches,  honors,  glories  and  beatitudes  of 
an  heir  of  God  and  all  his  riches  and  glories  guaranteed  to  him  irrevo- 
cably, to  the  utmost  capacities  of  creature  enjoyment?  And  let  me 
ask,  emphatically  ask,  are  not  all  these  within  the  precincts  of  all 
things"  ?  Assuredly,  then,  "  eye  has  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor 
human  mind  conceived,"  the  riches,  the  grandeur,  the  honor,  of  an  heir 
of  God  through  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord  and  Redeemer. 

And  here  I  must  pause  and  pray,  0  Lord,  inc^rease  our  faith/ 
Every  cent  you  spend  on  earth  for  yourself,  for  things  of  earth  and 
time,  is  lost  to  you  forever ! 

Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  made  himself  so  poor  that  he  might  make 
many  rich  forever,  that,  he  said,  on  earth  he  had  not  a  spot  whereon  to 
repose  his  wearied  head !  And  all  this  to  enrich  his  friends  forever ! 
Was  there  ever  love  this  ?  We  must,  my  Christian  friends  and 
nrethren,  stop  and  think,  before  we  further  go. 

All  the  gold  of  Ophir  could  not  ease  an  aching  heart,  nor  soothe  a 

35 


546 


DDRESS  AT  THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF 


disconsolate  spirit.  To  give  freely,  cheerfully,  liberally,  as  tne  Lord 
has  blessed  and  prospered  us,  to  every  great  work,  is  not  only  our 
duty,  but  ooir  highest  honor,  our  greatest  happiness.  It  was  long  since 
decided  in  the  highest  court  of  law  and  equity  in  this  universe  that  it 
is  ''more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." 

To  lend  is  more  felicitous  than  to  borrow :  for  "  the  borrower  is 
always  servant  to  the  lender."  And  to  give  to  feed  the  hungry,  to 
clothe  the  naked,  is  not  so  felicitous,  though  even  this  is,  in  heaven's 
own  grace,  called  "lending  to  the  Lord,"  as  it  is  to  dispense  "the 
bread  and  the  water  of  life,"  to  convert  sinners  from  the  error  of  their 
ways,  to  hide  a  multitude  of  sins,  and  to  constitute  them  heirs  of  God 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  !  Hence,  of  all  the  causes  most  inte- 
resting to  man  the  cause  of  missions  is  supreme.  It  is  the  cause  of 
eternal  redemption,  of  everlasting  life,  honor,  glory  and  blessedness. 
It  is,  too,  of  all  the  sacrifices  of  man  the  most  acceptable  to  God ; 
because  most  in  unison  with  his  own  philanthropy  in  expending  more 
to  redeem  man  than  he  gave  to  furnish  and  garnish  the  whole  universe. 

We  now  reason,  only  reason,  with  you,  my  Christian  brethren,  on  the 
missionary  cause.  There  is  no  enthusiasm  in  this.  It  is  a  cool  and 
deliberate  act  of  the  highest  reason,  as  the  most  profound  reasoner 
could  demonstrate,  to  give  freely,  cheerfully,  liberally,  to  the  cause  of 
human  salvation,  in  the  form  of  instituting,  sustaining  and  conducting 
missionary  enterprises.  We  need  missionaries,  well-educated  mis- 
sionaries, at  home  and  abroad,  in  the  centres  of  our  highest  civilization 
and  on  our  most  remote  and  savage  frontiers.  Let  us,  then,  awaken 
from  our  speculations  and  day-dreams  of  earth's  fantastic  visions  of 
political  honor,  of  worldly  affluence,  of  large  fortunes  and  rich  estates 
for  our  heirs  to  send  them  comfortably  to  eternal  perdition,  to  ever- 
lasting bankruptcy  and  ruin. 

And  let  me  not  ask  you  what  you  would  take  for  any  earthly  pro- 
perty or  estate  which  the  Lord  has  given  you  as  a  steward,  but  how 
much  you  would  give  to  save  one  soul  from  everlasting  perdition,  bank- 
ruptcy and  ruin  ?  In  order  to  this,  I  ask  you  the  value  of  one  soul ! 
How  much  would  you— speaking  commercially — take  or  ask  for  your 
soul?  You,  doubtless,  remember  the  unanswered  and  unanswerable 
question  propounded  by  the  wisest,  the  most  intelligent  and  most 
benevolent  personage  that  was  ever  clothed  in  humanity.  It  bank- 
rupts all  the  powers  of  language,  human  or  angelic,  to  express.  What 
is-  a  man  profited  should  he  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  life,  his 
soul  or  himself?"  Any  one  of  these  three  words  is  of  equal  value  as 
an  exponent  of  psuchee  in  its  one  hundred  and  fifteen  occurrences  in  the 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


54y 


Christian  Scriptures.  We  may  be  peculiar  in  entertaining  the  opinion, 
but  we  cannot  divest  ourself  of  it,  that  this  was  a  common  saying, 
current  in  that  day,  "  What  advantage  in  gaining  the  whole  world  at 
the  loss  of  ones  life  ?"  What  gain  in  gaining  the  whole  world  and 
losing  ones  life  f — or  losing  one's  self.  This,  if  we  could  conceive  of 
such  a  thing,-  is  a  moral  absurdity  No  gain  whatever ;  but  an  utter, 
an  infinite  and  an  eternal  loss ! 

To  be  the  means  of  saving  one  soul,  or  one  person,  in  the  course  of 
the  longest  life  and  by  the  most  arduous  struggles,  is  quite  enough  of 
honor  and  of  happiness  to  satisfy  any  sensible,  any  rational  man  of 
Christian  aspirations.  This  is  a  fact  we  do  not  argue.  Its  simple 
^^tatement,  to  any  one  familiar  with  its  terms,  is  sufficient  to  produce 
a  cordial  acquiescence.  Even  to  correct  and  reclaim  one  erratic 
brother  who  has  wandered  out  of  the  fold  is  a  greater  work  than  any 
work  achieved  by  Caesar,  Napoleon  or  our  own  Washington.  They 
fought  and  they  conquered  for  themselves,  their  offspring  and  their 
country.  They  obtained  for  them  an  exemption  from  involuntary 
taxation  and  the  despotic  encroachments  of  a  tyrannic  and  absolute 
monarchy. 

For  this  statement  we  have  the  sanction  of  the  venerated  Apostle 
James.  He  says,  in  plain  English,  ''Brethren,  if  any  of  you  do  err 
from  the  truth,  and  one  turn  him  back  to  it,  let  him  know  that  he 
who  turns  a  sinner  back  from  the  error  of  his  way  will  save  a  soul 
from  death,  and  cover  his  multitude  of  sins."  (James  v.  20.)  So  thought 
and  so  wrote  the  venerated  James  to  the  twelve  tribes  dispersed  through 
Mesopotamia,  Media  and  Babylon,  a.d.  61. 

Any  one  and  every  one  of  the  converted  Jews  in  that  day,  it  seems, 
had  an  invitation  to  convert  sinners  in  the  church  as  well  as  sinners 
out  of  the  church.  And  have  not  we  still  need  to  preach  and  teach 
Jesus  Christ  often  out  of  the  church  and  sometimes  in  the  church? 
Missionaries  and  evangelists  may  in  their  journey ings  occasionally 
find  it  expedient  in  some  churches  to  declare  the  gospel,  as  Paul  did 
to  the  Corinthians,  and  as  James  did  to  the  brethren  in  the  dispersion. 

What  is  every  man's  business  is  said,  with  much  propriety,  to  be  no 
man's  business.  Hence,  home  missions  as  well  as  foreign  missions  are 
still  expedient.  Paul  and  Barnabas  found  it  expedient  to  visit  and 
revisit  the  churches  which  they  had  planted  and  watered.  (See  Acts 
XV.  36.)  Paul,  who  made  this  motion,  said,  Let  us  survey,  supervise  their 
condition — see  how  they  do.  In  all  this  work  of  faith,  in  all  this  labor 
of  love,  they  were  building  up  and  establishing  the  churches,  as  well 
^  ^creasing  their  numbers  and  augmenting  their  strength  in  the  Lord 


548 


ADDEESS  AT  THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF 


and  in  his  cause.  This  is,  and  ever  should  be,  a  prominent  portion  of 
the  missionary  operations  of  all  those  consecrated  and  devoted  to  this 
work. 

For  this  reason,  they  ought  to  be  freed  from  all  necessity  of  pro- 
viding for  themselves  and  families.  It  is  quite  as  much  the  Chris- 
tian duty  of  the  churches  to  support,  and  comfortably  sustain,  their 
evangelists  or  missionaries,  as  it  is  the  duty  of  those  ordained  to  this 
office  ''to  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist''  and  to  make  "full  proof"  of 
their  mission  and  ministry.  So  Paul  commanded  Timothy,  (2  Tim.  iv. 
5,)  and  so  he  commanded  the  churches  in  their  fields  of  labor  not  to 
forget  those  who  labored  for  them ;  and  that,  too,  by  their  own  request. 
"  The  soul  of  the  liberal"  Christian  waxeth  fat,"  and  "he  that  waters 
others  shall  be  watered  again."  There  is  justice  lying  at  the  basis  of 
every  Divine  institution.  For  "justice  and  judgment"  are  celebrated 
by  the  sweet  bard  of  Israel  as  the  basis  or  the  "foundation  of  the 
throne  of  God."    See  Psalm  Ixxxix.  14. 

Have  we  not  now,  Christian  brethren,  sufficient  premises  before  us 
as  to  our  duties,  privileges,  honors  and  rewards  in  this  great  and  glo- 
rious work  ?  First,  then,  we  ask.  What  Christian,  worthy  of  the  name, 
can  be  found  who  cherishes  not  in  his  heart  a  missionary  spirit  ?  Who 
does  not  pray  that  the  Lord's  work  may  progress  in  usefulness  and  in 
honor  to  all  co-operants  in  it?  Where  shall  we  find  a  Christian,  a 
genuine  Christian,  who  is  not  willing,  cheerful,  joyful  and  happy  in 
being  thus  a  joint  laborer  with  God  and  Christ  and  the  Holy  Spirit, 
with  the  angels  of  God,  the  ministering  spirits  of  his  loving  kindness 
and  of  his  tender  mercies  to  the  sons  and  daughters  of  men,  who  love, 
honor  and  adore  Him  who  is  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  Beginning 
and  the  End,  the  First  and  the  Last  of  the  most  august  drama  ever 
acted  on  the  broad  and  splendid  theatre  of  the  material  universe  ? 

There  lives  not  the  man,  worthy  of  the  name,  who  has  ever  seen 
himself  mirrored  in  the  unveiled  face  of  Immanuel — who  from  Pisgah, 
Nebo's  loftiest  peak,  has  gazed  upon  the  promised  land  on  Jordan's 
farther  side — who  does  not  earnestly,  ardently  and  joyfully  anticipate 
the  riches,  the  honors,  the  glories,  the  felicities,  of  that  inheritance 
mcorruptible,  undefiled  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  secured  and  gua- 
ranteed to  him  through  the  immaculate  life  and  the  sacrificial  death  of 
the  Lamb  of  God  promised  and  adumbrated  in  all  the  sacrifices  from 
the  death  of  the  righteous  Abel  to  that  of  Immanuel  on  the  accursed 
tree. 

Every  such  ransomed  man  feels  himself  constrained  to  vow  eternai 
allegiance  to  his  will  and  to  consecrate  himself,  and  all  the  talents  he 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


549 


possesbes,  to  his  honor  and  glory.  He  studies  both  Divinity  and  hu- 
manity in  his  person  and  character — in  what  he  said,  in  what  he  did, 
in  what  he  suffered  in  behalf  of  fallen  man.  He  supremely  desires  to 
be  'like  him  in  spirit,  in  temper,  in  word  and  in  deed.  His  person,  his 
office,  his  character,  his  works  of  love  and  of  mercy,  his  obedience 
unto  death  to  the  will  of  his  Father  and  for  the  ransom  of  man,  seizes 
his  heart,  animates  his  soul,  energizes  his  character,  and  prompts  him 
to  imitate  his  example — to  consecrate  his  heart,  his  person,  his  life,  hLs 
ii.liuence,  his  all,  to  his  honor  and  glory. 

Now,  as  philanthropy — a  word  of  heaven's  own  dialect  and  inspira- 
tion— supremely  distinguished  the  Hero  of  our  emancipation  in  his 
whole  sojourn  on  earth,  and  was  the  efficient  reason  of  his  manifesta- 
tion from  the  manger  to  the  cross,  every  Christian  participates  more 
or  less  abundantly  of  that  same  self-sacrificing  missionary  spirit.  As 
Jesus  the  Christ,  the  fruit  of  this  philanthropy  of  God  our  Father, 
became  a  prophet,  a  missionary,  an  evangelist,  so  every  Christian, 
every  one  born  from  above,  is,  in  his  new  heart  and  spirit,  disposed 
to  be  a  missionary  in  some  field,  in  some  circle  of  humanity,  great 
or  small,  either  in  his  own  person  or  in  that  of  some  kindred  spirit, 
better  gifted,  better  qualified,  better  fitted  for  the  work  than  himself. 
Hence  every  true  Christian  will  unite  and  co-operate  in  and  by  such 
better-qualified  herald,  and  hold  up  his  hands,  cheer  his  heart,  spirit  him 
on  and  sustain  him  in  his  work  of  faith,  his  labors  of  love  and  patience 
of  hope,  and  thereby  become  a  partaker  with  him  in  full  copartnery 
in  all  the  avails  of  his  mission,  in  all  the  conquests  and  triumphs  of 
the  gospel  dispensed  by  him.  In  the  book  of  God's  remembrance 
every  such  co-operant  is  unquestionably  enrolled.  For  illustration, 
suppose  that  one  hundred  persons,  all  citizens  of  Christ's  kingdom,  all 
heirs  and  joint  partners  of  the  grace  of  eternal  life,  should  select  a  man 
of  God,  possessed  of  a  missionary  spirit,  possessed  of  all  the  essential 
endowments  for  such  an  office  and  calling,  and  send  him  out  into  a 
certain -field  and  sustain  him  in  the  work,  agreeing  with  him  that  he 
will  and  shall  consecrate  his  whole  time,  every  day  of  the  year,  and 
exclusively  consecrate  every  hour  and  every  opportunity,  to  the  duties 
of  his  mission ;  and  suppose  in  said  field  in  one  year  he  should  be  the 
instrument  of  bringing  into  Christ's  kingdom  any  definite  number  of 
genuine  converts — for  illustration  say  any  number,  fifty  if  you  please ; 
then  conceive  of  their  annual  influence  for  any  definite  number  of 
years,  in  the  same  ratios,  and  add  to  these  the  influence  of  these  new 
converts  in  their  respective  spheres  during  life,  and  the  influence  of  all 
their  converts  for  one  generation,  and  here  pause.    What  a  revenue  of 


550 


ADDRESS  AT  THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF,  ETC. 


glory  and  honor  and  felicity !  But  this  is  a  lame  and  imperfect  view 
even  in  its  brightest  attitude  before  our  minds.  For,  through  the 
influence  of  these,  in  a  century  or  two,  what  a  multitude  may  enter  the 
everlasting  mansions !  And  these,  too,  all  in  a  primary  sense  are  the 
trophies  of  Him  who  gave  birth  to  this  institution.  In  this  way  the 
twelve  apostles  have  credited  to  their  labors  and  toils  all  the  Christian 
family  of  God,  past,  present  and  future.  But  there  is  this  never-to-be- 
forgotten  fact,  that  while  the  glories  of  the  apostles  surround  them  for- 
ever, they  interfere  not  with,  they  diminish  not  from,  the  glories  and 
the  honors  of  all  who  have,  like  them,  in  spirit,  in  labors,  in  toils  and 
in  sufferings,  acted,  suffered,  toiled  in  their  respective  ages,  genera- 
tions and  contemporaries.  God  can,  in  the  riches  of  his  grace,  beautify, 
beatify  and  glorify  them  all,  as  if  each  and  every  one  had  been  both 
the  originator,  the  author  and  finisher  of  his  own  work !  This,  and 
this  only,  is  the  proper,  the  rational  and  the  religious  conception  of 
that  remedial  institution,  and  of  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
'^He  will  give  grace,  and  he  will  give  glory;"  and  he  is  rich  enough, 
and  kind  enough,  and  generous  enough  to  give  both  grace  and  glory 
on  a  saale  transcendentally  sublime,  surpassing  all  that  eye  has  ever 
seen,  ear  ever  heard,  or  heari  ever  conceived. 

Who  would  not,  then,  that  has  ever  in  truth  tasted  that  the  Lord  is 
gracious,  that  believes  he  will  give  grace  to  do  his  will  and  reward 
those  that  have  done  it,  as  though,  without  his  aid  or  grace,  they  had 
done  it — we  ask  who,  with  such  a  faith,  would  not,  on  such  well- 
established  premises,  firm  as  the  throne  of  God,  enduring  as  the  ages 
of  eternity,  give,  devote  and  consecrate  his  whole  personality — body, 
soul  and  spirit — to  his  service,  honor  and  glory  ?  Who  would  not  bring 
his  offerings  into  Christ's  treasury  ?  Who  would  not  labor  and  toil  for 
means  to  invest  in  such  a  cause,  under  such  a  leader,  and  for  ends  and 
consummations  of  glory,  honor  and  immortality  beyond  all  concep- 
tion, and  consequently  beyond  all  expression. 

And  now,  brethren  beloved  in  the  Lord,  I  ask  you,  in  his  name  and 
for  his  sake — I  importune  and  beseech  you — that  you  act  worthily  of 
your  faith  and  hope  in  God,  worthily  of  your  relations  to  him,  worthily 
of  your  indebtedness  to  him,  and  most  worthily  of  that  rich  grace 
'bestowed  upon  you,  and  of  that  high  hope  cherished  in  your  hearts, 
that,  when  he  comes  in  all  his  glory,  he  may  not  be  ashamed  of  you, 
nor  you  ashamed  of  yourselves  in  his  presence.  And  to  "Him  who  re- 
deemed us  by  the  voluntary  sacrifice  of  himself,  be  all  glory  and  honor, 
all  blessing  and  praise,  now,  henceforth  and  forever.    Amen ! 


ADDRESS. 


THE  MISSIONARY  CAUSE. 


OELIYEBED  TO  THE  AMEEICAN  CHEISTIAN  MISSIONAftT 

SOCIETY, 
CINCINNATI,  OCTOBER,  1860. 

'*  He  that  winneth  souls  is  wise." — Prot    ti.  30. 

The  iniafiL:)nary  cause  is  older  than  the  material  universe.  It  was 
celebrated  by  Job — the  oldest  poet  on  the  pages  of  time. 

Jehovah  challenges  Job  to  answer  him  a  few  questions  on  the  institu- 
tions of  the  universe.  "  Grird  up  now  thy  loins/'  said  he;  "and  I  will 
demand  of  thee  a  few  responses.  Where  wast  thou  when  I  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  earth  ?  Declare,  if  thou  hast  understanding.  Who 
has  fixed  the  measure  thereof.  Or  who  has  stretched  the  line  upon  it  ? 
What  are  the  foundations  thereof?  Who  has  laid  the  corner-stone 
thereof?  When  the  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of 
God  shouted  for  joy.  Who  shut  up  the  sea  with  doors  when  it  burst 
forth  issuing  from  the  womb  of  eternity  ? — when  I  made  a  cloud  its 
garment,  and  thick  darkness  its  swaddling  band?  I  appointed  its 
limits,  saying,  Thus  far  shalt  thou  come,  but  no  farther ;  and  here  shall 
the  pride  of  thy  waves  be  stayed. 

"  Has  the  rain  a  father  ?  Who  has  begotten  the  drops  of  the  dew? 
Who  was  the  mother  of  the  ice  ?  And  the  hoar-frost  of  heaven,  who 
has  begotten  it  ?  Can  mortal  man  bind  the  bands  of  the  Seven  Stars, 
or  loose  the  cords  of  Orion  ?  Can  he  bring  forth  and  commission  the 
twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac,  or  bind  Arcturus  with  his  seven  sons? 

"  Knowest  thou,  0  man,  the  missionaries  of  the  starry  heavens  ?  Canst 
thou  lift  up  thy  voice  to  the  clouds,  that  abundance  of  waters  may  cover 
thee  ?    Canst  thou  command  the  lightnings,  so  that  they  may  say  to 

551 


552 


THE  MISSIOXARY  CAUSE. 


Dhee,  Here  we  are  ?  Who  can  number  the  clouds  in  wisdom  ?  Or 
who  can  pour  out  the  bottles  of  heaven  upon  the  thii^sty  fields  ?" 

If  such  be  a  single  page  in  the  volume  of  God's  physical  missionaries, 
what  must  be  its  contents  could  we,  by  the  telescope  of  an  angel,  survey 
one  single  province  of  the  universe  of  universes  which  occupy  topless, 
bottomless,  boundless  space ! 

We  have  data  in  the  Bible,  and  in  the  phenomena  of  the  material 
universe,  sufficient  to  authorize  the  assumption  that  the  missionary 
idea  circumscribes  and  permeates  the  entire  area  of  creation. 

Need  we  inquire  into  the  meaning  of  a  celestial  title  given  to  the 
tenantries  of  the  heaven  of  heavens  ?  But  you  all,  my  Christian  breth- 
ren, know  it.  You  anticipate  me.  The  sweet  poet  of  Israel  told  you 
long  since,  in  his  sixty-eighth  ode,  that  the  chariots  of  God  are  twerty 
thousand  thousands  of  angels.* 

And  what  is  an  angel  but  a  messenger,  a  missionary  f  Hence  the 
seven  angels  of  the  seven  churches  in  Asia  were  seven  missionaries, 
or  messengers,  sent  to  John  in  his  exile ;  and  by  these  John  wrote  letters 
to  the  seven  congregp^^  '^ns  in  Asia. 

Figuratively,  Go'  -iiakes  the  winds  and  lightnings  his  angels,  his 
messengers  of  wrath   ^  of  mercy ;  as  the  case  may  be. 

But  we  are  a  missionary  society — a  society  assembled  from  all 
points  of  the  compass — assembled,  too,  we  hope,  in  the  true  missionary 
spirit,  which  is  the  spirit  of  Christianity  in  its  primordial  conception. 
God  himself  instituted  it.  Moses  is  the  oldest  missionary  whose  name 
is  inscribed  on  the  rolls  of  time.  He  was  born  in  Egypt,  three  thousand 
■f^our  nundred  and  ninety-five  years  ago.  His  name  is  monumental. 
He  was  in  his  infancy  lodged  in  a  cradle  of  bulrushes.  His  sister,  under 
God,  was  his  guardian  angel.  Pharaoh's  daughter  heard  his  wailings 
as  she  enjoyed  her  sunny  bath  in  the  river  Nile.  He  was  then  three 
months  old.  By  a  special  providence,  he  was  nourished  in  his  own 
mother's  bosom,  in  the  very  palace  of  his  intended  destroyer — "in- 
structed, too,  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians,"  as  the  heir-apparent 
of  the  royalty  of  Egypt. 

When  forty  years  old,  moved  by  a  Divine  intimation,  he  undertook 
the  emancipation  of  his  own  people.  He  married  Zipporah,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Jethro,  or  Buel,  a  prince  and  a  priest  of  Midian,  then  residing 
in  Arabia  Petra.    He  became  a  shepherd,  and  kept  his  flocks  in  the 


*  This  is  an  exact  literal  version  of  Rebolayim  alphey  shenan.  The  Targum  says, 
"  The  chariots  of  God  are  two  myriads — and  two  thousand  angels  draw  them.'"  A  myriad 
is  10,000 — two  n:-riad8  20,000.    "To  know  this,"  Adam  Clarke  says,  "we  must  die  " 


THE  MISSIONARY  CAUSE. 


553 


ncinity  of  Mount  Horeb,  or  Sinai,  for  forty  years  more.  On  Mount 
Sinai  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  make  him  the  redeemer  of  Israel  from 
the  yoke  of  Pharaoh.  He  retained  his  mental  vigor  for  another  forty 
years,  and  died,  the  most  memorable,  the  most  honorable  and  the  most 
famous  man  in  the  world,  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  yea.rs. 
His  name  and  character  will  continue  as  long  as  the  sun,  as  the  purest 
of  men  and  the  greatest  of  lawgivers  and  princes  inscribed  on  the  rolls 
of  time. 

He  was  the  first  Divine  missionary,  and,  if  we  except  John  the  Bap- 
tist, he  was  the  second  in  rank  and  character  to  the  Lord  Messiah 
himself. 

Angels  and  missionaries  are  rudimentally  but  two  names  for  the 
same  officers.  But  of  the  Incarnate  Word,  God's  only-begotten  Son,  he 
says,  ''Thou  art  my  son,  the  beloved,  in  whom  I  delight."  And  he 
commands  the  world  of  humanity  to  hearken  to  him.  He  was,  indeed, 
God's  own  special  ambassador,  invested  with  all  power  in  heaven  and 
on  earth — a  true,  a  real,  an  everlasting  plenipotentiary,  having  vester' 
in  him  all  the  rights  of  God  and  all  the  rights  of  man.  And  were  i 
all  the  angels  of  heaven  placed  under  him  as  his  missionaries,  sent  fort- 
to  minister  to  the  heirs  of  salvation  ? 

His  commission,  given  to  the  twelve  apostles,  is  a  splendid  and 
glorious  commission.  Its  preamble  is  wholly  unprecedented — ''  All  au- 
thority in  heaven  and  on  earth  is  given  to  me."  In  pursuance  thereof, 
he  gave  commission  to  his  apostles,  saying,  "  Go,  convert  all  the 
nations,  immersing  them  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatever  I 
have  commanded  you  :  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  to  the  end 
of  the  world."  Angels,  apostles  and  evangelists  were  placed  under  his 
command,  and  by  him  commissioned  as  his  ambassadors  to  the  world. 

The  missionary  institution,  we  repeat,  is  older  than  Adam — oldej 
than  our  earth.    It  is  coeval  with  the  origin  of  angels. 

Satan  had  been  expelled  from  heaven  before  Adam  was  created. 
His  assault  upon  our  mother  Eve,  by  an  incarnation  in  the  most  subtle 
animal  in  Paradise,  is  positive  proof  of  the  intensity  of  his  malignity  to 
God  and  to  man.  He,  too,  has  his  missionaries  in  the  whole  area  of 
humanity.  Michael  and  his  angels,  or  missionaries,  are,  and  long  have 
been,  in  conflict  against  the  devil  and  his  missionaries.  The  battle, 
in  this  our  planet,  is  yet  in  progress,  and  therefore  missionaries  are 
in  perpetual  demand.  Hence  the  necessity  incumbent  on  us  to  carry 
on  this  warfare  as  loyal  subjects  of  the  Hero  of  our  redemption. 

The  Christian  armory  is  well  supplied  with  all  the  weapons  essential 

47 


554 


THE  MISSIONARY  CAUSE. 


to  the  conflict.  We  need  them  all.  "  We  wrestle  not  against  flesh 
and  blood,  but  against  principalities,  against  powers,  against  the  rulers 
of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  against  wicked  spirits  in  the  regions  of 
the  air."  Hence  the  need  of  having  our  "  loins  girded  with  the  truth;" 
having  on  the  breast-plate  of  righteousness,  our  feet  shod  with  the 
preparation  to  publish  the  gospel  of  peace ;  taking  the  shield  of  faith, 
the  helmet  of  salvation,  and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  the  word  of  God, 
always  praying  and  making  supplication  for  our  fellow-missionaries 
and  for  all  saints. 

The  missionary-fields  are  numerous  and  various.  They  are  both 
domestic  and  foreign.  The  harvest  is  great  in  both.  The  laborers  are 
still  few,  comparatively  very  few,  in  either  of  them. 

Bethany  College  and  Church  are  annually  sending  out  laborers.  But 
the  supply  is  not  a  tithe  of  the  demand.  The  Macedonians  cry,  ''Come 
over  and  help  us;"  "Send  us  an  evangelist;"  "Send  us  missionaries;" 
'■  The  fields  are  large,  the  people  are  desirous,  anxious,  to  hear  the 
original  gospel.  What  can  you  do  for  us  ?"  Nothing  !  Nothing 
My  brethren,  ought  this  so  to  be  ? 

Schools  for  the  prophets  are  wanting.  But  there  is  a  too  general 
apathy  or  indifi'erence  on  the  subject.  We  pray  to  the  Lord  of  the 
Harvest  to  send  out  reapers  to  gather  it  into  his  garner.  But  what  do 
ice,  besides  praying  for  it?  Do  we  work  for  it?  Suppose  a  farmer 
should  pray  to  the  Lord  for  an  abundant  harvest  next  year,  and  should 
never,  in  seed-time,  turn  over  one  furrow  or  scatter  one  handful  of 
seed :  what  would  we  think  of  him  ?  Would  not  his  neighbors  regard 
him  as  a  monomaniac  or  a  simpleton  ?  And  wherein  does  he  excel 
such  a  one  in  wisdom  or  in  prudence  who  prays  to  the  Lord  to  send 
out  reapers — missionaries,  or  evangelists — to  gather  a  harvest  of  souls, 
when  he  himself  never  gives  a  dollar  to  a  missionary,  or  the  value  of 
it,  to  enable  him  to  go  into  the  field?  Can  such  a  person  be  in 
earnest,  or  have  one  sincere  desire  in  his  heart  to  eff'ect  such  an  object 
or  purpose  ?  We  must  confess  that  we  could  have  no  faith  either  in 
his  head  or  in  his  heart. 

The  heavenly  missionaries  require  neither  gold  nor  silver,  neither 
food  nor  raiment.  Not  so  the  earthly  missionaries.  They  themselves, 
their  wives  and  children,  demand  both  food  and  clothing,  to  say  nothing 
of  houses  and  furniture.    Their  present  home  is  not 

"  The  gorgeous  city,  garnish'd  like  a  bride, 

Where  Christ  for  spouse  expected  is  to  pass, 
With  walls  of  jasper  compass  d  on  each  side, 
And  streets  all  paved  with  gold,  more  bright  than  glass." 


THE  MISSIOI^'ARY  CAUSE. 


655 


If  such  were  the  missionary's  home  on  earth,  he  might,  indeed,  labor 
gratuitously  all  the  days  of  his  life.  In  an  humble  cottage — rather  an 
unsightly  cabin — we  sometimes  see  the  wife  of  his  youth,  in  garments 
quite  as  unsightly  as  those  of  her  children,  impatiently  "waiting  their 
sire's  return,  to  climb  his  knees  the  envied  kiss  to  share."  But,  when 
the  supper-table  is  spread,  what  a  beggarly  account  of  almost  empty 
plates  and  dishes!  Whose  soul  would  not  sicken  at  such  a  sight?  I 
have  twice,  if  not  thrice,  in  days  gone  by,  when  travelling  on  my  early 
missionary  tours — over  not  the  poorest  lands  nor  the  poorest  settlements, 
either — witnessed  some  such  cases,  and  heard  of  more. 

I  was  then  my  own  missionary,  with  tiie  consent,  however,  of  one 
church.  I  desired  to  mingle  with  all  classes  of  religious  society,  that 
I  might  personally  and  truthfully  know,  not  the  theories,  but  the  facts- 
and  the  actualities,  of  the  Christian  ministry  and  the  so-called  Christian 
public.  I  spent  a  considerable  portion  of  my  time  during  the  years- 
1812,  '13,  '14,  '15,  '16,  travelling  throughout  Western  Virginia,  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Ohio. 

I  then  spent  seven  years  in  reviewing  my  past  studies,  and  in  teach- 
ing the  languages  and  the  sciences — after  which  I  extended  my  evan  • 
gelical  labors  into  other  States  and  communities,  that  I  might  still  more- 
satisfactorily  apprehend  and  appreciate  the  status,  or  the  actual  condi- 
tion, of  the  nominally  and  professed  religious  or  Christian  world. 

Having  shortly  after  my  baptism  connected  myself  with  the  Baptist 
people,  and  attending  their  associations  as  often  as  I  could,  I  became 
more  and  more  penetrated  with  the  conviction  that  theory  had  usurped 
the  place  of  faith,  and  that,  consequently,  human  institutions  had  been, 
more  or  less,  substituted  for  the  apostolic  and  the  Divine. 

During  this  period  of  investigation  T  had  the  pleasure  of  forming  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  sundry  Baptist  ministers,  East  and  West,, 
as  well  as  with  the  ministry  of  other  denominations.  Flattering  pros- 
pects of  usefulness  on  all  sides  began  to  expand  before  me  and  to 
inspire  me  with  the  hope  of  achieving  a  long-cherished  object — doing 
some  good  in  the  advocacy  of  the  primitive  and  apostolic  gospel — having 
in  the  year  1820  a  discussion  on  the  subject  of  the  first  positive  in- 
stitution enacted  by  the  Lord  Messiah,  and  in  a.d.  1823  another  on 
the  same  subject — the  former  more  especially  on  the  subject  and  action 
of  Christian  baptism,  the  latter  more  emphatically  on  the  design  of  that 
institution,  though  including  the  former  two. 

These  discussions,  more  or  less,  embraced  the  rudimental  elements  of 
the  Christian  institution,  and  gave  to  the  public  a  bold  relief  outline- 
of  the  whole  gen^'"".":^,  spirit,  letter  and  doctrine  of  the  gospel. 


556 


THE  MISSIOXAEY  CAUSE. 


Its  missionary  spirit,  though  not  formally  propounded,  was  yet  indi- 
cated, in  these  discussions;  because  this  institution  was  the  terminus  of 
the  missionary  work.  It  was  a  component  element  of  the  gospel,  as 
clearly  seen  in  the  commission  of  the  enthroned  Messiah.  Its  preamble 
is  the  superlative  fact  of  the  whole  Bible.  We  regret,  indeed,  that  this 
most  sublime  preamble  has  been  so  much  lost  sight  of  even  by  the 
present  living  generation.  If  we  ask  when  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ 
began,  or  when  the  reign  of  the  Heavens  commenced,  the  answer,  in 
what  is  usually  called  Christendom,  will  make  it  either  to  be  contempo- 
raneous with  the  ministry  of  John  the  Harbinger,  or  with  the  birth  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We  will  find  one  of  these  two  opinions  almost 
universally  entertained.  The  Baptists  are  generally  much  attached  to 
John  the  Baptist ;  the  Pedobaptists,  to  the  commencement  of  Christ's 
public  ministry.  John  the  Baptist  was  the  first  Christian  missionary 
with  a  very  considerable  class  of  living  Baptists ;  the  birth  of  Christ 
is  the  most  popular  and  orthodox  theory  at  the  respective  meridians  of 
Lutheranism,  Calvinism,  and  Arminianism. 

But,  by  the  more  intelligent,  the  resurrection,  or  the  ascension  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  is  generally  regarded  as  the  definite  commencement 
of  the  Christian  age  or  institution. 

Give  us  Paul's  or  Peter's  testimony,  against  that  of  all  theologians, 
living  or  dead.    Let  us  look  at  the  facts. 

Did  not  the  Saviour  teach  his  person-al  pupils,  or  disciples,  to  pray, 
Thy  kingdom" — more  truthfully, "  thy  reign — come"  f  Does  any  king's 
reign  or  kingdom  commence  with  his  birth  ?  still  less  with  his  death  ? 
Did  not  our  Saviour  himself,  in  person,  decline  the  honors  of  a  worldly 
or  temporal  prince?  Did  he  not  declare  that  his  kingdom  "is  not  of 
this  world"  ?  Did  he  not  say  that  he  was  going  hence,  or  leaving  this 
world,  to  receive  or  to  obtain  a  kingdom  ?  And  were  not  the  keys  of  the 
kingdom  first  given  to  Peter  to  open,  to  announce  it?  And  did  he  not, 
when  in  Jerusalem,  on  the  first  Pentecost,  after  the  ascension  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  make  a  public  proclamation,  saying,  "Let  all  the  house  of 
Israel  know  assuredly  that  God  has  made  (or  constituted)  the  identical 
Jesus  of  Kazareth,  the  son  of  Mary,  both  the  Lord  and  the  Ch'rist,  or 
the  a'liuinted  Lord''  ? 

Do  kings  reign  before  they  are  crowned  ?  before  they  are  anointed  ? 
There  was  not  a  Christian  church  on  earth,  or  any  man  called  a  Chris- 
tian, until  after  the  consecration  and  coronation  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
as  the  Christ  of  God. 

The  era  of  a  son's  birth  was  never,  since  the  world  began,  the  era 
of  his  reign  or  of  the  commencement  of  it.    It  is  a  strange  fact,  to  mo 


THE  MISSIONARY  CAUSE. 


557 


a  wonderful  fact,  and,  considering  the  age  in  which  we  live,  an  over- 
whelming fact,  that  we,  as  a  community,  are  the  only  people  on  the 
checkered  map  of  all  Christendom,  Greek,  Koman,  Anglican  or  Ame- 
can,  that  preach  and  teach  that  the  commonly  called  Christian  era  is 
not  the  era  or  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  church  or  kingdom 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  the  Christ. 

The  kingdom  of  the  Christ  could  not  antedate  his  coronation.  Hence 
Peter,  in  announcing  his  coronation,  after  his  ascension,  proclaimed, 
saying,  Let  all  the  house  of  Israel  know  assuredly  that  God  has 
made — touton  ton  leesoun — the  same,  the  identical  Jesus  whom  you  have 
crucified,  both  Lord  and  Christ;''  or,  in  other  words,  has  crowned  him 
the  legitimate  Lord  of  all.  Then  indeed  his  reign  began.  Then  was 
verified  the  oracle  uttered  by  the  royal  bard  of  Israel,  "  Jehovah  said 
to  my  Jehovah" — or,  "the  Lord  said  co  my  Lord," — ''Sit  thou  on  my 
right  hand  till  I  make  thy  foes  thy  footstool." 

Hence  he  could  say,  and  did  say,  to  his  apostles,  All  authority  in 
the  heavens  and  on  the  earth  is  given  to  me."  In  pursuance  thereof, 
"Go  you  into  all  the  world,  proclaim  the  gospel  to  the  whole  creation; 
assuring  them  that  every  one  who  believes  this  proclamation  and  is 
immersed  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  shall  be  saved." 

Here,  then,  the  missionary  field  is  declared  to  be  the  whole  world — 
the  broad  earth.  They  were,  as  we  are  afterwards  informed,  to  begin 
at  the  first  capital  in  the  land  of  Judea,  then  to  proceed  to  Samaria, 
the  capital  of  the  ten  tribes,  and  thence  to  the  last  domicile  of  man  on 
earth. 

There  was,  and  there  is  still,  in  all  this  arrangement,  a  gracious  and 
a  glorious  propriety. 

The  Jews  had  murdered  the  Messiah  under  the  false  charge  of  an  im- 
postor. Was  it  not,  then,  divinely  grand  and  supremely  glorious  to 
make  this  awfully  blood-stained  capital  the  beginning,  the  fountain,  of 
the  gospel  age  and  mission?  Hence  it  was  decreed  that  all  the  earth 
should  be  the  parish,  and  all  the  nations  and  languages  of  earth  the 
objects,  and  millions  of  them  the  subjects,  of  the  redeeming  grace  and 
tender  mercies  of  our  Saviour  and  our  God. 

What  an  extended  and  still  extending  area  is  the  missionary  field ! 
There  are  the  four  mighty  realms  of  Pagandom,  of  Papaldom,  of 
Mohammedandom  and  of  ecclesiastic  Sectariandom.  These  are,  one 
and  all,  essentially  and  constitutionally,  more  or  less,  not  of  the  apos- 
tolic Christiandom. 

The  divinely-inspired  constitution  of  the  church  contains  only  seven 


558 


THE  MISSIONARY  CAUSE. 


articles.  These  are  the  seven  hills,  not  of  Eome,  but  of  the  true  Zion 
of  Israel's  God.  Paul's  summary  of  them  is  found  in  the  following 
words : — One  body,  one  spirit,  one  hope,  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
baptism,  and  one  God  and  Father  of  all." 

The  clear  perception,  the  grateful  reception,  the  cordial  entertain- 
ment of  these  seven  divinely  constructed  and  instituted  pillars,  are  the 
alone  sufficient,  and  the  all-sufficient,  foundation — the  indestructible 
basis — of  Christ's  kingdom  on  this  earth,  and  of  man's  spiritual  and 
-eternal  salvation  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  himself,  his  Creator,  his  Re- 
deemer, and  the  whole  universe  of  spiritual  intelligence  through  all  the 
circles  and  the  cycles  of  an  infinite,  an  everlasting  future  of  being  and 
of  blessedness.    May  we  not  say — 

"  A  hope  so  great  and  so  divine 
May  trials  well  endure, 
And  purify  our  souls  from  sin, 
As  ChrifJt  himself  is  pure"? 

The  missionary  spirit  is,  indeed,  an  emanation  of  the  whole  Godhead. 
God  the  Father  sent  his  Son,  his  only-begotten  Son,  into  our  world.  The 
Son  sent  the  Holy  Spirit  to  bear  witness  through  his  twelve  missionaries, 
the  consecrated  and  Heaven-inspired  apostles.  They  proclaimed  the 
glad  tidings  of  great  joy  to  all  people — to  the  Jews,  to  the  Samaritans, 
to  the  Gentiles,  of  all  nations,  kindreds  and  tongues.  They  gave  in 
solemn  charge  to  others  to  sound  out  and  to  proclaim  the  glad  tidings 
of  great  joy  to  all  people.  And  need  we  ask,  is  not  the  Chiistian 
church  itself,  in  its  own  institution  and  constitution,  virtually  and 
essentially  a  missionary  institution  ?  Does  not  Paul  formally  state  Vo 
the  Thessalonians  in  his  first  epistle  that  from  them  sounded  out  the 
word  of  the  Lord  not  only  in  Macedonia  and  in  Achaia,  but  in  every 
place  ? 

No  man  can  really  or  truthfully  enjoy  the  spiritual,  the  soul-stirring, 
the  heart-reviving  honors  and  felicities  of  the  Christian  institution  and 
kingdom,  who  does  not  intelligently,  cordially  and  efficiently  espouse 
the  missionary  cause. 

In  other  words,  he  must  feel,  he  must  have  compassion  for  his  fellow- 
man  ;  and,  still  further,  he  must  practically  sympathize  with  him  in 
communicating  to  his  spiritual  necessities  as  well  as  to  his  physica,! 
wants  and  infirmities.  The  true  ideal  of  all  perfection — our  blessed 
and  blissful  Redeemer — went  about  continually  doing  good — to  both 
the  souls  and  the  bodies  of  his  fellow-men;  healing  aU  that  were, 
in  body,  soul  or  spirit,  oppressed  by  Satan,  the  enemy  of  God  and 
of  man. 


THE  MISSIONARY  CAUSE. 


559 


To  follow  his  exa*mple  is  the  grand  climax  of  humanity.  It  is  not 
j^ecessary  to  this  end  that  he  should  occupy  the  pulpit.  There  are,  as 
we  conceive,  myriads  of  Christian  men  in  the  private  walks  of  life,  who 
never  aspired  to  the  "  sacred  desk,"  that  will  far  outshine,  in  eternal 
glory  and  blessedness,  hosts  of  the  reverend,  the  boasted  and  the 
boastful  right  reverend  occuDants  of  the  sacred  desks  of  this  our  day 
and  generation. 

But  Solomon  has  furnished  our  motto: — He  that  winneth"  or 
taketh  "  souls  is  wise."  (Prov.  xi.  30.)  Was  he  not  the  wisest  of  men, 
the  most  potent  and  the  richest  of  kings,  that  ever  lived  ?  He  had, 
therefore,  all  the  means  and  facilities  of  acquiring  what  we  call  know- 
ledge— the  knowledge  of  men  and  things ;  and,  consequently,  the  value 
of  men  and  things  was  legitimately  within  the  area  of  his  understand- 
ing ;  or,  in  this  case,  we  might  prefer  to  say,  with  all  propriety,  within 
the  area  of  his  comprehension. 

Need  I  say  that  comprehension  incomparably  transcends  appre- 
hension? Simpletons  may  apprehend,  but  only  wise  men  can  com- 
prehend any  thing.  Solomon's  rare  gift  was,  that  both  his  apprehension 
and  his  comprehension  transcended  those  of  all  other  men,  and  gave 
him  a  perspicacity  and  promptitude  of  decision  never  before  or  since 
possessed  by  any  man.  His  oracles,  indeed,  were  the  oracles  of  God. 
But  Grod  especially  gave  to  him  a  power  and  opportunity  of  making 
one  grand  experiment  and  development  for  the  benefit  of  his  living 
contemporaries,  and  of  all  posterity,  to  whom  God  presents  his  bio- 
graphy, his  Proverbs  and  his  Ecclesiastes. 

"The  loinning  of  souls '  is,  therefore,  the  richest  and  best  business, 
trade  or  calling,  according  to  Solomon,  ever  undertaken  or  prosecuted 
by  mortal  man.  Paul  was  fully  aware  of  this,  and  therefore  had 
always  in  his  eye  a  triple  crown" — a  crown  of  righteousness,"  a 
"crown  of  life,"  a  "crown  of  glory."  And  even  in  this  life  he  had 
"  a  crown  of  rejoicing,"  in  prospect  of  an  exceeding  and  eternal  weight 
of  glory,  imperishable  in  the  heavens.  May  it  not,  on  such  premises, 
De  well  and  truthfully  said,  "  Godliness  is  profitable  in  all  respects, 
having  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  also  of  that  which  is  to 
come"  ? 

There  is,  too,  a  present  reward,  a  present  pleasure,  a  present  joy  and 
peace  which  the  wisdom,  and  the  riches,  and  the  dignity,  and  the  glory, 
and  the  honors  of  this  world  never  did,  never  can,  and  consequently 
never  will,  confer  on  its  most  devoted  and  persevering  votaries. 

There  is,  indeed,  a  lawful  and  an  honorable  covetousness,  which  any 


THE  MISSIONARY  CAUSE. 


and  every  Christian,  man  and  woman,  may  cultivate  and  cherish.  Dr. 
Young  had  a  very  just  conception  of  it.    He  said, — 

"Thou  shall  not  covet,  is  a  vrise  command, 
But  bounded  by  the  ^vealth  the  sun  surveys  ; 
Look  further,  that  command  stands  quite  reversed, 
And  avarice  is  a  virtue  most  divine." 

Paul  himself  justifies  the  poetic  license,  when  he  says,  "Co^tst 
earnestly  the  best  gifts." 

The  best  gifts  in  his  horizon,  however,  were  those  which,  when  duly 
cultivated  and  employed,  confer  the  greatest  amount  of  profit  and 
felicity  upon  others.  We  should,  indeed,  desire,  even  covet,  the  means 
and  the  opportunities  of  beatifying  and  aggrandizing  one  another  with 
the  true  riches,  the  honors  and  the  dignities  that  appertain  to  the 
spiritual,  the  heavenly  and  the  eternal  inheritance. 

But  we  need  not  propound  to  your  consideration  or  inquiry  the 
claims — the  paramount,  the  transcendent  claims — which  our  enjoyment 
of  the  gospel  and  its  soul-cheering,  soul-animating,  soul-enrapturing 
influences  present  to  us  as  arguments  and  motives  to  extend  and  to 
animate  its  proclamation  by  every  instrumentality  and  means  whicli 
we  can  legitimately  employ,  to  present  it  in  all  its  attractions  and 
claims  upon  the  understanding,  the  conscience  and  the  aflfections  of 
our  contemporaries,  in  our  own  country  and  in  all  others,  as  far  as 
our  most  gracious  and  bountiful  Benefactor  affords  the  means  and  the 
opportunities  of  co-operating  with  him,  in  the  rescue  and  recovery 
of  our  fellow-men,  who,  without  such  means  and  efforts,  must  forever 
perish,  as  aliens  and  enemies,  in  heart  and  in  life,  to  God  and  to  his 
divinely-commissioned  ambassador,  the  glorious  Messiah. 

Brethren,  we  have  another  argument  for  you,  of  great  moral  and 
evangelical  power.  It  is,  indeed,  rather  invidious  in  the  esteem  of 
many  of  our  contemporaries.  It  is,  with  some  of  them  at  least,  a 
species  of  arrogance  on  our  part  to  assert  it,  and  still  more  to  urge  it 
on  their  attention.  But,  nevertheless,  it  is  upon  us  a  paramount  duty. 
We  plead  for  the  original  apostolic  gospel  and  its  positive  institutions. 
If  the  great  apostles  Peter  and  Paul — the  former  to  the  Jews  and 
the  latter  to  the  Gentiles — announced  the  true  gospel  of  the  grace  of 
God,  shall  we  hesitate  a  moment  on  the  propriety  and  the  necessity, 
divinely  imposed  upon  us,  of  preaching  the  same  gospel  which  they 
preached,  and  in  advocating  the  same  institutions  which  they  esta- 
blished, under  the  plenary  inspiration  and  direction  of  the  Holy  Spirit? 
Can  we  improve  upon  their  institutions  and  enactments  ?  What  means 
that  singular  imperative  enunciated  by  the  evangelical  prophet  Isaiah, 


THE  MISSIONARY  CAUSE. 


561 


(^Isa..  viii.,)  ''Bind  up  the  testiraony,  seal  the  law  among  my  disciples'  7 
What  were  its  antecedents?  Hearken  !  The  prophet  had  just  foretold. 
He,  the  subject  of  this  oracle,  viz.  ''the  desire  of  all  nations," 
was  coming  to  be  a  sanctuary ;  but  not  a  sanctuary  alone,  but  for  a  stone 
of  stumbling  and  a  rock  of  offence  [as  at  this  day]  to  both  the  houses 
of  Israel — for  a  gin  and  for  a  snare  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem. 

He  adds,  "  And  many  among  them  shall  stumble  and  fall,  and  be 
broken,  and  be  snared,  and  be  taken;"  and  then  immediately  adds, 
''Bind  up  the  testimony,  and  seal  the  law  among  my  disciples;"  and 
still  further,  to  command  the  testimony  and  to  guard  it,  he  adds,  "  If 
they  speak  not  according  to  this  word,  it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in 
them." 

It  is  the  glory,  the  honor  and  the  felicity  of  the  Christian  church  to 
be  the  light  of  the  world,  the  salt  of  the  earth,  and  the  life  everlasting 
to  multitudes  "  dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins."  The  church  is  the 
bride,  her  Saviour  is  the  bridegroom,  and,  therefore,  their  offspring  is 
of  God. 

The  church,  therefore,  of  right  is,  and  ought  to  be,  a  great  mis- 
sionary society.  Her  parish  is  the  whole  earth,  from  sea  to  sea,  and 
from  the  Euphrates  to  the  last  domicile  of  man. 

But  the  crowning  and  consummating  argument  of  the  missionary 
cause  has  not  been  fuUy  presented.  There  is  but  one  word,  in  the  lan- 
guages of  earth,  that  fully  indicates  it.  And  that  word  indicates  neither 
less  nor  more  than  what  is  represented — literally,  exactly,  perspicu- 
ously represented — by  the  word  philanthropy.  But  this  being  a  Greek 
word  needs,  perhaps,  in  some  cases,  an  exact  definition.  And  to  make 
it  memorable  we  will  preface  it  with  the  statement  of  the  fact  that  this 
word  is  found  but  twice  in  the  Greek  original  New  Testament,  (Acts 
xxviii.  2,  and  Titus  iii.  4.)  In  the  first  passage  this  word  is,  in  the 
common  version,  translated  ''  kindness,'*  ajid  in  the  second,  "  love  toward 
many  Literally  and  exactly,  it  signifies  the  love  of  man,  objectively; 
but,  more  fully  expressed,  the  love  of  one  to  another. 

The  love  of  God  to  man  is  one  form  of  philanthropy ;  the  love  of 
angels  to  man  is  another  form  of  philanthropy ;  and  the  love  of  man  to 
man,  as  such,  is  the  true  philanthropy  of  the  law.  It  is  not  the  love 
of  one  man  to  another  man,  because  of  favors  received  from  him :  this 
is  only  gratitude.  It  is  not  the  love  of  one  man  to  another  man, 
because  of  a  common  country :  this  is  mere  patriotism.  It  is  not  the 
love  of  man  to  man,  because  of  a  common  ancestry :  this  is  mere 
natural  affection.  But  it  is  the  love  of  man  to  man,  merely  because 
he  is  a  man.    This  is  pure  philanthropy.    Such  was  the  love  of  God 

36 


662 


THE  MISSIONARY  CAUSE. 


to  man  as  exhibited  in  the  gift  of  his  dearly  beloved  Son  as  a  sin- 
offering  for  him.  This  is  the  name  which  the  inspired  writers  of  the 
New  Testament  give  it.  So  Paul  uses  it,  Titus  iii.  and  iv.  It  should 
have  been  translated,  "  After  that  the  kindness  and  philanthropy  of 
God  our  Saviour  appeared."  Again,  Acts  xxviii.  2,  ''The  barbarous 
people  of  the  Island  of  Melita  showed  us  no  little  philanthropy."* 
"  They  kindled  a  fire  for  us  on  their  island,  because  of  the  impending 
rain  and  the  cold." 

There  are,  indeed,  many  forms  and  demonstrations  of  philanthropy. 
Por  one  good  man  another  good  man  might  presume  to  die.  But  the 
philanthropy  of  God  to  man  incomparably  transcends  all  other  forms 
of  philanthropy  known  on  earth  or  reported  from  heaven. 

While  we  were  sinners,  in  positive  and  actual  rebellion  against  oui 
Father  and  our  God,  he  freely  gave  up  his  only  begotten  and  dearly 
beloved  Son  as  a  sin-offering  for  us,  and  laid  upon  him,  or  placed  to 
his  account,  the  sin,  the  aggregate  sin,  of  the  world.  He  became  in 
the  hand  of  his  Father  and  our  Father  a  sin-offering  for  us.  He  took 
upon  himself,  and  his  Father  ''  laid  upon  him,  the  iniquity  of  us  all." 
Was  ever  love  like  this  ?  Angels  of  all  ranks,  spirits  of  all  capacities, 
still  contemplate  it  with  increasing  wonder  and  delight. 

This,  the  gospel  message,  is  to  be  announced  to  all  the  world,  to  men 
of  every  nation  under  heaven.  And  this,  too,  with  the  promise  of  the 
forgiveness  of  sins  and  of  a  life  everlasting  in  the  heavens,  to  every  one 
who  will  cordially  accept  and  obey  it. 

This  is,  in  brief,  the  gospel  message.  The  mission  and  commission 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  gave  birth  and  being  to  all  evangelical  mis- 
sionary institutions.  Not  based  on  this,  they  are  wholly  worthless. 
But  based  on  this,  they  are  under  the  shield  and  auspices  of  the  Lord 
God  Almighty. 

In  this  age  of  partyism,  we  have  denominational  theories,  feelings, 
sympathies,  operations,  and  co-operations.  All  these  are,  more  or  less, 
refined  forms  of  selfishness.  And,  pray,  what  is  selfishness?  The 
insulation  or  the  isolation  of  our  views,  feelings,  motives,  interests, 
actions, — having  as  the  chief  end  and  object  of  life  our  own  individual 
ease,  honor,  dignity,  glory,  happiness.  This  is  a  highly  civilized, 
aggrandized,  glorified  selfishness.  But  there  is  in  it  not  one  element 
of  magnanimity,  nobility,  or  philanthropy.  In  the  sight  of  God  it  is 
sheer  selfishness,  without  the  semblance  of  either  piety  or  humanity, 
in  their  legitimate  currency  and  import. 


So  "we  have  always  translated  this  term,  in  this  passage. 


THE  MISSIONARY  CAUSE 


563 


The  truth  is,  if  love  blinds  the  eyes  of  its  subject,  self-love,  more 
than  any  other  passion,  eflfectually  blinds  the  eyes  of  the  mere  world- 
ling. He  never  sees  himself  at  the  true  and  proper  angle  of  vision. 
Without  piety  and  humanity,  there  is,  in  fact,  no  true,  real  magna- 
nimity. 

We  are  met  here,  not  as  the  Episcopal,  the  Presbyterian,  the  Con- 
gregational, the  Methodist  or  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  but  the 
Christian  Missionary  Society.  The  Lord's  prime  missionaries  were 
properly  called  apostles.  They  were  educated,  trained  and  commis- 
sioned by  himself  in  person.  They  had  seven  points  differential  from 
all  other  functionaries.    These  were  : — 

Ist.  They  should  have  seen  and  heard  and  known  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  himself  in  person. 

2d.  They  should  have  been  immediately  called  and  chosen  to  that 
office  by  himself. 

3d.  Infallible  inspiration  was  an  essential  requisite  to  the  exercise 
of  that  office. 

4th.  The  power  of  working  miracles  was  an  indispensable  qualifica- 
tion to  the  full  discharge  of  the  duties  of  that  office. 

5th.  To  them  was  specially  given  the  power  of  imparting  spiritual 
gifts  and  miraculous  powers  to  others. 

6th.  Their  mission  was  universal :  the  whole  world  was  the  field  of 
their  operations. 

7th.  They  exercised,  while  they  lived,  a  superintendence  over  all  the 
churches  planted  by  their  instrumentality;  and  their  authority  was 
paramount  to  that  of  all  other  functionaries. 

They  were,  to  speak  in  modern  style,  ambassadors  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  received  their  commission  from  himself  in  person. 

They  could  not,  therefore,  themselves,  by  any  possibility,  impart  or 
transfer  their  office  to  others. 

We  have  now,  therefore,  but  three  official  personages  in  the  Christian 
church.    These  are  evangelists,  pastors  or  bishops,  and  deacons. 

The  missions  of  this  universe  incomparably  transcend  all  human 
conception;  an  I  still  more  incomprehensible  are  the  missionaries  re- 
quisite to  the  completion  and  perfection  of  these  missions. 

A  Christian  community  without  missions  and  missionaries  would, 
indeed,  be  a  solecism  in  creation,  and  a  gross  deviation  from  the  order, 
the  economy  and  the  government  of  the  universe. 

And  when  we  gravely  ponder  upon  the  magnificence  of  the  empire 
of  the  author  and  founder  of  the  Christian  kingdom  and  its  august 
sovereign,  the  Lord  our  King,  and  his  resources  as  monarch  of  all 


564 


THE  MISSIONARY  CAUSE. 


creation — Lord  of  all  instrumentalities,  possessing  all  authority  in  tlie 
heavens  above  us,  under  us  and  around  us ;  and  in  the  still  small  voice 
of  his  claims  asking  our  aid  and  co-operation  with  him,  honoring  us 
with  a  copartnery  with  himself  in  the  riches  and  the  glories  and  the 
honors  of  his  august  position,  and  his  boundless  empire  of  true  riches, 
true  honors,  true  dignities,  true  grandeur  and  magnificence — in  sitting 
down  with  him  on  his  throne  and  participating  with  him  in  the  glory, 
the  honor  and  the  immortality  of  his  everlasting  empire — I  ask,  shall 
we,  will  we,  dare  we,  withhold  from  him  our  cordial  aid,  our  liberal 
contributions,  out  of  the  abundance  of  all  good  things  which  he  has, 
in  his  liberality,  conferred  upon  us  ?  Let  your  response,  my  beloved 
brethren,  be  to  him,  and  not  to  me,  your  humble  brother. 


ADDRESS 

TO  THE 

BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


HELD  AT  MEMPHIS,  TENNESSEE,  APRIL  2,  1862. 


*'God  said,  Let  there  be  light,  and  light  was." — Gbn.  i.  3. 

Men,  Brethren  and  Fathers  : — 

This  was  the  first  speech  ever  made  within  our  universe.  It  is,  in- 
deed, the  most  sublime  and  potent  speech  ever  made.  It  is,  however, 
but  the  expression  of  an  intelligent  omnipotent  volition.  It  was  preg- 
nant with  all  the  elements  of  a  material  creation.  It  was  a  beautiful 
portraiture  of  its  author,  prospective  of  all  the  developments  of  crea- 
tion, providence  and  redemption.  It  was  a  Bible  in  miniature,  and 
future  glory  in  embryo.  We,  therefore,  place  it  as  the  motto  of  an 
address  upon  the  greatest  question  and  work  of  our  age — Shall  we  have 
the  light  of  life  as  God  created  it  f 

All  was  chaos  before  God  uttered  this  oracle.  All  was  order,  beauty 
and  life  when  he  ended  this  discourse.  Creation  was  but  a  sermon — a 
speech.  Its  exordium  was  light,  and  its  peroration  man.  Redemption, 
too,  was,  in  perspective,  shown  in  the  first  utterance  that  broke  the 
silence  of  eternity.    Hence  its  author  is  called    the  Word  of  God" — 

the  light  and  the  life  of  man."  Hence,  too,  in  its  first  enunciation 
we  are  carried  back  to  this  primordial  oracle,  In  the  beginning  was 
the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  The 
same  was  in  the  beginning  with  God.  All  things  were  created  by  him, 
and  without  him  was  not  any  thing  made  that  was  made.  In  him  was 
life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men."  True,  "this  light"  yet  "  shines 
in  darkness,  and  the  darkness  comprehendeth  it  not."  Under  the  same 
Divine  imagery,  at  the  end  of  the  volume,  he  is  called  "  The  Alpha  and 
the  Omega,  the  Beginning  and  the  End,  the  First  and  the  Last."  "  All 
things  were  created  by  him,  and  for  him ;  and  he  is  before  all  things, 

606 


566 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


and  by  him  all  things  subsist."  The  ''Word  became  inca,rnate,  and 
dwelt"  amcmgst  men,  and  men  ''  beheld  his  glory" — the  Divine  image 
of  the  invisible  Jehovah — "  the  glory  as  of  an  only-begotten  of  the 
Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth." 

The  volume  emphatically  called  the  Bible  spans  the  arch  of  time. 
In  its  commencement  it  rests  upon  an  eternity  to  us  past,  and  in  its 
termination  upon  an  eternity  to  us  future.  But  God  himself  in  He- 
brew is  called  "The  Eternities  of  Israel,"  and  time  is  but  a  continued 
creation  of  the  spiritual  tenantry  of  the  Eternities  of  Israel,  com- 
mencing in  the  first  and  terminating  in  the  last.  This  heaven-de- 
scended volume  is,  therefore,  the  chart  of  the  interval  that  lies  between 
the  heaven  that  is  past  and  the  heaven  that  is  to  come.  It  delineates 
the  path  of  life,  and,  in  harmony  with  "  the  divinity  that  stirs  within 
us,"  it  points  out  an  hereafter  and  intimates  an  eternity  to  man.  How 
important,  then,  that  we  have  it  in  our  own  language,  as  they  had  who 
first  received  it  from  the  hand  of  God !  As  the  golden  cherubim  that 
overshadowed  the  propitiatory,  while  guarding  the  written  word  of 
God  with  one  eye  directed  to  the  throne  of  glory  and  with  one  im- 
movably fixed  on  the  printed  tablets  of  the  Divine  constitution,  so 
ought  we  to  guard  the  sacred  oracles  committed  to  the  church  of  Christ, 
and  preserve  them  in  their  primeval  purity  and  integrity. 

In  full  conviction  and  assurance  of  these  preliminary  statements, 
and  of  the  eternal  truth  and  value  of  the  Divine  oracles,  and  of  the 
obligations  therein  contained  and  resting  upon  the  church  of  Christ 
to  translate  them  into  all  languages  and  to  give  them  to  the  human 
race,  I  would  very  respectfully  submit  to  your  consideration  and  for 
your  adoption  the  following  resolution — 

Besolved,  That  it  is  a  paramount  duty  of  the  Christian  Church  of 
the  nineteenth  century  to  give  to  the  present  age,  in  our  own  verna- 
cular, a  perspicuous,  exact  and  faithful  version  of  the  living  oracles  of 
God,  as  we  find  them  in  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  originals  of  inspired 
prophets,  apostles  and  evangelists. 

In  submitting  to  your  consideration  and  for  your  adoption  this 
resolution,  it  is  assumed  that  we  have  not  now  extant,  in  our  own 
language,  publicly  accredited,  such  a  version  as  that  proposed  in  the  re- 
solution which  I  have  at  present  the  honor  to  submit  to  your  most  grave 
consideration.  And  is  not  this  a  generally,  nay,  a  universally  conceded 
fact,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  Protestant  Christendom  ? 
Is  there  a  single  sect,  party  or  denomination,  known  to  history  or  to 
any  one  of  us,  which  in  its  aggregate,  or  even  in  a  respectable  minority 


BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


567 


of  its  most  intelligent  communion,  is  fully  satisfied  that  it  has  m  its 
possession  such  a  translation  of  either  the  Jewish  or  Christian  Scrip- 
tures ?  Nay,  is  there  a  learned  rabbi,  doctor  or  minister  of  any  deno- 
mination that  can  or  would,  ex  animo,  affirm  the  conviction  that  we 
have  such  a  version  in  public  use  ?  If  any  one  doubt  it,  let  him  assume 
the  task — the  herculean  task — of  examining  the  popular  commentaries 
and  versions,  from  those  of  Luther,  Beza,  Erasmus^  or  that  of  Eheims, 
A.D.  1582,  down  to  that  of  Dr.  Boothroyd,  of  1836,  patronized,  or 
occasionally  used,  by  our  religious  denominations,  Romanists  and  Pro- 
testants ;  and  if  he  does  not  find  objections  to,  and  emendations  of, 
each  and  every  one  of  them,  proposed  by  hundreds  and  by  thousands, 
I  will  concede  the  position  assumed. 

Dr.  George  Campbell  suggests  some  four  hundred  and  fifty  emen- 
dations in  the  single  testimony  or  gospel  of  the  Apostle  Matthew^,  and 
Dr.  MacKnight  nearly  as  many  in  his  translation  of  two  of  Paul's 
Epistles — viz.  that  to  the  Romans  and  that  to  the  Hebrews.  And 
what  shaU  we  say  of  Drs.  Whitby,  Benson,  Doddridge,  D'Oyly  and 
Mant,  Gill,  Pierce,  Thomas  Scott,  Taylor^  of  Norwich,  Philosopher 
Locke,  Dr.  Boothroyd,  Professor  M.  Stuart  and  Secretary  Thompson? 
From  all  these,  and  others  besides,  we  have  imported  from  Fater- 
Noster  Row,  London,  the  Holy  Bible  with  its  twenty  thousand  emen- 
dations !  In  the  United  States,  these,  and  many  others  not  named, 
ai'e  found,  not  only  in  our  public  libraries,  but  in  many  of  our  private 
libraries.  Indeed,  these  all  stand  on  my  own  shelves,  with  several 
others  not  named,  of  equal  value  and  importance. 

In  this  country  we  are  happy  to  find  no  by-law-established  version 
of  Old  Testament  or  New.  We  voluntarily  use  that  which  was  intro- 
duced by  King  James,  merely  because  it  is  in  fashion,  and  by  law  of 
Protestant  Britain  appointed  to  be  read  in  all  the  churches  of  its  esta- 
blishment. We  have,  indeed,  been  favored  with  one  volume  from  the 
British  press,  called  the  English  Hexapla,  exhibiting  six  important 
versions  of  the  New  Testament  Scriptures — viz.  that  of  Wicklifi'e,  of 
A.D.  1380;  Tindal's,  of  1534;  Cranmer's,  (falsely  so  called,)  of  1539;  the 
Geneva,  of  1557  ;  the  Rheims,  or  the  English  College  of  Rheims,  1582 ; 
and  that  of  James,  of  1611.  These,  with  one  exception,  were  made 
within  seventy-seven  years — the  lifetime  of  one  man. 

We  have  also  the  Polyglot  Bihlia  Sacra,  containing  the  Greek  and 
Hebrew  originals,  with  the  Latin  Vulgate,  German,  English,  French, 
Spanish  and  Italian  versions,  under  the  supervision  of  Dr.  Samuel  Lee, 
Professor  of  the  Hebrew  Language  at  Cambridge,  England,  Doctor  of 
Divinity,  and  honorary  member  of  aU  the  great  literary  societies  in 


568 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


Britain  and  on  the  Continent  of  Europe.  This  is  the  greatest  and 
best  offering  of  the  press  of  the  nineteenth  century — indeed,  of  any 
century  since  the  first  of  the  Christian  age.  "We  are,  therefore,  better 
furnished  with  the  aids  and  materials  for  an  improved  and  correct  ver- 
sion than  at  any  fonner  period  in  the  history  of  Christianity. 

If,  in  the  judgment  of  Paul,  the  greatest  honor  and  advantage  be- 
stowed upon  the  Jews  was  that  "  to  them  were  committed  the  oracles 
of  God,"  is  it  not  our  greatest  privilege  and  honor  to  have  the  oracles 
of  Grod,  just  as  he  spoke  them,  committed  to  us,  not  only  for  ourselves, 
but  for  our  children  and  our  contemporaries  in  all  the  earth  ? 

The  Jews'  religion  possessed  no  proselyting  spirit  or  precept.  "  He 
showed  his  statutes  unto  Jacob,  and  his  testimonies  to  Israel :  he  has 
not  dealt  so  with  any  other  nation ;  and  as  for  his  judgments,  they  have 
not  known  them." 

The  Jews  sent  no  missionaries  abroad.  There  was  no  missionary 
spirit  infused  into  their  religion.  There  was  no  commission  given  to 
the  patriarchs  or  the  Jews,  none  to  Judah  or  to  Levi,  "to  go  into  all 
the  world"  and  preach  and  teach  to  other  nations  the  statutes  and 
the  judgments,  the  precepts  and  the  promises,  that  G-od  gave  to  them. 

They  needed  no  translators,  no  verbal  expositors,  for  themselves. 
Their  dispensation  was  circumscribed  by  the  flesh,  and  the  language 
of  Abraham  had  no  spirit  of  extension  in  it ;  and  therefore  Levi  was 
commissioned  ''to  teach  Jacob  God's  judgments;  to  make  Israel  know 
his  laws ;  to  place  incense  before  God,  and  holocausts,  or  whole  burnt- 
offerings,  upon  his  altar."  Beyond  this  they  had  no  obligation  or 
mission. 

But  God  has  been  to  us  much  more  gracious  than  to  Israel,  according 
to  the  flesh.  He  has  given  to  us  a  better  constitution  of  grace — a 
better  covenant,  established  upon  better  promises.  He  has  called  us 
to  a  noble  work,  and  given  to  us  a  large  mission.  He  has  committed 
to  us  the  Christian  oracles,  with  authority  to  announce  them  to  the 
whole  human  race. 

But  they  have  come  to  us  in  a  translation,  and  in  an  imperfect  trans- 
lation, by  no  means  equal,  in  clearness  and  force,  to  the  original.  He 
has,  however,  aho  given  to  us  the  originals ;  but  only  a  few  can  read 
them,  and  of  that  few  all  read  them  after  having  been  taught  the  ver- 
nacular Scriptures.  They  read  the  originals  through  the  spectacles  rf 
their  vernacular  versions,  and,  superadded  to  this,  thi'ough  a  ready- 
made  theology,  imparted  to  them  by  early  education  and  high  authority 
— parental  or  ministerial,  or  both.  It  has  become  part  and  parcel  of 
their  individua-lity.    Few  can  ever  divest  themselves  of  it.    It  is  harder, 


BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


569 


far,  to  unlearn  than  to  learn — to  divest  ourselves  of  old  errors  than  to 
acquire  new  truths.  Still,  it  is  our  duty,  as  it  is  our  safety  and  our 
honor,  to  take  the  living  oracles,  and,  with  an  unveiled  face,  an  un- 
blenching  eye  and  an  honest  heart,  to  learn  and  study  what  God  has 
spoken  to  us. 

To  the  Christian  church  are  committed  the  oracles  of  Christ,  as 
to  the  Jewish  church  were  formerly  committed  the  oracles  of  God. 
The  original  Scriptures  were  given  in  solemn  charge  to  the  Jewish 
people,  that  nothing  was  to  be  added  to  them  or  subtracted  from  them. 
They  were  to  preserve  and  teach  them  to  their  children  through  all 
generations. 

A  similar  ordinance  in  the  New  Testament,  with  the  most  solemn 
sanctions,  gives  to  the  Christian  church  the  keeping  of  the  Christian 
Scriptures.  If  any  one  add  to  them,  God  will  inflict  upon  him  all  the 
maledictions  found  in  the  holy  volume.  If  any  one  subtract  from 
ihem,  God  will  take  away  from  him  all  the  Christian  birthrights  pro- 
mised in  them,  and  consign  him  to  perdition. 

But  they  were  committed  to  both  people  in  their  own  native  lan- 
guage, directly  from  those  persons  to  whom  God  had  given  them  in 
charge.  Were  they,  then,  to  translate  them  into  other  languages? 
This  question,  though  not  propounded  in  the  very  words  of  the  book, 
and,  consequently,  not  formally  answered,  is,  nevertheless,  clearly  inti- 
mated, and  most  satisfactorily  disposed  of,  in  the  Christian  Scriptures. 
To  its  consideration  and  disposal  we  are  now,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
especially  called ;  and  it  is  our  special  duty  on  the  present  occasion  to 
investigate  the  subject  and  ascertain  our  duties  and  privileges  on  all 
the  premises  exhibited  in  the  Christian  records. 

On  such  questions  and  occasions  as  the  present,  it  is  essential  to  suc- 
cess that  we  entertain  and  cherish  clear,  enlarged  and  lofty  conceptions 
of  the  whole  subject  and  object  of  Divine  revelation,  and  that  we  duly 
appreciate  the  times  and  circumstances  in  the  midst  of  which  our  lot 
has  been  cast. 

The  Bible,  in  its  vast  and  glorious  amplitude  and  object,  is  the  book 
of  life — the  charter  of  immortality  to  man.  It  is,  in  its  manifold 
developments  and  details,  most  worthy  of  God  to  be  both  the  author 
and  the  subject  of  it,  and  of  man  to  be  both  its  theme  and  its  object, 
in  the  awful  grandeur  of  his  origin,  relations  and  destiny.  Every 
thing  superlatively  interesting  to  man,  with  respect  to  the  past,  the 
present  and  the  future  of  his  being  and  of  his  well-being,  constitutes 
the  all-eugrcesing  theme  and  intention  of  the  volume.  It  follows, 
therefoie,  that  its  faithful  preservation  and  transmission  from  age  to 


570 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


age,  and  from  nation  to  nation,  is,  and  ought  to  be,  the  paramouni 
duty  and  concern  of  every  one  who  believes  its  Divine  authenticity 
and  realizes  its  transcendent  value.  We  shall,  therefore,  endeavor  to 
ascertain  our  immediate  duty  with  regard  to  an  improved  translation 
of  it  in  our  own  language  and  country  at  the  present  time. 

To  this  end,  it  is  also  essential  that  we  appreciate  and  comprehend 
the  character  and  the  spirit  of  our  own  age,  and  the  actual  condition 
of  the  Christian  profession  in  our  own  country,  and,  indeed,  in  our 
own  language,  wherever  spoken,  at  home  or  abroad.  It  is  almost  as 
difficult  to  appreciate  our  own  times — the  spirit  and  the  progress  of 
our  own  age — as  it  is  to  see  ourselves,  either  as  others  see  us,  or  as 
we  really  are. 

And  what  is  the  actual  condition  of  the  present  church  militant  ? 
I  mean  of  the  whole  Christian  profession — not  within  the  Popedom 
nor  in  the  Patriarchdom,  but  in  the  European  and  American  Pro- 
testantdom.  Is  it  not  emphatically  in  a  politico-heretico  belligerent 
state  ?  There  is,  indeed,  much  said  in  praise  of  a  catholic  spirit,  and 
much  said  against  a  narrow,  contracted,  sectarian,  bigoted  spirit.  But, 
alas  !  how  many  praise  the  life  which  they  never  dare  to  lead !  If  all 
who  praise  truth,  virtue,  temperance,  charity,  practised  those  virtues, 
what  a  happy  world — what  a  triumphant  church — we  should  have! 
Too  much  credit,  as  well  as  too  much  credulity,  has  ruined  many  a 
man.    It  has,  alas !  too  often  bankrupted  and  ruined  church  and  state. 

There  cannot  be  an  honest  league  between  truth  and  error.  A 
smiling  face  over  a  frowning  heart  is  an  abomination  to  earth  aind 
heaven.  True  charity  ^'rejoices  not  in  iniquity,  but  rejoices  in  the 
truth."  There  can  be  no  compromise  between  God's  truth  and  man's 
error.  "Let  God  be  true,"  as  Paul  said,  "though  it  should  make 
every  man  a  liar" — no  matter  on  whom  the  falsehood  lies.  We  never 
can  heal  the  wounds  of  sectarianism  but  by  the  healing  unction  of 
heaven-descended  truth.  But  the  truth  must  ever  be  spoken  in  its 
own  spirit,  which  is  the  spirit  of  love  and  of  a  sound  mind. 

But  what  are  the  bearings  of  these  aphorisms  upon  the  subject  of  a 
faithful  translation  of  the  Christian  Scriptures  ?  Much,  very  much ;. 
as  we  hope  the  sequel  may  show.  We  desire — I  mean  the  true  church 
of  Christ  desires — to  know  the  whole  truth — the  mind  and  will  of  God. 

An  apostate  church  never  did,  never  can,  never  will,  desire  such  a 
version.  The  most  apostate  church  on  earth  often  prays  in  Latin,  and 
glories  in  a  Eoman  service.  I  would  to  God  that  she  sinned  only  in 
Latin  !  But  she  glories  in  the  Roman  tongue,  and  in  the  Eoman  city, 
because  of  her  Eoman  spirit,  her  Fcoman  head  and  her  Eoman  hier- 


BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


571 


arcliy.  Like  the  Eoman  Caesar,  she  has  her  pontifex  maximics,  her 
irajperator  universus,  and  her  Jupiter  tonans. 

That  all  men  who  love  truth,  and  especially  Bible  truth,  desire  to 
come  to  the  light,  or  to  have  the  light  brought  to  them,  is  as  clearly 
an  historical  as  it  is  a  philosophical  fact.  It  is  well  established  in  the 
hie  tor  y  of  translations.  Were  I  to  assert  dogmatically  that  truth  and 
light  are  cognate,  I  would  stake  my  reputation  on  the  fact  that  every 
loc-er  of  truth  loves  light.  The  Saviour  himself  suggests  to  us  this  idea, 
in  saying,  "  He  that  doeth  truth  cometh  to  the  light,  that  his  deeds  may 
be  made  manifest  that  they  are  wrought  in  God."  Error  or  falsehood, 
and  darkness,  are  also  akin.  They  are  of  cognate  pedigree.  Hence 
said  the  Great  Teacher,  "  He  that  does  evil  hates  the  light;"  and  men 
whose  deeds  are  evil  ''come  not  to  the  light,  lest  their  deeds  should  be 
reproved,"  or  made  manifest. 

But  I  have  said  that  this  is  an  historical  fact,  and  amply  demonstrated 
and  sustained  by  a  reference  to  the  history  of  Bible-translations.  From 
the  era  of  Protestantism  till  now,  Protestants,  in  the  ratio  of  their 
Protestant  sincerity,  or  true  Protestantism,  have  been  active,  zealous 
and  forward  in  the  great  work  of  translating  the  Hebrew  and  Greek 
Scriptures  into  the  vulgar  tongues. 

The  Roman  church  has  been  equally  distinguished  for  her  opposition 
to  popular  versions,  or  to  translations  made  in  the  language  of  the 
common  people.  So  have  those  Protestants  that  have  borrowed  freely 
from  Papal  Rome.  If  Protestant  Reformers  have  been  well  sustained 
in  alleging  that  there  is  but  a  paper  wall  between  certain  Protestant 
denominations  and  the  Papal  institutions,  then  are  we  sustained  in 
affirming  that  those  most  opposed  to  popular  versions  are  more  akin 
to  the  Popedom  than  those  who  advocate  them.  In  proof  of  these  views 
and  facts  I  appeal  to  the  history  of  all  the  versions  into  the  English 
language  from  the  Reformation  down  to  the  present  time. 

I  will  not  limit  my  proofs  to  the  English  language.  I  will  challenge 
in  investigation  of  the  facts  of  history  from  the  dark  ages  of  Papal 
absolutism  down  to  the  present  day.  Of  course,  we  begin  with  Luther 
and  the  era  of  Protestantism,  a.d.  1534.  His  version,  printed  a.d. 
1530,  made  directly  from  the  Hebrew  and  Greek,  gave  rise  to  ten  other 
Protestant  versions — viz.  the  Lower  Saxon,  in  1533  ;  the  Pomeranian, 
in  1588 ;  the  Danish,  in  1550 ;  the  Icelandic,  in  1584 ;  the  Swedish,  in 
1541 ;  the  Dutch,  in  1560 ;  the  Finnish,  in  1644 ;  the  Livonian,  in  1689, 
(sometimes  called  the  Lettish  version ;)  the  Sorabic  or  Wendish,  in 
1728 ;  and  the  Lithuanian,  in  1735.  During  the  period  in  which  these 
eleven  Protestant  versions  appeared,  the  Romanists,  to  quiet  their  popu- 


572 


ABDEESS  TO  THE 


lation,  were  obliged  to  issue  three  versions,  not  one  of  whicli  was  mad« 
from  tlie  original  tongues.  They  were  rather  translations  of  the  Vul- 
gate than  of  the  Hebrew  or  Greek  originals.  The  German  laity  of 
the  Roman  community  read  them  with  considerable  avidity,  notwith- 
standing the  fulminations  of  the  Papal  See  against  them." 

From  Germany  and  the  Continent  we  pass  over  the  Channel  into 
the  British  Isles.  A  few  partial  versions  into  the  Saxon  language 
were  made  before  the  first  English  version,  which  appeared  in  1290. 
Of  course,  none  of  these  were  printed. 

Wickliffe's,  from  the  Vulgate,  appeared  in  1380.  But  in  1408  the 
Archbishop  Arundel,  in  a  convocation  held  at  Oxford,  decreed  that 
no  one  thereafter  should  translate  any  text  of  Holy  Scripture  into 
English  by  way  of  a  book  or  tract ;  and  that  no  book  of  this  kind 
should  be  read  that  was  composed  in  the  time  of  "Wickliffe  or  since 
his  death."    Some,  however,  read,  and  were  put  to  death. 

The  immortal  Tindal  about  this  time  fled  to  Antwerp,  in  Flanders, 
and  in  1526  printed  his  English  version  of  the  New  Testament,  from 
the  Greek  original.  Sundry  editions  of  it  were,  in  a  few  years,  printed 
and  scattered  over  the  Continent,  and  not  a  few  of  them  found  their 
way  even  into  England. 

But,  strange  to  tell,  an  edition  of  Tindal's  version,  under  the  direc- 
tion and  supervision  of  his  convert,  John  Rogers,  printed  abroad,  was 
introduced  into  England  in  1537,  and  that,  too,  wdth  the  consent  of 
King  Henry  VIII.,  and  that  of  his  vicegerent  CromweU,  and  that, 
too,  of  his  archbishop  Thomas  Cranmer — all  of  whom  had  a  short 
time  before  most  violently  opposed  it.  The  history  of  this  change  is 
too  long  to  tell;  but  it  has  never  ceased  to  be  a  wonder  to  aU  who  know 
it,  and  to  be  regarded  as  a  very  singular  and  special  providence. 

Banished  from  his  native  land  fourteen  years  before,  and  finally 
murdered,  too,  for  his  translation,  yet,  by  royal  authority,  that  same 
version  is  introduced  into  England  under  the  auspices  of  the  crown 
and  the  mitre  of  the  realm ! 

Next  year,  Grafton,  who  had  published  the  first  edition  of  Tindal's 
Bible  imported  into  England,  sets  about  another  edition  in  Paris,  and, 
to  correct  the  press,  takes  with  him  Coverdale — under  the  protection, 
too,  of  Henry  VIIL  But  an  order  from  the  Inquisition,  dated  Decem- 
ber 17,  1538,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Pope  and  the  French  King 
Francis,  seizes  a  portion  of  the  edition,  almost  out  of  the  press,  which 
compelled  the  publisher  to  flee  to  England,  w^here,  under  the  protec- 
tion of  Henry  VIIL,  it  was  completed,  and  issued  in  April,  1539.  Next 
year  (1540)  another  edition,  under  the  auspices  of  Cranmer,  was  issuoi 


BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


573 


from  the  English  press.  Thus  the  first  English  version  of  Tindal  a 
Bible  was  wholly  imported  into  England  in  1537.  A  second,  redeemed 
from  the  Inquisition,  mostly  printed  in  Paris  and  finished  in  London, 
in  1539,  succeeded  it.  The  third  edition  was  wholly  printed  in  Eng- 
land ;  and  after  this  the  editions  of  1540  and  1541  were  issued  under 
the  auspices  of  Cranmer  himself.  From  that  time  England  became 
the  land  of  Bibles. 

History  is  philosophy  teaching  by  example.  And  here  we  must  date 
the  true  commencement  of  England's  glory  amongst  the  nations  of 
the  earth.  She,  of  all  the  nations  of  Europe,  thus  becomes  emphatic- 
ally the  land  of  Bibles  and  of  freedom.  So  true  it  is  that  where  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  there  is  liberty,  and  where  the  Bible,  in  the  ver- 
nacular of  any  people,  is  much  read  and  much  pondered  upon,  there 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  exerts  a  mighty  influence.  "  Where  no  vision 
is,  the  people  perish,"  and  are  the  easy  prey  of  aspiring  demagogues 
and  haughty  pontiffs. 

From  a  careful  review  of  the  history  of  new  versions,  in  all  past 
time,  we  are  compelled  to  the  conclusion  that  their  authors,  friends 
and  advocates  have  generally  been  the  lovers  of  truth  and  of  the  God 
of  truth ;  whereas  their  opponents  have  as  uniformly  been  mere  tem- 
porizers, carnal  and  secular,  lovers  of  place,  of  person  and  office  more 
than  lovers  of  God.  I  have  said  ''generally,"  but  was  about  to  say  uni- 
versally." In  this  view  I  am  sustained  by  the  judgment  and  the  prac- 
tice of  those  we  now  call  orthodox.  What  are  generally  now  called 
orthodox  versions  were,  without  an  exception  known  to  me,  got  up  in 
despite  of  more  popular,  more  worldly  and  more  secular  establishments. 
This  is  a  very  instructive  fact.  We  may,  indeed,  concede  that  some 
vain,  secular  errorist  or  demagogue  may  have,  from  sinister  motives, 
attempted  to  carry  some  favorite  dogma  by  an  effort  at  a  new  version 
of  some  passage  or  book,  or  even  of  the  whole  volume ;  but  how  soon 
have  these  fallen  still-born  from  the  pen  or  the  press  and  vanished 
from  the  world  !  This,  or  some  such  concession,  is  essential  to  a  gene- 
ral law :  otherwise  we  might  be  in  danger  of  affirming  it  universal,  and 
thereby  endanger  the  cause  of  truth. 

I  am  glad,  however,  to  assert,  with  a  strong  emphasis,  that  I  have 
the  concessions  of  all  our  would-be  recognized  orthodox  partisan  con- 
temporaries in  favor  of  my  position.  They  have  recently  become  un- 
usually eloquent  in  their  laudations  of  the  present  approved  version 
of  King  James.  I  wonder  if  they  have  read  the  whole  history  of  that 
version.  Some  seem  to  think  that  King  James  himself,  or  his  Govern- 
ment, or  his  bishops,  have  made  it,  out  and  out.    So  far  from  thi?,  it 


57i 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


fought  its  way,  every  inch,  from  the  head  and  heart  and  conscience  of 
Wickliffe,  Tindal,  Luther,  Beza,  Frythe,  Barnes,  Poyntz,  and  even 
Erasmus,  &c.,  and  scores  of  co-operants  in  contributions  of  learning, 
books,  money,  protection  and  prayer,  before  it  attracted  the  smiles  and 
approval  of  bishops,  courtiers  and  princes.  Printers,  paper-manufac- 
turers and  bookbinders  are  as  much  entitled  to  our  thanks  for  King 
James's  version  as  many  of  those  worshipful  persons  who  are  said  and 
believed,  ''by  the  grace  of  Grod,"  to  have  given  to  us  our  English  Bible. 
Instruments  they  were,  willing  or  unwilling,  meritorious  or  unmerito- 
rious,  in  this  great  work.  But  it  originated  not  with,  and  proceeded 
not  from,  them.  It  was  individual  piety,  learning,  zeal,  enterprise, 
that  gave  to  us  our  present  English  Bible.  There  is  scarcely  amongst  us 
a  living  man  who  can  tell  how  this  sacred  volume,  the  King  James's 
Bible,  revised  and  re-revised,  has  come  down  to  us.  The  best-read 
living  man  on  this  subject,  Christopher  Anderson,  of  Edinburgh,  in 
his  two  octavos  on  the  English  Bible,  has  not  told,  because  he  could  not 
tell,  the  whole  story.  And  yet  his  history  of  it  is  by  far  the  best  ever 
printed.  He  was  conscientiously  constrained  to  affirm  the  melancholy 
fact,  ''That  a  mighty  phalanx  of  talent,  policy  and  power  has  been 
firmly  arrayed  against  the  introduction  of  Divine  truth  in  our  native 
tongue."  (Vol.  i.  p.  7.)  There  are  now  one  hundred  and  fifty  versions 
of  the  Bible  extant  in  the  living  tongues  of  earth ;  and  yet,  strange  and 
wonderful  to  relate,  more  copies  in  the  English  language  are  called  for 
than  in  the  languages  of  all  other  nations  put  together !  This  is  the 
glory,  the  chief  glory,  of  England.  She  has  colonized  America,  Africa, 
Asia,  New  Holland,  New  Zealand,  and  the  bosom  of  the  Pacific.  While 
I  speak  these  words,  the  English  Bible  is  being  read  from  the  rising 
to  the  setting  sun.  "  Not  one  hour  of  the  twenty-four,  not  one  round 
of  the  minute-hand  of  the  dial,  is  allowed  to  pass,  in  which,  on  some 
portion  of  the  surface  of  the  globe,  the  air  is  not  filled  with  accents 
that  are  ours.  Every  English  Christian,  in  this  one  grand  fact,  may 
rejoice  that  his  Bible,  at  this  moment,  is  the  only  version  in  existence 
on  which  the  sun  never  sets." 

This  caps  the  climax  of  English  glory.  Her  English  version  is 
every  moment  being  read,  from  the  banks  of  the  Thames  to  the  banks 
of  the  Ottawa  and  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  thence  to  the  banks  of  the 
Ganges,  to  Sidney,  Port  Philip  and  Hobarttown.  It  girdles  the  whole 
earth,  and  is  destined  to  be  the  enduring  bond  of  its  nations.  How 
important,  then,  that  the  English  Bible  should  be  a  pure,  perspicuous, 
precise  and  faithful  expression  of  every  idea,  of  every  precept,  of  every 
promise,  of  every  institution,  of  the  inspired  originals  !    It  is  inevitable, 


BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


575 


from  the  signs  of  the  times,  from  the  openings  of  Divine  Providence — 
to  say  nothing  of  the  prophecies  fulfilled,  fulfilling,  and  yet  to  be  ful- 
filled— that  the  English  Protestant  Bible  is  to  mould,  form,  and,  more 
or  less,  to  characterize  all  the  new  versions  . in  all  the  missionary-fields 
on  the  already-tenanted  earth.  This  is  far  more  probable  than  some 
of  the  events  that  have  actually  occurred  in  the  present  day — incom- 
parably more  probable  than  that  an  improved  version  of  the  New 
Testament,  got  up  and  published  by  your  humble  speaker,  should 
in  the  short  period  of  twenty-five  years  have  passed  through  six  edi- 
tions, and  be  now  read  by  even  a  few  individuals  residing  in  Asia,  Africa, 
Europe  and  America.  This  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  wondrous  in  our 
eyes ! 

The  language  of  a  people  is  not  only  an  index  of  their  intellectual 
calibre,  but  also  an  exponent  of  their  moral  and  political  power  amongst 
their  contemporaries.  It  is,  indeed,  the  vehicle  of  all  their  attainments 
in  those  arts  and  sciences  which  have  given  them  a  standing  and  an 
influence  amongst  their  contemporaries  at  home  and  abroad,  and  an 
elevation  in  the  scale  of  civilization.  Judging  from  this  acknowledged 
fact,  it  must  be  admitted  that,  as  the  English  people  stand  at  the  top 
of  the  ladder  of  modern  civilization,  their  mind,  their  language  and 
their  religion  must  have  a  paramount  influence  upon  all  the  nations 
and  people  of  the  globe.  Need  I  ask,  then,  at  this  stand-point  in  the 
centre  of  this  immense  horizon,  who  can  compute  the  influence  of 
our  best  eff"orts  to  exhibit  the  true  sense  and  meaning  of  the  Hebrew 
and  G-reek  oracles  of  God,  in  that  pervading  and  continually  extending 
Imguage  to  which  God,  in  his  providence  and  moral  government,  has 
already  vouchsafed  such  a  preponderating  influence  in  the  world  ? 

But  it  may  be  asked.  What  can  the  "Bible  Union'  accomplish  in 
this  luork  ?  So  ask  our  contemporary  Baptist  and  Pedobaptist  breth- 
ren. However  uncongenial  to  their  taste  or  to  our  own,  I  cannot  but 
associate  their  attitude  and  port  and  bearing  with  those  of  the  too 
orthodox  Jews  in  the  days  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  which,  together, 
give  us  the  history  of  one  century  of  their  nation.  In  those  days  they 
had  no  priest,  with  Urim  and  Thummim."  We  have  one  who  has 
passed  into  the  heavens,  and  who  has  the  "  Urim  and  the  Thummim" 
in  all  their  Divine  potency.  They  had  also  with  them  only  Zerubbabel 
and  Joshua,  as  commanders-in-chief.  But  we  have  the  Lord  of  hosts. 
The  adversaries  of  Judah  and  Benjamin  proposed  to  co-operate  with 
them  in  rebuilding  the  Temple  and  in  restoring  the  ancient  order  of 
things.  But  the  paternal  chiefs,  along  with  Joshua  and  Zervbbabel, 
refused  their  profi'ered  aid.    The  consequence  was,  they  became  the 


576 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


enemies  of  Israel  and  their  cause.  So  the  work  was  abandoned  for 
some  sixteen  years,  till  the  second  year  of  Darius,  King  of  Persia.  ■ 

The  prophets  Haggai  and  Zachariah  were  then  sent  to  encourage 
and  aid  this  remnant  of  Israel.  Darius,  on  searching  the  records  of 
the  government,  gave  a  decree  in  their  favor,  and  they  went  to  work. 
Every  thing  then  went  on  prosperously,  and  the  house  of  the  Lord  was 
finished.    But  the  waUs  and  palaces  of  Jerusalem  were  stiU  in  ruins. 

Nehemiah  obtains  a  commission  from  Artaxerxes,  and,  with  zeal  and 
courage,  commences  their  erection  and  repair. 

But  he  is  opposed  and  resisted  by  SanbaUat,  and  Tobiah  the  Am- 
monite, who,  in  mockery,  said,  "  How  feeble  this  band,  and  how  weak 
their  efi'orts  !  Were  a  jackal  to  run  against  their  stone  walls,  he  would 
break  them  down."  Thus  were  the  rebuilders  of  Jerusalem  insulted 
and  hindered  in  their  work. 

Nehemiah,  however,  and  his  party,  went  on  with  the  work  of  the 
Lord.  Their  enemies,  becoming  still  more  chagrined  at  their  success, 
formed  new  alliances,  and  brought  to  their  aid  Arabians  and  Ashdod- 
ites,  and  ''conspired  to  fight  against  Jerusalem,  and  to  hinder  the 
work."  But  Xehemiah  exhorted  them  "to  fight  for  their  brethren^ 
theii'  sons,  their  daughters,  their  wives  and  their  homes."  Thus  they 
prayed,  and  wrought,  and  fought,  and  conquered. 

Ezra,  meantime,  got  a  copy  of  the  Jewish  oracles.  He  opened  the 
book  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people,  and  the  priests  and  the  Levites 
caused  the  people  to  understand  the  law.  "  So  they  continued  to  read 
in  the  book  of  the  law  distinctly,  and  gave  the  sense,  and  caused  them 
to  understand  the  reading y  Thus  the  Divine  law  and  institution*; 
were  restored  to  Israel,  and  thus  were  their  Temple  and  city  rebuilt. 

''Now,  the  things,"  says  Paul,  "that  happened  to  them,  occurred  to 
them  as  types,  or  examples,  and  are  written  for  our  admonition,  upon 
whom  the  end  of  the  world,  or  the  consummation  of  the  Jewish  age, 
has  come."  Let  us,  then,  profit  from  their  example  and  success,  and 
we  will  achieve  all  that  we  desire.  We  will  cause  the  people  to  under- 
stand the  law  of  our  God,  by  the  reading  of  his  oracles. 

But  we  have  more  than  the  encouragement  of  example  to  inspire  us 
with  zeal  and  energy  in  this  great  work.  Other  men  have  labored  in 
this  fruitful  field,  to  our  unspeakable  interest  and  honor.  We  have 
the  Christian  oracles  committed  to  us,  with  an  injunction  to  interpret, 
•hat  is,  to  translate,  them,  with  fidelity  and  perspicuity.  The  apostles 
possessed  not  only  a  commission  to  convert  the  nations,  but  to  teach 
the  converts  to  observe  and  practise  whatsoever  the  Lord  had  com- 
manded.   To  qualify  them  for  this  work,  the  Lord  gave  them  a  splendid 


BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


577 


education.  They  had  wisdom,  knowledge  and  eloquence  bestowed  upon 
them.  They  had  the  immediate  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  give 
them  a  perfect  revelation.  They  had  the  gift  of  foreign  tongues,  and 
the  gift  of  interpreting  them.  The  power  of  translating  their  own 
vjonceptions  into  the  languages  of  their  auditors  was  gratuitously 
vouchsafed,  not  only  to  the  apostles,  but  to  other  members  and  teachers 
in  the  churches  which  they  planted  and  which  they  nourished  with 
the  pure  milk  of"  the  word.  It  was,  on  two  accounts,  necessary  for  the 
apostles  to  receive  this  power  of  knowledge  and  of  utterance  by  im- 
mediate inspiration.  The  mission  was  extraordinary,  and  needed  a  seal 
to  ai.thenticate  it.  The  gift  of  tongues  itself  was  one  of  the  most 
useful  seals  of  apostleship. 

Time,  also,  was  to  them  most  precious.  Their  work  was  great. 
Tlieir  lives  were  short,  and  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  necessarily  the 
pledge  of  their  mission  to  the  nations  of  the  world,  and  his  inspira- 
tion of  ideas,  and  of  words  to  express  them,  was  essential  to  their 
success. 

A  necessity  of  the  same  kind,  but  not  of  the  same  degree,  still  exists. 
The  revelations  of  the  Spirit  are  complete,  but  the  languages  in  which 
they  were  originally  given  have  become  obsolete. 

The  Hebrew  of  Moses  and  of  the  prophets,  and  the  Greek  of  the 
apostles,  after  the  consummation  of  the  revelations  of  God  committed 
to  them,  soon  began  to  change,  and  virtually  died.  Still,  their  bodies 
were  embalmed,  and  the  means  of  recognizing  them  were  preserved 
and  transmitted  to  us,  by  their  immediate  legal  representatives.  In- 
deed, the  living  tongues  of  earth,  like  living  men,  are  continually 
changing.  Dictionaries,  like  histories,  transmit  the  past  to  the  future. 
Hence  both  the  necessity  and  the  means  of  substituting  correct  words 
and  phrases  for  those  that  have,  from  the  attrition  and  waste  of  time, 
lost  their  original  value,  become  uncurrent,  and  passed  out  of  use. 
Even  Shakspeare  and  his  contemporary  poets,  orators  and  authors 
now  require  glossaries,  or  the  substitution  of  modern  terms  for  those 
which  they  have  used  that  are  now  become  obsolete  and  unintelligible. 
The  common  version  of  the  Scriptures  was  made  and  completed  six 
years  before  the  death  of  the  great  English  poet.  It,  therefore,  has 
also  acquired  the  rust  of  the  Elizabethan  age,  although  occasionally 
since  polished  by  hands  we  know  not  of. 

The  great  science  of  interpretation,  strange  to  tell,  like  good  wine, 
improves  from  age  to  age.  Not,  indeed,  the  scriptural  gift  of  inter- 
pretation ;  but  the  literary  and  acquired  gift  of  exposition  and  elucida- 
tion is  matured  and  perfected  from  the  better  means  and  better  learn- 


578 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


ing  now  possessed — the  product  and  growth  of  a  revived  and  reviving 
literature. 

A  remarkable  revival  of  literature  preceded  the  Protestant  Eeform- 
ation.  That  revival  is  now  regarded  by  every  philosophic  historian 
and  student — indeed,  by  every  reader  who  thinks  profoundly  upon 
principles  and  their  tendencies,  who  weighs  the  remote  and  proximate 
causes  of  things,  or  who  fathoms  their  legitimate  and  immediate  ten- 
dencies— I  say  the  revival  of  literature  in  Italy  and  in  Western  Eu- 
rope, which  occurred  in  the  fourteenth  century,  is  now  regarded  by 
every  informed  mind  as  the  harbinger,  or  cause,  of  the  Protestant 
Keformation ;  and  that  reformation  may  be  regarded  as  the  pioneer 
and  patron  of  Bible-translation. 

No  living  man  can  realize  the  midnight  darkness  with  which  the 
Papal  See,  in  its  appalling  triumph  over  the  Bible,  human  reason  and 
conscience,  had  paralyzed  and  enfeebled  the  human  understanding. 

In  the  thirteenth  century,  as  soon  as  the  English  barons  had  wrested 
from  the  feeble-minded  King  John  the  Magna  Charta,  the  Pope,  who 
regarded  England  as  "his  garden  of  delight,"  on  John's  appeal  annulled 
that  charter,  boasting  that  he  received  three  times  as  much  per  annum, 
from  England  alone,  for  his  throne  of  St.  Peter,  as  King  John  received 
for  his  political  throne.  But,  be  it  noted,  there  was  not  then  a  Bible 
in  any  vernacular  tongue  within  the  Popedom.  In  the  fourteenth 
century  it  was  not  much  better.  But  in  that  century  the  revival  of 
literature  began.  The  Italians  discovered,  as  it  were,  anew  the  ancient 
world.  "  They  discovered  and  felt  an  affinity  of  thought,  of  hopes  and 
of  taste  with  the  best  of  the  old  Latin  writers,  which  inspired  them 
with  the  highest  admiration." 

"  Petrarch  and  Boccaccio  passed  from  this  study  to  that  of  Grecian 
antiquity,  and,  at  the  solicitation  of  the  latter,  the  Eepublic  of  Florence, 
in  1360,  founded  a  chair  of  Grecian  literature — the  first  in  the  Western 
Homan  Umpire.  The  highest  glory  was  attached  to  Grecian  literature 
and  learning,  and  these  two  mighty  pioneers  attained  a  degree  of  cele- 
brity, credit  and  power  unequalled  by  any  other  men  in  the  Middle 
Ages.  They  became  the  pontiffs  and  interpreters  of  antiquity.  Italy, 
in  the  fifteenth  century,  became  the  garden  of  literature  and  the  arts 
— the  wonder  and  the  delightful  resort  of  the  learned  throughout 
Europe.  Indeed,  it  became  the  well-spring  of  all  the  less  civilized 
nations  of  the  West.  Dante  and  Petrarch,  Boccaccio  and  Poggio 
Bracciolini,  led  the  way." 

Meanwhile,  the  revival  of  literature  in  England  was,  even  from  this 
period,  associated  with  a  special  leaning  to  the  oracles  of  God.  Upon 


BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


579 


the  arena  now  appear  Aungerville,  Fitzralph  and  Wickliffe.  Grossteste 
was  not  unacquainted  with  Hebrew  and  Greek  literature,  and,  at  this 
early  day,  affirmed  that  "  It  is  the  will  of  God  that  the  Holy  Scriptures 
should  be  translated  by  many  translators,  and  that  there  should  be 
different  translations  in  the  church ;  so  that  what  is  obscurely  trans- 
lated by  one  may  be  more  perspicuously  translated  by  another."  I 
concur  with  Anderson,  from  whom  I  have  quoted  these  rare  facts,  that 
this  was  the  first  voice  in  Western  Europe  for  a  vernacular  translation 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

The  condition  of  the  Papal  dominions  at  this  period  may  be  fairly 
inferred  from  an  address  delivered  by  the  Irish  Fitzralph,  the  great 
pioneer  in  the  advocacy  of  new  and  popular  versions.  When  at 
Lyons,  as  Primate  of  Armagh,  in  the  presence  of  Pope  Innocent  IV., 
he  arraigned  the  Popish  clergy,  in  the  boldest  terms,  ''for  their  igno- 
rance, arrogance  and  flagitious  conduct."  In  the  course  of  his  speech 
he  affirmed  that  the  Italian  scholars  did  not  so  much  as  know  the 
Greek  alphabet ! 

He  also  complained  to  the  Pope  that  ''no  book,  whether  of  divinity, 
law  or  physic,  could  stir,  but  the  friars  were  able  to  buy  it  up ;  and 
that  his  secular  chaplains,  whom  he  sent  to  Oxford  for  education,  wrote 
to  him  that  they  could  not  find  a  Bible  in  Oxford,  nor  any  good  and 
profitable  book  on  divinity  for  a  man  to  study,  and  that  they  were 
therefore  minded  to  return  to  Ireland."  This  conveys  us  down  to  the 
times  of  Wickliffe. 

To  illustrate  the  value  and  importance  of  Bible-translation,  I  will 
draw  yet  further  upon  my  old  and  recent  readings.  Wickliffe  died 
A.D.  1384,  four  years  after  he  had  finished  his  translation  of  the  Roman 
Vulgate.  Both  the  Greek  and  Eoman  Catholics  had  interdicted  any 
translation  into  the  living  tongues  of  Europe  and  Asia.  Indeed,  the 
Council  of  Toulouse,  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  before  Wickliffe'a 
version  appeared,  had  passed  forty-five  canons  against  heresy.  One 
•of  these  involved  the.  first  court  of  inquisition,  and  another  forbade 
the  Scriptures  to  the  laity.  The  canon  reads  in  the  following  words  : — 
■"  We  forbid  the  laity  to  possess  any  of  the  books  of  the  Old  or  New 
Testament.  We  strictly  forbid  the  having  of  any  of  these  books 
translated."  A  Latin  service  in  the  church,  and  a  Latin  Bible  in  the 
hands  of  the  priesthood,  and  none  at  all  in  the  hands  of  the  people, 
was  the  triumph  of  the  prince  of  darkness  in  Roman  Christendom,  and 
the  midnight  of  the  so-called  Christian  world.  The  first  star  of  hope 
was  Wickliffe's  version,  though  itself  but  the  version  of  a  version,  and 


580 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


not  of  the  original.  Still,  its  appearance  inflicted  an  incurable  wound 
on  the  Man  of  sin  and  Sou  of  perdition. 

On  the  o  ;  -asion  of  its  first  appearance  commenced  the  era  of  dis- 
cussion. Henry  de  Knyghton,  a  Leicester  canon,  affirmed  that  "  a  man 
could  not  find  two  people  on  the  road  but  one  of  them  was  a  disciple 
of  Wickliff'e;"  and  again,  ''The  soldiers,  with  the  dukes  and  earls, 
were  the  chief  adherents  of  this  sect.  They  were  their  most  stre- 
nuous promoters  and  the  boldest  combatants;  their  most  powerful 
defenders  and  their  invincible  protectors." 

On  another  occasion  he  said,  This  Master  John  Wicklifi'e  hath 
translated  the  gospel  out  of  Latin  into  English,  which  Christ  has 
entrusted  with  the  clergy  and  the  doctors  of  the  church,  that  they 
might  minister  it  to  the  weaker  sort,  according  to  the  state  of  the 
times  and  the  wants  of  men.  So  that  by  this  means  the  gospel  is 
made  vulgar,  and  laid  more  open  to  the  laity,  and  even  to  women  who 
can  read,  than  it  used  to  be  to  the  most  learned  of  the  clergy  and  those 
of  the  best  understanding.  And  what  was  before  the  chief  gift  of 
the  clergy  and  the  gift  of  the  church  is  made  forever  common  to  the 
laity."  What  a  comment  on  the  value  of  a  translation !  What  a 
portraiture  of  Popery ! 

To  this  adds  another  contemporary  prelate,  ''The  prelates  ought 
not  to  suff'er  that  every  one,  at  his  pleasure,  should  read  the  Scrip- 
tures, translated  even  into  Latin,  because,  as  is  plain  from  experience, 
this  has  always  been  the  occasion  of  falling  into  errors  and  heresies. 
It  is  not,  therefore,  politic  that  any  one,  wheresoever  and  whensoever 
he  will,  should  give  himself  to  the  frequent  study  of  the  Scriptures." 

During  the  controversy  of  two  rival  Popes,  from  a.d.  1380  to  a.d. 
1400,' the  controversy  for  and  against  translations  in  the  vulgar  tongues 
was  very  rife.  A  bill  for  suppressing  Wickliffe's  Bible  was  proposed 
to  be  brought  into  the  House  of  Lords.  On  that  occasion  the  Duke 
of  Lancaster  said  that  "  he  would  maintain  the  having  of  this  law — 
the  Holy  Scriptures  in  our  own  tongue — whoever  they  would  be  that 
should  bring  in  the  bill." 

Still,  there  was  no  persecution  instituted  against  the  friends  of  a 
popular  version,  or  to  check  the  Wickliffites,  already  spreading  all  over 
England,until  the  reign  of  the  Fourth  Henry,  when  some  members  of 
Parliament  became  infected  with  the  heresy  of  Bible-reading  in  an 
English  version,  and  when  the  Papal  clergy  became  alarmed  lest  they 
should  introduce  a  public  reformation. 

The  invention  of  paper,  at  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century  or  early 
in  the  fourteenth,  and  the  invention  of  printing  soon  following  the  revival 


BIELE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


581 


of  learning,  and  the  increasing  taste  for  reading  an  Engiish  version,  gave 
to  the  subject  of  translation  a  rapidly  growing  importance,  which  nevei 
could  be  annihilated — indeed,  scarcely  suppressed — until  the  seeds  of 
a  broader  and  deeper  reformation  were  widely  scattered  and  deeply 
rooted  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  This  secretly  working  spirit  pre- 
pared the  way  of  Luther,  who,  with  a  lion-hearted  courage  and  a 
herculean  vigor,  attacked  the  basis  of  the  Papal  institution.  Since 
which  time  I  need  not  tell  the  story  of  new  versions  or  of  Protestant 
triumphs.  Bible-translations  soon  became  the  standing  order  of  the 
day.  Luther,  Erasmus,  Beza,  Castalio,  Junius  and  Tremellius,  Schmidt, 
Dathe,  &c.  engaged  in  it  with  great  spirit.  From  Luther's  version 
soon  sprang  up  ten  others,  in  other  states  and  languages  on  the 
Continent. 

In  the  British  Isles  we  find,  in  a  few  years,  Wickliffe,  Tindal,  Miles 
Ooverdale,  Grafton,  alias  Thomas  Matthew,  Cranmer  and  the  Bishops 
at  work.  The  spirit  spread  through  Ireland,  Scotland  and  Wales, 
and  they  must  severally  have  God  speak  to  them  in  their  respective 
tongues. 

Finally,  King  James,  borne  on  by  the  spirit  of  the  age,  is  engaged  in 
making  one  more  acceptable  to  his  people,  and  to  issue  it  under  all 
fiutbority,  political  and  ecclesiastical. 

The  version  was  soon  hailed  by  all  the  enlightened  men  in  his 
dominions,  and  appointed  to  be  read  in  churches.  It  was  in  advance 
of  all  others  at  that  day,  yet  wanting  in  some  respects.  Hence  the 
number  of  private  versions  of  a  part,  or  parts,  of  the  volume,  and  some 
of  the  whole  New  Testament,  which  have  since  that  time  appeared. 
From  the  days  of  King  James  down  to  the  demise  of  Professor  Stuart, 
of  Andover,  in  Britain  and  America  the  work  of  translation  has  ever 
since  been  going  on.  Even  Eomanists  themselves  have  been  com- 
pelled, by  the  spirit  of  Protestantdom  and  of  the  age,  to  give  sundry 
versions  in  different  tongues.  In  the  Latin  tongue  we  have  four 
Eomanist  versions  of  the  whole  Bible — that  of  Paginus,  th^t  of  Mon- 
tanus,  that  of  Malvenda  and  Cardinal  Cajetan,  and  that  of  Houbigant. 
The  Scriptures,  in  Europe  alone,  are  now  read  in  some  fifty  languages. 

Thomas  Hartwell  Horne  has  borne  testimony,  ample  and  striking, 
in  favor  of  our  common  version,  both  from  the  orthodox  and  heterodox 
Protestants  in  Britain.  Still,  he  has  the  candor  to  admit  its  defects 
and  imperfections.  After  summoning  his  cloud  of  witnesses  to  attest 
its  superior  claims,  he  candidly  adds  these  words: — ''Notwithstanding 
these  decisive  testimonies  to  the  superior  excellence  of  our  authorized 
version,  it  is  readily  admitted  that  it  is  not  immaculate,  and  that  a 


582 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


complete  correction  of  it  is  an  object  of  desire  to  the  friends  of  religion, 
were  it  only  to  silence  the  perpetually  repeated  cavils  of  the  opposers 
of  Divine  revelation,  who,  studiously  disregarding  the  various  satis- 
factory answers  which  have  been  given  to  their  unfounded  objections; 
persevere  in  repeating  them,  so  long  as  they  find  a  few  mistranslated 
passages  in  the  authorized  version."  But  he  did  not  think,  some 
quarter  of  a  century  ago,  that  sacred  criticism"  (I  presume  he  meant 
literary  criticism)  "was  yet  so  far  advanced  as  to  furnish  all  the 
means  that  may  be  expected."  If  we  wait  till  ''all  the  means/'  real 
or  imaginary,  that  may  hereafter  he  expected,  be  actually  possessed  by 
any  individual  or  assembly  of  individuals,  the  work  will  not  be  com- 
menced till  about  the  end  of  the  millennium  ! 

Since  Mr.  Horne  wrote  these  words,  there  have  been  issued  in  Europe 
and  in  America  at  least  a  hundred  volumes,  containing  alleged  errors, 
with  their  corrections.  Some  of  these  are,  indeed,  very  minute ;  and^ 
while  they  occasionally  render  the  obscure  more  perspicuous. 
defective  more  complete,  the  indefinite  more  precise,  the  ambiguous 
more  certain,  and  the  complicated  more  simple,  we  cannot  say  that 
any  one  of  them  is  absolutely  faultless  in  every  particular.  We  are 
truly  thankful  that  there  is  no  version  so  wholly  defective  that  an 
honest  reader,  learned  or  unlearned,  may  not  understand  the  great 
scheme  of  salvation,  and  believe  and  obey  it  to  the  salvation  of  his 
soul. 

I  have  never  seen  any  English  version,  Romanist  or  Protestant, 
orthodox  or  heterodox,  however  imperfect,  from  which  a  man  of  sense 
and  industry  might  not  learn  the  way  to  heaven.  Nor  have  I  ever 
seen  a  country,  however  bleak  or  sterile,  in  which  an  industrious, 
laborious  and  persevering  husbandman  might  not  dig  out  of  it  the 
means  of  living.  But  what  does  this  prove  ?  That  there  is  little  or 
no  difi'erence  between  countries — between  temperate  or  intemperate 
zones  ? 

Who,  having  seen  the  fertile  hills  and  valleys  of  the  fairest  portions 
of  our  much  favored  and  beloved  land,  would  think  of  locating  himself 
in  the  barren  heaths  of  Siberia,  or  in  the  sandy  or  slimy  deserts  of 
Libya?  As  little  he  who  has  a  taste  for  the  treasures  of  wisdom 
and  knowledge,  who  desires  the  bread  and  the  water  of  life  that  came 
down  from  heaven,  who  thirsts  after  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of 
Christ,  who  prays  for  the  full  assurance  of  understanding  the  whole 
counsel  of  God,  revealed  in  God's  own  book — I  say,  as  little  can  he 
be  satisfied  with  a  mere  glimpse  of  light — with  a  dim,  imperfect  or 
ambiguous  version  of  God's  own  book  of  life,  health  and  salvation  to 


BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


583 


man.  Still,  they  are  severally  and  collectively  useful,  and  some  of 
them  contain  many  valuable  emendations;  but  not  any  one  of  them 
meets  the  wants  of  this  age,  or  would,  in  the  aggregate,  be  a  proper  or 
satisfactory  substitute  for  the  common  version,  notwithstanding  all  its 
obscurities  and  errors. 

The  labors  bestowed  upon  the  original  text,  in  ascertaining  the 
genuine  readings  of  passages  of  doubtful  interpretation,  and  the 
great  advances  made  in  the  whole  science  of  hermeneutics — the  esta- 
blished laws  of  translation — since  the  commencement  of  the  present 
century,  fully  justify  the  conclusion  that  we  are,  or  may  be,  much 
better  furnished  for  the  work  of  interpretation  than  any  one,  however 
gifted  by  nature  and  by  education,  could  have  been,  not  merely  fifty^ 
but  almost  two  hundred  and  fifty,  years  ago.  The  living  critics  and 
translators  of  the  present  day,  in  Europe  and  America,  are  like  Saul 
amongst  the  people — head  and  shoulders  above  those  of ,  the  early  part 
of  the  seventeenth  century. 

As  for  honesty,  we  ought  not,  perhaps,  to  say  any  thing.  But  we 
may  presume  to  say,  without  the  charge  of  arrogance  or  invidious 
comparison,  that  we  are  not  greatly  inferior  to  them.  And  if  in 
talent  and  education,  compared  with  the  moderns,  they  were  giants 
still,  as  pigmies  standing  upon  the  shoulders  of  giants,  we  ought  to 
see  farther  than  those  upon  whose  shoulders  we  place  ourselves. 
Biblical  criticism  is  now  much  more  a  science  than  it  was  in  a.d. 
1600,  so  soon  after  the  revival  of  literature.  A  far  greater  number 
of  Biblical  critics  has  succeeded  than  preceded  the  Protestant  Ke- 
formation,  and  of  a  much  higher  order.  Before  that  era  there  was  not 
.  one  good  Greek  or  Hebrew  critic  for  one  hundred  at  the  present  day. 
The  Papal  Eomans  were  merely  Koman  scholars,  and  yet  inferior  to 
the  Pagan  Eomans.  These  are  facts  so  generally  known  and  conceded 
that  it  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  upon  them.  The  art  of  printing,  with 
the  increased  number  of  theological  seminaries,  and  the  competition 
between  Romanists  and  Protestants,  and  between  the  leading  Protestant 
parties  themselves,  with  the  facilities  of  a  more  enlarged  intercourse 
amongst  learned  men,  could  not  otherwise  than  elevate  the  standard  of 
Biblical  scholarship  and  afford  greater  facilities  for  acquiring  Biblical 
learning. 

Corresponding  with  this,  the  vigorous  impulse  given  to  the  human 
mind  by  the  rapid  progress  in  the  sciences  and  in  the  arts  merely 
physical  and  intellectual,  the  great  increase  of  new  discoveries  and 
general  improvement  in  the  social  system,  sustained  by  the  facilities 
of  the  press,  have  all  contributed  to  a  higher  intellectual  development 


584 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


and  a  more  thorougli  scholarship  than  were  ever  attained  by  the  Greek 
or  Eoman  schisms,  or  by  any  Protestant  denomination  anterior  to  the 
era  of  the  common  version.  Indeed,  one  may  affirm,  without  the  fear 
of  successful  contradiction,  that  during  the  last  hundred  years,  on  the 
Continent  of  Europe,  in  Great  Britain,  and  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  Biblical  criticism,  Biblical  learning  and  Biblical  translation 
have  advanced,  in  every  essential  characteristic  and  accompaniment, 
much  more,  in  what  is  usually  called  Christendom,  than  was  practicable 
or  possible  anterior  to  that  date. 

A  more  suitable  time,  therefore,  has  never  been,  since  the  era  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  language,  since  the  rise  of  the  Papal  defection,  than  the 
present,  for  a  corrected  and  improved  version  of  the  Jewish  and  Chris- 
tian oracles,  in  the  living  Anglo-Saxon  language  of  the  present  day. 

A  concerted  movement  of  all  or  any  of  the  Protestant  parties  in 
such  an  undertaking  we  cannot  expect.  It  is  not  in  living  experience ; 
nor  is  it  anywhere  inscribed  on  the  pages  of  ecclesiastical  history,  that 
a  plurality  of  denominations  have  ever  agreed  to  make  a  common  ver- 
sion, for  common  use.  Romanists  and  Protestants,  Episcopalians  and 
Presbyterians,  Congregationalists  and  Methodists,  Baptists  and  Pedo- 
baptists,  never  have  agreed,  and,  I  presume,  never  will  agree,  to  make 
in  common  a  new  version. 

Indeed,  the  first  version  in  our  language,  as  also  the  second — which 
is  virtually  the  present  commonly-used  version — in  the  main,  were 
made  by  individual  enterprise  and  on  individual  responsibility.  Their 
merit,  and  the  course  of  events,  providentially  gave  them  whatever 
popularity  and  influence  they  have  possessed. 

King  James's  version  is,  at  most,  but  a  correction,  not,  indeed,  always 
an  amended  correction,  of  the  version  of  Wm.  Tindal.  No  assembly 
ever  made  a  new  version  of  the  New  Testament.  Conventions  have 
met  and  read,  have  approved  or  condemned,  have  amended  or  altered, 
as  the  case  may  have  been,  versions  made  by  individual  men.  But  no 
convention  has  yet  made  a  new  or  original  translation. 

We  have  already  shown  that  those  in  power  uniformly  opposed  new 
versions  until  they  had  already,  by  alleged  intrinsic  merit,  gained  an 
authority  vvith  the  people.  Those  in  power  have  always  opposed 
innovation,  for  the  most  obvious  reasons  in  the  world.  They  could 
gain  nothing  earthly,  in  public  favor,  by  any  improvement,  and  might 
lose  much  by  the  innovations  of  a  new  version,  if  a  correct  one.  And 
this  is  the  reason  why  both  Pvomanists  and  Protestants  have  uniformly 
opposed  new  versions. 

None  but  pure,  enlightened,  conscientious,  spiritually-minded  n.eu 


BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


585 


could  attempt,  advocate  or  execute  an  exact,  faithful,  perspicuous  and 
intelligible  version  of  God's  oracles.  These  seldom — more  probably 
never — have  constituted  a  majority  in  any  nominally  Christian  com- 
munion. 

Majorities,  in  the  aflPairs  of  mammon,  are  worthy  of  all  respect  and 
confidence,  because  in  such  matters  they  have  a  single  eye,  a  clear 
head  and  a  sincere  heart.  But  in  Christ's  kingdom  minorities  are 
much  more  likely  to  be,  and  most  generally  have  been,  most  worthy  of 
public  confidence,  ever  since  the  almost  unanimous  spiritual  court  of 
Israel  delivered  up  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  be  crucified.  The  history 
of  mankind  is  full  of  admonition  and  warning  on  this  subject.  Ever 
since  the  days  of  Noah,  Lot  and  Abraham,  majorities  are  not  famous — 
rather  they  are  infamous — in  sacred  story.  Still,  we  flatter  ourselves, 
and  will  present  the  flattering  unction  to  the  souls  of  our  contem- 
poraries, that  we  all  are  exceptions  to  a  universal  rule.  But  I  con- 
fess, I  am  not  without  fear  in  this  matter,  when  I  look  narrowly  into 
the  volumes  of  church  history.  One  thing  is  certain :  we  have  as  yet 
no  version  of  the  Christian  Scriptures  made  by  a  convention. 

''History,"  I  repeat,  ''is  but  philosophy  speaking  by  example."  If 
history  exemplifies  any  principle,  it  is  that  good  men  love  light,  and 
wicked  men  hate  light,  in  all  matters  spiritual  and  eternal.  Hence,  as 
already  shown,  every  valuable  efi'ort  to  give,  in  the  vernacular  of  any 
people,  an  exact,  faithful  and  perspicuous  version  of  God's  own  book, 
has  been  confined  to  individual  enterprise,  or  that  which  most  nearly 
approaches  it.  "In  the  multitude  of  counsellors,"  Solomon  says,  "there 
is  safety."  But  he  did  not  say  in  the  multitude  of  translators  there  is 
safety.  In  what  regards  meum  and  tuum,  "mine  and  thine,"  there  is 
much  more  facility,  and  much  more  safety,  in  counsel,  than  in  making 
faithful  versions  of  the  doctrine  of  self-denial  and  of  taking  up  the 
cross.  Still,  a  company  of  select  men — not  selected  by  a  king,  a  court, 
a  metropolitan  or  an  archbishop,  but  by  spiritual  and  heavenly  minded 
men  selected  out  of  a  Christian  community — may  be  found,  capable 
and  honest,  single-minded  and  single-eyed,  enough,  to  guarantee  a 
version  true  to  the  original  as  they  are  competent  to  understand  and 
express  it.  Learned  in  their  own  language  they  must  be,  as  well  as  in 
the  original  tongues. 

But  it  has  been  often  asked.  What  may  be  the  destiny  of  such  a 
version  ?  In  other  words,  Who  will  receive  it,  and  what  will  be  its  in- 
fluence ?  This  is  a  question  which,  however  dogmatically  propounded, 
•cannot  be  dogmatically  answered.  We  are  neither  apostles  nor  pro- 
phets; but  ve  can  freely  express  our  opinion,  and  give  some  reasons  for  it. 


586 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


In  the  first  place,  then,  much  will  depend  upon  the  reputed  ortho- 
doxy and  piety  of  those  who  execute  the  version.  The  Society  under 
whose  patronage  and  by  whose  instrumentality  it  is  proposed  is  pro- 
perly called  the  "Bible  Union' — not  the  Baptist  Union. 

Already  it  has  been  opposed  and  misrepresented  as  a  Baptist  Union 
for  Baptist  principles — a  measure  to  carry  out  immersionist  views 
of  the  action  of  baptism,  by  translating  baptism  immersion,  and  all 
its  family,  root  and  branches,  by  immerse,  immersing,  immersed,  im- 
mersion I  This  is  about  all  the  logic  and  all  the  rhetoric  that  has 
a],peared  in  one  hundred  and  forty-four  paragraphs  written,  printed 
and  circulated  against  it,  from  ''Dan  even  unto  Beersheba,"  from  Boston 
to  San  Francisco,  from  Mulberry  Street,  New  York,  to  Old  Jewry, 
London ! 

Truly,  immersionists  have  been  hard  pressed,  although  now  the 
largest  community  in  the  Union,  and  annually  gaining  more  than  any 
other  denomination  in  the  number  of  its  membership,  fully  equalling 
in  population,  wealth  and  resources  one-fifth  of  the  political  and  moral 
force  of  this  great  nation ! 

But  why  have  recourse  to  a  new  version  for  the  sake  of  translating 
this  family  of  baptizo  f  Have  not  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  learned  rabbis 
and  doctors  of  the  Pedobaptist  communities  affirmed  not  only  that 
baptism  means  immersion,  but  also  that  it  was  so  administered  in  the 
apostles'  days?  Ask  Brenner,  of  the  Church  of  Kome,  what  was  the 
ancient  apostolic  baptism.  He  responds  that  ''immersion  was  prac- 
tised for  thirteen  centuries  almost  universally,  and  from  the  beginning 
till  now"  in  the  Greek  Church.  Ask  the  English  Episcopal  Church 
how  long  the  church  practised  immersion  as  the  representative  of  bap- 
tism ;  and  Dr.  Wall  responds.  For  sixteen  hundred  years.  Ask  Luther 
what  is  his  judgment  on  the  premises :  he  answers,  "  I  could  wish 
that  such  as  are  to  be  baptized  should  be  carefully  immersed  into  water, 
according  to  the  meaning  of  the  word  and  the  signification  of  the  ordi- 
nance; as  also  without  doubt  it  was  instituted  by  Christ."  Ask  the 
great  American  critic,  the  late  Professor  Stuart,  what  is  the  English  of 
"baptize;"  and  he  affirms  "that  it  means  to  dip,  plunge  or  immerse  in 
water,  and  that  all  lexicographers  and  critics  of  any  note  are  agreed 
in  this."  And  does  not  ancient  history  aver  that  both  Wickliffe  and 
Tindal  were  in  their  views  immersionists?  With  all  these  venerated 
names — a  mere  cluster  culled  from  the  orthodox  Pedobaptist  vine — 
what  need  have  Baptists  themselves  to  form  a  Baptist  Bible  Union  to 
inculcate  their  views  of  immersion  ? 

But  it  will  be  whispered  that  other  views  than  these — heretical  and 


BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


587 


false — are  cherished  by  the  Bible  Union,  and  that  the  version  will  be 
colored  by  these.  This  has  been  insinuated,  nay,  printed  and  published,, 
by  Baptists  themselves  opposed  to  it.  And  what  is  the  proof,  or  the 
basis,  of  such  suspicion  ?  Have  not  the  leading  movers  of  this  Bible- 
translation  as  now  digested  and  exhibited  by  the  Bible  Union  been 
always  regarded  as  sound  and  orthodox  on  every  vital  doctrine  of 
Christianity  ?  Do  not  they  believe  in  the  fall  of  man,  in  the  contami- 
nation and  guilt  of  sin,  which,  as  a  leprosy,  has  infected  every  child 
born  into  the  world?  Do  not  they  believe  and  teach  the  equal  Divine 
nature  and  glory  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,, 
as  developed  in  the  great  work  of  redemption  in  and  through  the  death, 
the  sacrifice,  or  vicarious  sufi"erings,  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?  Do  not 
they  believe  and  teach  that  the  Father  works,  the  Son  works,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit  works,  in  the  redemption,  illumination,  regeneration,  sanc- 
tification,  resurrection  and  glorification  of  man,  through  the  grace  of 
the  Father,  the  sacrifice  of  the  Son,  and  the  recreative,  renovating; 
regenerating  influence  of  the  Holy  Guest  of  the  Christian  temple — 
the  mystic  house  of  God,  erected  for  a  habitation  of  God  through  the 
Spirit? 

Can,  therefore,  our  heterodoxy  be  alleged  as  an  objection  to  any 
version  that  we  may  make  ?  Then  there  is  no  vital  orthodoxy,  no  real 
orthodoxy,  in  Protestant  Christendom.  My  own  individual  orthodoxy 
is  too  orthodox  for  the  orthodox  prelates  of  a  sectarian  world.  I  thank 
God,  as  Paul  once  said  of  himself,  in  his  own  way  of  boasting,  I  am 
more  orthodox  than  any  of  them.  I  have  all  their  orthodoxy,  and  a 
little  more  besides.  And  I  know  that  the  next  generation — or,  at 
farthest,  the  one  after  that — will  acknowledge  it.  But,  if  I  know  what 
orthodoxy  means,  (and  I  presume  to  think  and  to  say  that  I  do,)  there 
is  nothing  either  catholic  or  scriptural  in'  the  Greek,  Roman  or  Protest- 
ant church  that  I  do  not  believe  and  teach.  There  is  more  than  a 
sprinkling  of  heterodoxy  in  every  sect  in  Christendom.  But  that  hetero- 
doxy consists  not  in  what  are  called  the  essential  doctrines  of  the  evan- 
gelical remedial  system.  It  consists  much  more  in  not  keeping  the 
commandments  of  the  Divine  Redeemer,  and  in  not  scripturally  ob- 
serving his  ordinances  of  worship,  than  in  any  theory  of  the  fall  of  man 
or  the  necessity  of  sovereign  and  free  grace  or  of  a  divinely  ordained 
remedial  system.  A  correct  translation  of  the  Christian  Scriptures 
will  do  more  to  unite,  harmonize  and  purify  the  Baptists,  and  to  make 
them  one  great  evangelical  co-operation  for  God's  glory  and  man's  sal- 
vation, than  any  event  since  the  Protestant  Reformation.  It  will  cause 
^hem     arise  and  shine  in  the  light  of  God  and  in  the  beauty  of  hoH- 


588 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


ness,  fair  as  tlie  moon,  bright  as  the  sun  and  terrible  as  an  army  with 
triumphant  banners. 

"We  conclude  then,  from  all  our  premises — and  they  are  both  large  and 
liberal — that  any  version  consummated  by  the  Bible  Union  can  never 
be  objected  to  by  even  the  most  orthodox  party  in  Protestant  Chris- 
tendom because  of  any  theoretic  or  practical"  error  held  or  propagated 
by  any  of  those  who  participate  in  its  consummation.  I  am  fully  aware 
that  the  wiles  of  the  devil  will  all  be  in  requisition,  ready  to  strangle 
it  as  soon  as  born.  But  the  Lord  has  always  taken  and  subdued  the 
devil's  wise  men  in  their  own  craftiness,  and  shown  that  the  weakness 
of  God  is  stronger  than  man  or  the  devil;  and  therefore  the  preaching 
of  old,  stale,  quaint,  spectacle-bestridden  orthodoxy  will  be  as  impotent 
now  as  was  Herod's  decree  to  kill  the  new-born  king  of  the  Jews  by 
the  slaughter  of  the  innocents  of  Bethlehem. 

But,  seeing  that  the  Bible  Union  is  not  a  Baptist  Union,  nor  a 
heterodox  Union,  but  a  Union  for  a  pure,  chaste,  exact,  faithful  and 
perspicuous  version  of  the  Christian  oracles,  and  ultimately  of  the  whole 
volume  of  divinely  inspired  truth,  what  is  likely  to  be  its  future  history, 
or  its  destiny? 

An  answer  to  this  question,  though  somewhat  in  the  spirit  of  pro- 
phecy, is  not  so  very  difficult  as  at  first  presentation  might  be  assumed 
01  imagined.  If  the  version  be  faithful  and  true  to  the  original,  (and  we 
assume  that  such  it  will  be,  in  the  judgment  of  all  truly  enlightened 
men,)  it  must,  in  harmony  with  the  history  of  man  and  the  progress  of 
the  age,  gain  a  glorious  triumph  over  its  opponents.  Their  batteries 
will  be  silent,  because  they  will  have  been  silenced  by  the  work  itsolf. 
It  may  be  condemned  and  reprobated — indeed,  it  will  be — by  mei^ 
sectaries,  who  have  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  their  present  pre- 
judices, for  better  or  for  worse,  and  who,  in  advance  of  its  appearance, 
have  not  only  thought,  but  said,  "Iso  good  thing  can  come  out  of  Na- 
zareth," and,  therefore,  never  will.  Such  was  the  fate  and  the  fortune  of 
Tindal's  version.  He  was  persecuted  and  driven  from  England.  He  was 
persecu-ted  in  Flanders.  He  was  put  to  death  by  the  orthodox  of  that 
day.  His  translation  was  inhibited  in  England;  and  yet  in  a  few 
years  after  it  was  virtually  the  English  Bible,  so  enacted  and  ordained 
by  the  ecclesiastic  and  political  potentates  of  England. 

The  present  version  was  not,  on  its  first  appearance,  a  universal 
favorite.  Some  preferred  the  Bishop's  Bible;  others  disliked  both. 
One  age  burns  heretics ;  the  next  makes  them  saints  and  martyrs,  and 
erects  monuments  to  their  memory.  No  wise  man,  well  read  ir  civil 
or  ecclesiastical  history,  can  expect  a  different  state  of  things.  The 


BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


589 


censure  of  one  age,  is  all  praise  in  the  judgment  of  the  next;  as  the 
praise  of  one  generation  is  often  the  shame  and  the  reproach  of  the 
following.  Christians  live  for  immortality,  for  eternity,  and,  therefore, 
to  them  it  is  a  matter  of  little  or  no  account  how  their  contemporaries 
may  think  or  speak  of  them.  The  only  happy  man  is  he  whom  the 
Lord  approveth. 

.  But  what  will  be  the  fortunes  of  such  a  version  as  we  contemplate 
may  be  rationally  anticipated.  It  will,  ultimately,  be  received  by  all 
the  immersionists.  Some  of  the  elders,  some  of  the  scribes,  some  of 
the  popular  doctors,  some  of  the  man-worshippers,  will,  no  doubt,  say 
of  it,  when  issued,  what  they  said  of  it  before  it  appeared.  This  they 
will  do  to  justify  the  false  position  which,  in  a  fitful  mood,  they  un- 
fortunately took  on  the  whole  premises.  This  we  expect,  and  we  will 
not  be  disappointed.  Human  nature,  in  the  absence  of  Divine  grace,  runs 
in  these  channels.  Yet  w^e  say  it  will  be  ultimately  received  by  all  tho 
immersionists,  and  by  a  portion  of  the  non-immersionists.  But,  in 
some  instances,  it  will  be  read' with  more  interest  to  find  out  its  faults 
than  to  perceive  its  fidelity  or  its  general  excellency.  All  who  plead 
for  perspicuous  and  faithful  versions,  into  foreign  tongues  abroad,  will 
be  compelled  to  receive  a  perspicuous  and  faithful  version  in  their  own 
Anglo-Saxon  at  home.  We  who  are  now  actors  in  the  drama  will  soon 
die,  and  the  prominent  opponents  of  the  work  will  soon  die.  Our  pre- 
possessions and  antipathies  will  die  with  us,  and  our  labors  will  fall  into 
more  impartial  hands.  In  one  lifetime,  despite  all  opposition,  it  will 
be  generally  read  by  enlightened  Christians  of  our  language,  probably 
in  some  points  improved,  but,  m  those  points  to  which  special  reference 
is  had,  just  as  we  give  it.  Many  may  denounce  it  whose  children  will 
only  wish,    as  duteous  sons,  their  fathers  had  been  more  wise." 

But  in  saying  so  much  of  a  new  version  to  be  made  in  the  present 
day,  we  are  likely  to  be  misunderstood.  We  do  not  really  intend  or 
wish  for  a  literally  new  version.  We  much  prefer,  in  all  cases,  the 
common  Anglo-Saxon  style  and  idiom,  and  never  will  capriciously 
change  the  wording,  unless  when  defective  or  unfaithful  to  the  original, 
or  otherwise  in  bad  taste.  I  am  one,  and  have  long  been  one,  of  the 
admirers  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  of  the  common  version.  And  although 
often  corrected  and  improved  in  its  defects  by  such  men  as  Campbell. 
MacKnight,  Doddridge,  &c.,  neither  the  more  sonorous  and  elegan; 
Latin ities  of  the  former,  nor  the  pure,  and  sometimes  too  complaisant, 
Grecisms  of  the  latter,  nor  the  combination  of  them  both,  with  less  taste 
and  vigor,  by  Doddridge  and  other  modern  revisionists,  win  my  admira- 
tion, nor  command  my  respect  and  affection,  so  much  as  the  pure  Anglo- 


690 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


Saxon  of  the  fourteenth  century,  as  it  mainly  appears  in  the  revision 
of  King  James  and  his  forty-seven  translators  or  revisers.  With 
Macaulay  and  other  distinguished  writers  of  the  present  day,  I  believe 
that  much  of  the  power  and  effect  of  the  common  Bible,  and  Bunyan's 
Pilgrim's  Progress,  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  are  the  only  two 
good  specimens  of  that  style  extant  amongst  us,  and  have,  thereby,  an 
easier  and  more  direct  passport  to  the  understanding,  the  conscience 
and  the  heart  of  English,  Scotch,  Irish  and  Americans  than  any  other 
books  in  our  language. 

Change,  for  the  sake  of  change,  in  the  ora/:les  of  God,  in  any 
language,  is,  in  my  judgment,  bad  taste  and  worse  philosophy,  and 
ought  to  be  eschewed,  rather  than  cultivated  or  adopted,  by  every 
one  who  desires  the  word  of  God  to  run  and  be  glorified  in  our  day 
and  generation.  Change  without  improvement  is,  in  most  cases,  and 
most  of  all  in  Bible-translation,  mere  pedantry — more  worthy  of 
reprobation  than  of  commendation,  on  the  part  of  every  lover  of  the 
Bible  and  of  mankind.  I  love  the  phrases  and  forms  of  speech  in 
which  our  venerable  and  venerated  forefathers  were  accustomed  to 
clothe  their  conceptions  of  God,  of  Christ  and  of  the  great  salvation, 
when  they  turned  their  hearts  to  the  praises  of  God,  or  prostrated 
themselves  before  his  mercy-seat.  I  love,  too,  the  forms  of  speech  in 
which  they  expressed  their  conceptions  of  his  grace  and  of  his  great 
salvation,  when,  in  their  ecstasies,  they  celebrated  the  wonders  of  his 
grace  and  extolled  his  condescension  to  our  lost  and  ruined  world. 
Magniloquence  is  the  index  of  a  weak  and  visionary  mind ;  and  a  too 
precise  and  formal  style,  in  complaisance  to  the  verbal  livery  of  the 
times,  savors  more  of  pedantry  than  of  piety,  more  of  the  flesh  than 
of  the  spirit,  more  of  the  wisdom  of  men  than  of  the  power  of  God. 
Much  learning,  real  substantial  learning,  good  common  sense,  much 
piety  and  spirituality  of  mind,  and  a  profound  humility  and  rever- 
ence, are  essential  qualifications  of  a  good  translator  of  the  oracles  of 
God.  We  are,  therefore,  more  disposed  to  ask,  who  is  fit  for  such  a 
wwk,  than  to  hasten  rashly  or  presumptuously  upon  it,  as  a  matter 
of  common  concern  or  of  ephemeral  duration.  It  is  a  good  work,  a 
great  work,  a  solemn  work,  and  must  be  approached  with  great 
.solemnity  and  self-examination.  It  is  not  a  task  to  be  hastily  assumed 
and  despatched  with  expedition.  It  is  as  solemn  as  death,  and  as  awful 
as  eternity.  If  God  commanded  his  servant  Moses,  when  he  presented 
himself  to  him  at  Horeb,  saying,  ''Draw  not  nigh  hither;  put  off  thy 
shoes  from  off  thy  feet,  for  the  place  whereon  thou  standest  is  holy 
ground;"  and  if  the  captain  of  the  Lord's  host  said  to  Joshua,  when 


BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


591 


standing  in  his  presence,  ''Loose  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet,  for  the 
place  on  which  thou  standest  is  holy,"  with  what  solemnity  and 
reverence  should  we  presume  to  touch  ''  the  ark  of  the  covenant"  of 
mercy,  and  to  open  its  contents  to  our  contemporaries  and  to  .posterity ! 
Should  not,  then,  such  a  work  as  is  proposed  be  undertaken,  pro- 
secuted and  consummated  in  the  spirit  of  a  piety  the  most  sincere, 
and  of  a  reverence  the  most  profound  ? 

There  yet  remains,  my  Christian  brethren,  another  consideration,  to 
which  I  would  specially  solicit  your  concentrated  attention.  We  live 
in  a  sectarian,  and,  consequently,  in  a  controversial,  age.  Christianity, 
as  it  is  called,  has  degenerated  into  a  speculative  science,  and,  there- 
fore, into  innumerable  forms  of  opinionism.  Theories  instead  of  facts^ 
speculations  instead  of  faith,  forms  and  ceremonies  instead  of  a  new  lifcj 
and  a  profession  of  godliness  without  its  vitality  and  power,  are  now 
and  long  have  been  the  characteristics  of  the  Christian  profession.  As 
a  necessary  consequence,  we  have  been,  as  Paul  predicted,  "turned 
away  from  the  truth  of  Christ  unto  fables." 

When  we  survey  the  motley  theatre  of  Christendom,  it  resembles 
a  badly-colored  map  of  the  Eastern  or  Western  Continent.  Shade 
mingles  into  shade,  and  color  into  color,  until  all  the  primary  colors 
are  lost,  and  one  immense  variegated  field  of  vision  spreads  before  us, 
full  of  mystery  and  of  wonder.  The  natural  and  the  artificial  lines, 
rectilinear  and  curvilinear,  which  bound  them  and  separate  them,  are 
the  shades  of  each  of  the  primary  colors,  so  numerous  and  so  faint 
that  no  mortal  eye  can  separate  them.,  or  mark  where  one  commences 
and  another  ends.    And  as  upon  these  maps — 

"Lands  intersected  by  a  narrow  frith 
Abhor  each  other : 

Mountains  interposed  make  enemies  of  nations 

Who  had  else,  like  kindred  drops,  been  mingled  into  one," 

so  these  shades  of  opinion,  formalities  of  worship  and  forms  of  organi- 
zation, alienate  these  sects  and  parties  from  each  other,  as  though  one 
were  Jews  and  the  other  Samaritans. 

The  metaphysics  of  the  new  birth,  or  the  speculative  difierence 
between  kneeling  and  standing  in  prayer,  down  to  the  ribbons  on  a 
bonnet,  or  the  corners  of  a  collar,  are  sometimes  made  the  badges  of  a 
holy  brotherhood,  more  important  than  faith,  hope  or  charity.  A  good 
sectary  may  violate,  with  more  impunity,  five  of  the  ten  command 
ments,  than  any  one  of  the  idol  peculiarities  of  his  denomination.. 
This,  too,  unfortunately,  has  occasioned  a  characteristic  difference  in 


692 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


the  pulpit  exliibilions  of  the  age,  and  has  given  a  .-actitious  importance 
to  theories  and  customs  which  otherwise  would  have  occupied  little  or 
no  part  in  public  teaching  or  in  public  edification. 

In  our  country  and  in  our  generation,  there  are  delivered,  in  the 
course  of  the  year,  ten  sermons  on  the  new  birth  for  one  upon  the  new 
life;  as  if  ten  times  more  important  to  be  born  right  than  to  live 
right;  and  yet  in  the  former  the  subject  is  entirely  passive,  and  in 
the  latter  wholly  active. 

In  the  whole  New  Testament  we  have  but  one  paragraph  on  the  new 
birth  for  a  hundred  on  the  new  life.  We  have  had,  too,  a  thousand 
sermons  in  behalf  of  sprinkling  a  babe,  and  a  thousand  on  immersing 
a  believer,  which  all  depended  upon  the  non-translation  or  the  mere 
transference  of  a  word,  with  the  difference  between  blood  and  faith,  or 
flesh  and  spirit. 

For  all  these  and  many  other  such  aberrations  there  is  but  one 
sovereign  and  grand  specific — a  pure,  exact,  definite  and  perspicuous 
translation  of  the  Christian  Scriptures.  This  is,  in  my  humble  concep- 
tion, the  great  want  of  Christendom,  the  great  want  of  the  age,  and 
the  unanswerable  argument  in  favor  of  the  Bible  Union. 

The  very  name  Bible  Union  has  a  charm  in  the  ear  of  every  friend 
of  truth,  of  every  friend  of  God  and  of  man.  The  Bible  is  God's  own 
foundation  for  the  greatest  empire  in  creation.  It  is  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  empire  of  redeemed  humanity !  We  have  had  every  sort 
of  union  but  a  union  for  a  perfect  English  Bible.  The  Christian 
world,  so  called,  may  co-operate  in  the  great  work  which  it  proposes. 
And  that  a  perfect  English  Bible,  for  an  English  people,  is  needed  for 
three  great  purposes,  will,  I  presume,  on  a  proper  exposition  of  the 
premises,  be  very  generally  conceded.  The  first,  for  the  union  of  true 
Christians ;  the  second,  for  the  conversion  of  the  world ;  the  third,  for 
the  perfection  of  the  church.  To  illustrate  what  we  mean  in  such  a 
broad  affirmation,  take  an  example  or  two.  1.  Let  all  Englishmen  read 
immerse  for  baptize,  and  then  would  not  the  baptismal  controversy 
cease  upon  the  action  of  baptism  ?  2.  Let  them  read  congregation  for 
church,  and  where  the  basis  for  the  patriarchy,  for  the  papacy,  or  for 
the  prelacy  ?  3.  Let  them  read  love  for  charity,  and  where  that 
spurious  tolerance  of  error,  as  a  substitute  for  brotherly  kindness 
and  love  ? 

First,  we  say, /or  the  union  of  true  Christians.  The  most  insupe- 
rable barriers  to  this  are  the  three  prevailing  baptisms — baptism  in 
water,  with  faith;  baptism  with  water,  without  faith;  and  baptism  with 
the  Spirit,  without  either  faith  or  water.    There  are,  therefore,  three 


BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


593 


meanings  attached  to  Christian  baptism.  The  first  is,  the  immersion 
of  a  professed  believer  in  water.  The  second  is,  the  aspersion  of  water 
upon  a  person,  with  or  without  faith.  The  third  is,  the  affusion  or 
effusion  of  the  Spirit  of  God  upon  a  spirit,  antecedent  to,  and  indepen- 
dent of,  either  knowledge  or  faith.  Thus  the  word  baptize  becomes  a 
perfect  enigma. 

Baptize  is  neither  Hebrew  nor  Greek,  neither  Latin  nor  English. 
It  is  a  modification  of  the  Greek  baptize,  the  Roman  form  of  which  is 
identical  with  the  Greek.  Hence  the  Greek  and  Roman  Churches 
practised  immersion  down  to  a.d.  1311 ;  and  the  Greek  Church — older 
"ihan  the  Roman,  and  vast  in  its  territory — still  practises  it. 

The  English  Church,  too,  practised  immersion  down  to  the  reign 
of  Henry  VIII.,  and  it  was  so  ordained  by  statute  of  said  Henry,  in 
his  Holy  Manual  or  Guide  of  A.D.  1530.  The  statute  of  Henry  VIIL, 
21st,  thus  speaks : — "Let  the  priest  take  the  child,  and,  having  asked 
the  name,  baptize  him,  by  dipping  him  in  water  thrice." 

Indulgences  were  given,  in  after-reigns,  to  pour  water  upon  weak 
babies;  and  very  soon  after  all  the  babies  became  weak,  and  could 
not  even  stand  the  shock  of  pouring.  Then  John  Calvin  mercifully 
interposed,  and  commuted  pouring  for  sprinkling.  The  priests,  English 
and  Scotch,  immediately  commenced  a  new  kind  of  oratory,  under  the 
shield  and  the  star  of  the  rhetorical  figures  of  a  synecdoche,  which  puts 
a  part  for  a  whole,  and  of  a  metalepsis,  which  authorizes  old  names  to 
be  applied  to  new  things.  And  so  Presbyterians,  Congregationalists, 
Episcopalians  and  Methodists,  liberal  spirits  aU,  in  general  have  availed 
themselves  of  the  tolerant  indulgence  of  the  falsely-styled  "intolerant 
Calvin." 

The  "  Edinburgh  Encyclopaedia"  is  high  authority  in  this  case.  Hear 
the  article  on  baptism,  in  the  words  following,  to  wit : — 

"In  this  couutry,  [Scotland,]  however,  sprinkling  was  never  practised,  in  ordinary 
cases,  till  after  the  Reformation  ;  and  in  England,  even  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.,  trine 
immersion — dipping  first  the  right  side,  secondly  the  left  side,  and  lastly  the  face  of  the 
infant — was  commonly  observed.  But  during  the  persecution  of  Mary,  many  persons, 
most  of  whom  were  Scotchmen,  fled  from  England  to  Geneva,  and  there  greedUy  imbibed 
the  opinions  of  that  church.  In  I55G,  a  book  was  published  at  that  place  containing 
'the  form  of  prayers  and  ministration  of  the  sacraments  approved  by  the  famous  and 
godly  learned  man,  John  Calvin,'  in  which  the  administrator  is  enjoined  to  take  water 
in  his  hand  and  lay  it  upon  the  child's  forehead.  These  Scottish  exiles,  who  had  re- 
nounced the  authority  of  the  Pope,  implicitly  acknowledged  the  authority  of  Calvin ;  n  , 
returning  to  their  own  country,  with  Knox  at  their  head,  in  1559,  established  sprin"  ; 
in  Scotland.  From  Scotland  this  practice  made  its  way  into  England,  in  the  rei^  L 
Elizabeth." 

Baptism  and  baptize  were,  by  the  order  of  King  James,  under  the 

38 


594 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


caption  of  "  ecclesiastical  words,"  enjoined  upon  the  translators,  and 
were  transferred  intx)  his  version  as  representing  the  ideas  then  current. 
Thus  the  action  first  indicated  by  the  adopted  word  baptize  was  im- 
merse,  but  now  it  is  made  to  mean  no  specific  action ;  and  therefore  it 
must  be  translated  by  one  specific  word,  to  represent,  in  our  ears,  the 
precept  of  Christ. 

I  say,  then,  that,  in  order  to  the  union  of  Christians,  we  must  have 
a  definite  and  unmistakable  term,  indicating  one  and  the  same  concep- 
tion to  every  mind.  If,  then,  the  Christian  church  ever  become  really 
and  visibly  one,  she  must  have  one  immersion,  or  one  baptism ;  and, 
if  she  become  not  one,  where  is  the  h'  of  a  millennium?  It  is  a 
dream ! 

Now,  on  observing  the  tendency  of  the  two  great  bodies  of  Christian 
professors — immersionists  and  non-immersionists — let  me  emphatically 
ask,  What  does  it  show  ?  What  does  it  teach  ?  Is  not  the  manifest 
tendency  of  the  past  and  present  century  towards  immersion  ?  For 
every  one  that  has  renounced  immersion  and  been  sprinkled,  are  there 
not  ten  thousand  that  have  renounced  sprinkling  and  been  immersed  ? 
I  speak  in  bonds — probably  far  within  the  limits  of  truth.  The  immer- 
sionists in  America  vary  not  much  from  one  million.  I  mean  not  in 
theory,  for  the  theorists  and  the  realists  are  more  than  a  mere  plurality 
to  one ;  but  I  mean  those  actually  immersed. 

Of  this  million  of  immersed  persons,  how  many  had  been  sprinkled 
in  infancy  !  From  having  been  a  feeble,  despised  and  persecuted  band, 
in  less  than  a  century,  in  these  United  States,  how  stand  they  now? 
Has  any  one  in  this  assembly  ever  seen  one  immersed  professor  renounce 
it,  and  receive  sprinkling  at  the  hand  of  a  Protestant  minister?  I 
have  never,  to  my  knowledge,  seen  such  a  case.  Has  any  one  present 
ever  seen  such  a  case  ?    If  he  have,  we  wish  to  know  it. 

Now,  then,  is  it  not  contrary  to  theory,  to  faith,  to  experience,  to 
history,  to  think  of  a  millennium — of  a  union  of  all  Christians — on  Pedo- 
baptist  principles  ?  In  order,  then,  to  pray,  or  to  preach,  or  to  labor, 
for  a  millennium,  we  must  have  a  Bible  that  is  most  explicit  on  this 
great  subject.  There  cannot  be  a  millennium — a  united  church — with- 
out acknowledging  one  Lord,  one  faith  and  one  baptism.  Hence  my 
zeal  is  not  for  water — much  or  little  water — for  dipping,  pouring  or 
sprinkling — but  for  one  immersion,  for  the  sake  of  one  Lord,  one  faith 
and  one  church.  I  wish  I  could,  by  any  form  of  utterance,  so  repeat 
these  words  that  I  might  insure  them  a  safe  and  a  sure  passport  into 
every  good  heart. 

The  baptismal  question,  with  me,  is  as  much  for  the  union  of  Chria- 


BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


595 


tiaas  as  it  is  for  the  union  of  our  hearts  to  the  Lord,  in  order  to  the 
peace  that  passes  understanding  and  the  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory.  Pardon  the  emphasis  I  place  on  this  topic.  If  it  be  not  the 
main  topic  of  this  age,  it  certainly  will  be  of  the  next.  The  Bible  Union, 
for  a  new  and  true  and  faithful  version  of  the  Christian  Scriptures,  is, 
therefore,  the  greatest  ecclesiastic  event  of  this  our  day,  because  the 
most  pregnant  of  union,  peace,  prosperity  and  triumph  to  the  church 
of  Christ. 

But  it  may  be  asked,  Why  should  an  English  version  do  more  to 
effect  these  great  objects  than  a  version  into  any  other  living  tongue  ? 
Because,  we  answer,  of  the  people  that  speak  this  language.  If  not 
more  in  number,  they  are  more  powerful,  than  any  other  people.  Their 
science  and  arts,  their  religion  and  their  general  civilization,  their  Pro- 
testant energy  of  character,  their  great  and  all-pervading  commercial 
enterprise,  and  especially  their  missionary  spirit  and  their  missionary 
success,  give  them  the  vantage-ground  amidst  all  the  languages  and 
people  of  earth.  But,  better  still,  the  Almighty  Ruler  of  the  destinies 
of  nations  has  hitherto  countenanced  and  blessed  England  and  America 
more  than  any  other  people  in  the  world,  and  their  English  Bible  is 
more  generally  read  all  over  the  earth  than  that  of  any  other  people 
or  language  in  the  world. 

Regarding  the  past  as  the  best  omen  for  the  future — viewing  what 
God  has  accomplished  by  English  men,  by  English  enterprise,  by  Eng- 
lish Protestantism,  by  English  Bibles — have  we  not  in  these  premises 
enough  to  inspire  us  with  a  vigorous  hope  and  with  bright  antici- 
pations that  the  Bible  Union,  organized  for  giving  free  course  to  the 
Divine  oracles  faithfully  and  perspicuously  translated  into  our  verna- 
cular, is,  in  its  grand  object  and  aim,  co-operating  with  Grod,  and,  con- 
sequently, under  his  guidance  and  blessing,  in  the  great  work  of  re- 
deeming man  from  ignorance,  guilt  and  bondage  ? 

The  second  great  object  of  a  new  version  is  the  conversion  of  the 
world.  Our  Redeemer,  in  his  intercessory  prayer,  as  reported  by 
John,  the  beloved  apostle,  has  declared  that  the  union  of  his  friends 
and  followers  is  essential  to  the  conversion  of  the  world.  "I  pray, 
holy  Father,"  says  he,  not  for  the  apostles  only,  nor  for  those  only 
that  now  believe  on  me,  that  they  may  he  one,  as  we  are  ;  but  "  I  pray 
for  those  also  who  shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word,  [or  teach- 
ing,] that  they  all  may  he  one  that  as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I 
in  thee,  they  also  may  be  one  in  us,  that  the  world  may  helieve  that 
thou  hast  sent  me,  and  that  I  have  given  them  the  glory  which  thou 
gavest  me,  that  they  m/xy  he  one,  even  as  we  are  one,  I  in  thee,  and  thou 


596 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


in  me,  that  they  may  be  made  perfect  in  one,  and  that  the  world  may 
know  that  thou  hast  sent  me,  and  hast  loved  them  as  thou  hast  lovea 
me."  Though  we  had  a  thousand  arguments  to  offer  in  the  advocacy 
of  the  necessity  of  the  union  of  Christians  in  order  to  the  conversion 
of  the  world  of  unbelieving  Jews  and  Gentiles,  we  would  not,  on  such 
an  occasion,  adduce  one  of  them  in  corroboration  of  this  one.  They 
are  all  as  the  twinklings  of  innumerable  stars  in  a  cloudless  heaven, 
compared  with  the  splendors  of  a  meridian  sun  blazing  in  all  his  noon- 
day majesty  and  effulgence  on  our  world.  The  simple  declaration  of 
the  fact  that  the  union  of  Christians  is  necessary  to  the  conversion  of 
the  world,  by  such  a  person,  on  such  an  occasion,  is  as  strong  as  the 
strongest  mathematical  demonstration  of  a  physical  truth,  subjected 
alike  to  the  senses  and  the  understanding  of  men. 

So  long  as  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ — the  Founder  of  the  Christian 
church  or  kingdom — has  made  its  union,  and  spiritual  communion 
in  one  God,  through  one  Eedeemer,  and  by  one  Holy  Spirit,  a  means 
of  the  conversion  of  the  world,  it  could  not  be  made  more  essential  to 
that  end  by  any  enactment,  ordinance  or  oracle  in  earth  or  heaven. 
It  is,  therefore,  now,  and  for  forty  years  past  has  been,  with  me,  a  fixed 
principle,  that  if  a  hundred  sects  or  schisms  in  Christ's  kingdom  were 
to  send  out  their  respective  myriads  of  missionaries  into  all  the  nations 
of  earth,  the  world,  in  our  Saviour's  sense,  could  not  be  converted,  or 
made  to  believe  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the  true  Messiah,  the  only 
Saviour  of  the  world.  I  might  show,  in  volumes,  the  evils  of  schisms, 
and  so  might  another,  and  another,  as  conversant  with  these  themes 
as  any  of  us  ;  but  the  simple  utterance  of  this  prayer,  for  the  union  of 
all  the  believers  in  the  Divine  person  and  mission  and  work  of  Jesus, 
in  order  to  the  conversion  of  the  world,  eclipses,  and  will  eternally 
eclipse,  them  all.  It  is  an  end,  a  consummation,  most  devoutly  to  be 
wished,  but  which  never  can  be  gained  while  the  Christian  profession 
is  severed  and  divided  into  innumerable  parties  in  perpetual  conflict 
with  one  another.  The  sword  of  ecclesiastic  strife  must  be  sheathed, 
and  the  halcyon  flag  of  Zion  must  wave  its  peaceful  folds  on  every 
Christian  altar,  from  one  extremity  of  Christendom  to  the  other. 

Whatever,  then,  tends  tc  the  true  interpretation  or  translation  of 
the  living  oracles  into  the  languages  of  our  Christendom  is  an  object 
of  transcendent,  nay,  of  paramount,  importance  to  the  answer  and 
accomplishment  of  our  Redeemer's  prayer — to  the  health,  peace,  pros- 
perity and  ultimate  triumph  of  our  most  holy  faith  over  all  the  super- 
stitions and  idolatries  of  earth.  How  much,  then,  need  I  ask,  depends 
upon  such  a  version  of  the  holy  oracles  as  wiU  give  an  exact  and  per- 


BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


597 


spicuous  interpretation  of  every  passage  connected  with  each  and  every 
one  of  those  unhappy  sources  of  error  that  have  occasioned,  or  given 
any  countenance  to,  those  paralyzing  schisms,  which  have,  more  or  less, 
frustrated  our  missionary  enterprises  since  the  establishment  of  the  first 
domestic  or  foreign  mission  in  Christendom  ? 

The  third  great  object  to  be  gained  is  the  perfection  of  the  church. 
*'That  they  may  be  made  perfect  in  one,"  is  a  portion  of  the  burden 
of  our  Lord's  intercessory  prayer.  Perfection  is,  therefore,  the  glory 
and  felicity  of  man. 

The  perfectibility  of  human  nature,  by  human  instrumentality,  has 
long  been  the  fascinating  dream  of  visionary  philosophers.  A  true 
philosopher,  or  a  true  Christian,  never  cherished  such  an  Utopian 
vision.  But  there  is  a  true,  a  real  perfectibility  of  human  character 
and  of  human  nature,  through  the  soul-redeeming  mediation  and  holy 
spiritual  influence  of  the  great  Philanthropist — the  Hero,  the  Author 
and  Perfecter  of  the  Christian  faith.  x\nd  there  is  a  transforming 
power,  a  spiritual,  a  divine  energy,  adequate  to  this  end,  in  the  gospel 
of  Christ,  as  now  dispensed  by  the  Holy  Guest  of  the  Christian  temple. 

It  is  first  a  spiritual,  and  finally  a  physical,  transformation  of  man, 
in  his  whole  physical,  intellectual  and  moral  constitution.  It  is,  in  the 
measure  of  his  spiritual  capacity,  a  perfect  conformity  to  the  perfect 
image  of  the  spiritual  beauty  and  loveliness  of  the  Divine  Father  him- 
self. This  is  the  glorious  destiny  of  man  under  a  remedial  economy 
of  means  and  influences,  expressed  or  suggested  in  the  teachings  of 
the  Messiah,  and  fully  developed  in  the  writings  of  his  ambassadors  to 
the  nations.  Our  Divine  Master  had  this  in  his  eye  when  he  prayed 
for  the  perfection  of  Christians  in  and  through  himself. 

Now,  in  order  to  this  Divine  scheme  of  redemption  and  transform- 
ation of  a  fallen  and  ruined  world,  the  whole  volume  of  the  Christian 
Scriptures  is,  in  the  wisdom  of  God,  inspired  and  fashioned  as  happily, 
as  wisely  and  as  benevolently  as  light  is  to  the  eye,  or  harmony  and 
melody  to  the  ear.  To  have  the  full-orbed  Sun  of  righteousness,  mercy 
and  life  shining  in  all  his  moral  and  spiritual  splendors  upon  our  souls, 
in  the  light  of  a  life  divine  and  everlasting,  is  the  choicest  boon  of 
heaven,  and  the  richest  treasure  almighty  love  ever  imparted  to  any 
portion  of  God's  intellectual  and  spiritual  universe.  Ought  not,  then, 
these  animating  and  cheering  rays  of  Divine  light  to  be  permitted  to 
snine  into  our  souls,  in  the  clear  and  cloudless  atmosphere  of  a  pure 
and  transparent  interpretation  or  translation  of  the  Divine  originals 
of  our  most  precious  and  holy  faith?  And  what  conscience  purified 
from  guilt,  what  heart  touched  with  the  magnet  cf  everlasting  love, 


598 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


and  sanctified  by  faith,  does  not  pant  after  the  full  fruition  of  the 
light  of  God's  countenance,  reflected  upon  us  in  the  mirror  of  Divine 
revelation 

If,  then,  there  be  an  object  that  supremely  claims  our  concentrated 
energies  and  our  most  vigorous  efforts;  if  there  be  happiness,  honor 
and  glory,  in  our  assimilation  to  the  Divine  image ;  if  the  union  of  all 
the  children  of  God  in  one  holy  brotherhood ;  if  the  conversion  of  the 
world  to  the  obedience  of  faith ;  if  the  perfection  of  Christian  character 
through  faith,  hope  and  love,  through  an  ardent  zeal  and  devotion,  be 
objects  of  paramount  value  and  importance — be  pre-eminently  desi- 
rable, ought  not  all  the  talents,  and  learning,  and  grace,  which  God  has 
vouchsafed  to  his  church  of  the  present  day,  be  consecrated  and  devoted 
to  the  consummation  of  this  transcendent  work  ? 

But  again :  none  but  Baptists  can  do  this  great  work.  I  do  not 
mean  Old  School  or  New  School  Baptists.  Many  of  both  are  unfit  for 
it;  not  merely  for  the  want  of  learning,  but  because  they  are  mere 
Baptists — no  more  than  Baptists.  The  mere  Jew  gloried  in  circum- 
cision, and  the  mere  Baptist,  in  the  same  spirit,  glories  in  immersion. 
But  there  are  myriads  of  Christian  Baptists,  of  regenerated,  enlarged, 
ennobled  Baptists,  who  glory  in  truth  and  in  the  God  of  truth — men 
of  large  minds,  of  liberal  hearts,  of  expanded  and  expanding  souls, 
zealous  for  truth  and  for  the  God  of  truth.  These  all  are  moved  and 
moving  in  the  direction  and  under  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit  of  Truth 
and  of  a  sound  discriminating  mind.  They  never  were  all  Israel  who 
were  of  Israel.  Neither  are  they  all  baptized  into  Christ  who  are 
baptized  in  water.  But  a  portion  of  the  Jews  returned  from  the 
Babylonian  Captivity.  None  but  Baptists  of  enlightened  understand- 
ings, of  large  and  liberal  hearts,  of  pure  conscience,  and  of  faith  un- 
feigned, can  cordially,  zealously  and  perse veringly  participate  in 
a  grand  and  sublime  enterprise. 

Still,  none  but  immersionists  do  discern  the  spirituality  of  the  king- 
dom of  Christ.  In  reason's  ear,  in  reason's  name,  how  can  that  man 
apprehend  the  spirituality  of  Christianity,  and  the  spirituality  of 
Christ's  kingdom,  who  will,  in  virtue  of  his  being  flesh  and  blood, 
carry  in  his  arms  all  born  of  his  flesh  to  the  basin,  and  into  the 
church,  and  enroll  them  as  baptized  into  Christ?  Because  wet  with 
only  one  drop  of  rose-water,  gravely  affirm,  that  one  drop  is  as  good 
as  an  ocean  !  And  true  it  is,  that  neither  a  drop  nor  an  ocean  can 
sprinkle  or  immerse  man,  woman  or  child,  into  a  faith  which  he  has 
not,  and  into  a  Christ  which  he  knows  not  of.  I  could  as  soon  believe 
that  Louis  Napoleon  is  a  pure  democrat,  and  the  Pope  a  genuine 


BIBLE  UNION  CONVENTION. 


599 


republican,  as  that  a  sprinkled  or  dipped  babe  has  been  christianized 
by  one  drop  or  one  ocean,  without  the  knowledge  and  the  faith  of 
Christ.    But  why  argue  this  case  further  ? 

Shall  we  not,  then,  brethren,  not  merely  propose,  approve  and  adopt 
the  resolution  offered,  or  some  other  one  to  the  same  effect,  but,  with 
one  heart  and  soul,  co-operate  with  our  brethren  everywhere  like- 
minded  in  the  prosecution  and  consummation  of  this  great  work,  and, 
through  good  report  or  bad  report,  cleave  to  it,  and  prosecute  it,  until 
we  shall  have,  in  our  own  living  tongue  as  now  spoken,  the  words  of 
eternal  truti.  a.ud  love,  ch'culating  from  East  to  West,  from  North  to 
South,  wherever  our  language  is  spoken,  to  the  last  domicile  of  man; 
and  this,  too,  in  the  firm  conviction  and  assurance  that  time,  the  most 
potent  revolutionist,  will  make  it  a  grand  auxiliary  in  the  great  work 
of  uniting,  harmonizing  and  purifying  the  church  of  Christ,  and  of 
converting,  sanctifying  and  saving  the  world  ? 


ADDRESS 

TO  THE 

A.MERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


NEW  YORK,  1860. 


Men,  Brethren  and  Fathers  in  Israel  : — 

Through  the  kind  providence  of  our  heavenly  Father,  and  by  your 
Christian  courtesy,  I  have  the  honor  to  appear  before  you,  and  to 
address  you,  on  this  most  eventful  and  interesting  occasion.  Regarding 
your  Bible  Union  as  one  of  the  most  important  events  of  the  age — 
one  of  the  most  promising  signs  of  the  times,  most  auspicious  of  future 
good  to  the  church  and  to  the  world — I  cannot  but  feel  exceedingly 
happy  in  being  permitted  to  appear  before  you  in  the  defence  and 
advocacy  of  that  great  undertaking,  so  dear  to  us  all,  which  proposes 
and  promises  to  give  an  improved  version  of  the  living  oracles  of  the, 
living  God  in  our  vernacular  as  spoken  at  the  present  day. 

The  Bible  is  the  book  of  God.  God  is  not  only  its  author,  but  its 
subject.  It  is  also  the  book  of  man.  He,  too,  is  the  subject  and  the 
object  of  the  volume.  ''It  has  God  for  its  author;  salvation  for  its 
end ;  and  truth,  without  any  mixture  of  error,  for  its  matter,"* 

It  spans  the  arch  of  time,  which  leans  upon  an  eternity  past  and  an 
eternity  to  come.  It  came  to  us  through  the  ministry  of  angels,  pro- 
phets and  apostles,  and  is  to  be  transmitted  by  us,  in  all  languages,  to 
nations  and  generations  yet  unborn.  It  contains  treasures  of  wisdom 
and  knowledge  beyond  all  the  learning  of  earth  and  all  the  philosophy 
of  man.  It  not  only  unveils  to  us  the  future  of  time,  but  lifts  the 
curtain  that  separates  the  seen  from  the  unseen,  earth  from  heaven, 
time  from  eternity,  and  presents  to  the  eye  of  faith  and  hope  the 


600 


*  Locke. 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


601 


ineffable  glories  of  a  blissful  immortality.  It  is  to  us,  indeed,  tbe  book 
of  life ;  the  charter  of  "  an  inheritance  incorruptible,  undefiled  and 
that  fadeth  not  away."  It  has  already  measurably  civilized  many 
nations  and  empires.  It  has  enlightened,  moralized,  sanctified  and 
saved  untold  millions  of  our  fallen  and  degraded  race,  and  will  continue 
to  enlighten,  sanctify  and  bless  the  world,  until  the  last  sentence  of 
ihe  eventful  volumes  of  human  history  shall  have  been  stereotyped 
forever.  But  alas  for  the  unfaithful  stewards,  the  inconsiderate  and 
presumptuous  sentinels  of  Zion,  who,  instead  of  guarding  the  ark  of 
the  covenant,  set  about  allegorizing,  mystifying  and  nullifying  its 
sacred  contents ! 

The  infidel  Jew  and  the  pagan  Greek  first  withstood  its  claims,  resisted 
its  evidence  and  denied  its  authority.  They  alike  conspired  to  hate,  to 
revile  and  to  persecute  its  friends.  But,  vanquished  in  debate,  overcome 
by  its  advocates,  many  of  them  at  length  formally  admitted  its  pre- 
tensions, abjured  their  errors  and  bowed  in  homage  to  its  dictates. 
Still,  influenced  more  or  less  by  their  former  opinions  and  early 
associations,  they  mystified  its  doctrine,  corrupted  its  simplicity, 
nullified  its  precepts,  and  encumbered  it  with  the  traditions  of  the 
world.  Thus,  by  degrees,  a  vain  and  empty  philosophy  beguiled  its 
friends,  neutralized  its  opponents  and  secularized  its  institutions. 

In  a  little  more  than  three  centuries  from  the  birth  of  its  Founder, 
the  doctrine  of  the  cross  was  so  perverted  and  corrupted  as  to  ascend 
the  throne  of  the  Roman  Caesars,  in  the  person  of  Constantino  the 
Great.  The  sword  of  persecution  was  then  sheathed,  and,  by  an  im- 
perial ordinance,  toleration  was  vouchsafed  to  the  Christians,  and 
their  confiscated  estates  were  restored. 

This  event  was,  most  fallaciously  and  unfortunately,  contemplated  as 
the  triumph  of  the  cross  over  the  idolatries  of  pagan  Rome ;  because, 
forsooth,  the  Emperor  of  Rome,  while  commanding  its  armies,  had  seen, 
or  dreamed  that  he  had  seen,  at  high  noon,  a  golden  cross  standing 
under  a  meridian  sun,  inscribed.  In  hoc  signo  vinces — "under  this 
symbol  you  will  triumph."  Thus,  as  a  military  chieftain,  he  was  con- 
verted to  the  faith,  and,  under  the  banner  of  a  painted  cross,  led  his 
armies  to  a  final  triumph. 

The  paganizing  of  Christianity  in  the  person  and  government  of 
Constantino,  and  in  his  Council  of  Nice,  inflicted  upon  the  church  and 
Christianity  a  wound  from  which  they  have  not  yet  wholly  recovered. 
This  early  defection,  obscuring  and  paralyzing  the  understanding  and 
corrupting  the  heart  of  the  Christian  profession,  also  greatly  influenced 
Bible- interpretation,  and,  by  degrees,  introduced  a  new  theological 


602 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


nomenclature ;  of  which  sundry  monuments,  Loth  Eastern  and  "Western, 
afford  melancholy  proof.  Down  to  the  first  oecumenical  council,  the 
Christian  Scriptures  were  translated  into  various  dialects.  They  were 
not  only  read,  in  whole  or  in  part,  in  Hebrew,  Greek  and  Syriac,  but 
also  in  Latin,  Coptic,  Sahidic,  Ethiopic,  Persic  and  other  tongues. 

The  spirit  of  translating  is  as  old  as  the  celebrated  day  of  Pentecost. 
When  first  the  gospel  was  announced  by  the  Holy  Spirit  sent  down 
from  heaven,  it  was  spoken  in  all  the  languages  then  represented  in 
Jerusalem.  ''How  is  it,"  said  the  immense  concourse,  "we  do  hear, 
every  one  in  his  own  native  tongue — Parthians,  Modes,  Persians , 
inhabitants  of  Judea,  Cappadocia,  Pontus  and  Proconsular  Asia ;  Phry- 
gians, Pamphylians,  Egyptians,  Cyrenians,  Africans,  Eoman  strangers, 
Cretes  and  Arabians — we  hear  them  speaking,  in  our  own  tongues,  the 
wonderful  works  of  God  ?"  Ask  we  any  other  warrant  or  example  to 
inspire  us  with  the  spirit  of  translation  or  to  guide  and  authorize  our 
efforts  in  this  great  work  ? 

The  inscription  upon  the  Saviour's  cross  was  written  in  Hebrew, 
Greek  and  Latin;  and  certainly,  for  reasons  at  least  equal,  if  not 
superior,  to  those  which  called  forth  this  inscription,  the  story  of  his 
resurrection,  and  all  its  consequences,  should  be  given  in  tongues  as 
numerous  and  as  various  as  the  languages  of  those  to  whom  this 
glorious  message  of  salvation  is  delivered.  No  one  denying  this,  we 
need  not  argue  its  claims  as  a  matter  of  doubtful  disputation.  Nor 
need  we  undertake  to  show  that  the  missionary  spirit  is  essentially 
the  spirit  of  Christianity,  and  that  wherever  a  church  is  planted  In 
any  country,  to  it  should  be  committed  the  oracles  of  God. 

It  is,  however,  worthy  of  special  notice  that  God  himself  simul- 
taneously spoke  and  wrote  the  legal  and  symbolic  dispensation.  He 
not  only  preached  the  law,  but  wrote  the  law,  with  his  own  hand,  and 
gave  the  autograph  to  Moses  of  what  he  had  spoken  to  him  in  the 
mount. 

In  the  same  spirit  of  wisdom  and  philanthropy,  the  apostles  spoke 
and  wrote  Christianity  in  sermons  and  epistles.  And  our  Saviour 
himself  made  John  the  amanuensis  of  the  seven  epistles  to  the  Asiatic 
churches. 

For  accurate  and  long  preservation  of  words  and  ideas,  the  pen  and 
^"•^e  parchment,  the  stylus  and  the  wax,  the  chisel,  the  lead  and  the 
.vyt^K,  are  indispensable.  Hence,  neither  the  new  nor  the  old  dispensa- 
tion was  left  to  the  chances  of  mere  oral  communication  or  tradition, 
Dut  they  were  written  by  prophets  and  apostles,  or  by  their  ama- 
nuenses, and  given  in  solemn  charge  to  the  most  faithful  depositories — 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


603 


the  primitive  churches — with  solemn  anathemas  annexed,  to  protect 
them  from  interpolation,  erasure  or  blemish  on  the  part  of  man. 

But  the  languages  in  which  the  holy  oracles  were  originally  written 
died  soon  after  the  precious  deposit  had  been  committed  to  them. 
This  death,  however,  became  the  occasion  of  the  immortality  of  that 
precious  deposit. 

Living  tongues  are  always  in  a  state  of  mutation.  They  change 
with  every  generation.  The  language  of  Wickliffe,  of  Tindal,  of  Cran- 
mer,  of  James  I.,  is  not  the  language  of  this  country  or  of  this  gene- 
ration. Wickliffe's  version  would  need  now  to  be  translated  into  the 
English  of  1850.  But  the  Greek  of  the  New  Testament,  and  the 
Hebrew  of  the  Old,  having  ages  since  ceased  to  be  spoken,  have  ceased 
to  change ;  and  therefore  with  the  languages  of  that  age  are  stereotyped 
the  general  literature,  the  philosophy,  the  poetry,  the  history,  the 
classics  of  the  Greeks  and  Komans,  together  with  the  Septuagint, 
and  other  Greek  versions  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures. 

Next  to  the  deluge,  not  only  in  time,  but  in  its  calamitous  influence 
on  the  destiny  of  man,  was  the  confusion  of  human  language  at  the 
profane  and  insolent  attempt  to  erect  a  temple  to  Belus,  and  a  city 
to  prevent  the  wide  dispersion  of  Noah's  progeny.  The  monumental 
name  Babylon  awakens  in  every  thoughtful  and  sensitive  heart  a 
series  of  painful  reflections  on  every  remembrance  of  its  grievous  asso- 
ciations. But  for  it,  as  among  all  animals  without  reason  and  con- 
science, there  would  have  been,  through  our  whole  species,  but  one 
language  and  one  speech.  It  has  thrown  in  the  way  of  human  civiliza- 
tion and  moral  progress  barriers  that  neither  can  be  annihilated  nor 
overcome.  It  has  more  or  less  alienated  man  from  man,  making  every 
one  of  a  different  dialect — more  or  less  a  barbarian  to  a  great  portion 
of  his  own  species.  Till  then,  the  vernacular  of  every  child  was  that 
of  all  mankind,  and  was  a  part  and  parcel  of  humanity  itself  to  interest 
him  in  every  one  of  his  species  as  his  own  flesh  and  blood.  But  foreign 
tongues  indicate  a  foreign  origin,  with  which,  most  frequently,  some 
ungrateful  associations  arise  that  estrange  and  alienate  from  the  claims 
of  a  common  brotherhood. 

But,  most  of  all  to  be  deplored,  this  Divine  judgment  has  thrown 
very  great  obstacles  in  the  path  of  the  evangelical  ministry.  It  was,, 
indeed,  as  observed  already,  miraculously  overcome  by  the  gift  of 
tongues,  instantaneously  conferred  on  the  apostles  at  the  time  of  the 
coronation  of  the  Lord  Messiah.  They  had  access,  at  once,  to  many 
nations,  whose  representatives  returned  from  Jerusalem  richly  laden 
with  the  word  of  life  to  their  countrymen.    But  the  necessity  that  waa- 


604 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


overcome  on  the  memorable  Pentecost  still  exists,  more  or  less,  as  a 
very  formidable  obstacle  to  the  conversion  of  the  human  race  to  one 
Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism  and  one  communion,  and  must,  of  ne- 
cessity, be  overcome.  And  here  we  state  our  first  argument  in  favor 
of  translations  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  into  all  languages  spoken  by 
man  capable  of  receiving,  in  their  vocabularies,  the  precious  oracles 
of  the  living  and  true  God. 

But  I  am  met  at  the  threshold  with  the  assertion  that  this  is  a 
subject  in  which  all  Christendom  is  agreed,  and  that  it  would  be  but  a 
waste  of  time  to  discuss  such  a  question.  The  necessity  of  translating 
the  living  oracles  of  the  living  God  into  all  the  nations  of  earth,  as 
the  means  of  their  conversion  and  salvation,  I  am  told,  is  universally 
conceded  by  Jew  and  Gentile.  But  have  they  in  any  other  way  than 
theoretically  conceded  it  ? 

The  Jews'  religion  and  revelation,  now  called  the  Old  Testament^ 
was  not  designed  for  all  mankind,  in  the  same  sense  as  the  Christian 
revelation  and  religion  are  designed  for  all  mankind..  The  Jews*  reli- 
gion was  specially  given  to  one  nation  for  its  own  sake.  It  never  was 
essentially  a  proselyting  institution.  Its  genius  and  nature  restricted 
it  to  the  natural  seed  of  Abraham.  There  is  no  precept  in  it  com- 
manding it  to  be  preached  or  promulged  to  all  the  world.  Still,  the 
Jews'  institution  had  in  it  the  elements  of  Christianity,  and,  on  that 
account,  it  is  invaluable  to  all  the  Christian  kingdom.  They,  too,  have 
set  us  an  example ;  for  when  the  Jews  were  scattered  through  difierent 
countries  they  had  their  oracles  translated  into  the  language  of  those 
countries.  Hence,  the  first  translation  made  in  Egypt  by  the  seventy 
learned  Jews,  all  natives  of  Egypt,  assembled  in  Alexandria,  not  by 
command  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  but  during  his  copartnery  of  the 
throne  of  Egypt  with  his  father,  was  designed  to  give  to  the  Jews 
throughout  the  world  a  version  in  the  then  prevailing  dialect.  Thus 
originated  the  celebrated  Septuagint  This,  however,  preceded  the 
Christian  era  by  only  two  hundred  and  eighty-five  years. 

But  the  necessity  of  improved  versions  is  rather  our  present  subject; 
and  with  reference  to  this  the  Jews  are  worthy  of  our  regard.  They 
were  not  all  satisfied  with  this  venerable  and  invaluable  translation, 
though  the  best  ever  made  into  the  Greek  tongue.  It  is  honored  and 
consecrated,  too,  by  the  fact  that  it  is  quoted  in  the  New  Testament, 
and  is  thus  sanctioned  by  the  holy  apostles  themselves — a  correct  ex- 
ponent of  their  own  Hebrew  original.  Philo  the  Jew,  Josephus  and 
the  primitive  Christians  also  gave  it  the  sanction  of  their  approval. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  many  learned  individuals,  both  Jews  and 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


605 


Christians,  took  exceptions  to  some  parts  of  it,  and  suggested  numerous 
corrections  and  emendations.  Accordingly,  Aquila,  a  Jew,  who  once 
professed  Christianity,  but  afterwards  renounced  it  and  relapsed  into 
Judaism,  undertook  and  finished  a  new  version  in  the  fore  part  of  the 
second  century.  His  chief  objection  to  the  Septuagint  was  its  too 
periphrastic  character;  and,  avoiding  this  alleged  defect-,  he  became 
literal  to  a  fault.  It  was,  however,  read  with  interest  as  early  as  the 
middle  of  the  second  century  of  our  Christian  era. 

Almost  contemporaneous  with  this  was  the  version  of  Theodotion, 
an  Ebionite  Christian,  who  supposed  that  a  rather  freer  version  than 
that  of  Aquila  was  desirable.  Next  to  his  appeared  the  version  of 
Symmachus.  More  skilled  in  Hebrew,  according  to  tradition,  than 
Theodotion,  he  made  many  alleged  improvements,  but  borrowed  too 
much,  and  rather  indiscreetly,  from  his  predecessors. 

Besides  these  private  versions  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  into  the 
Greek  vernacular,  no  less  than  three  anonymous  Greek  versions  appeared 
before  the  middle  of  the  second  century;  which,  because' of  the  columns 
they  occupy  in  Origen's  Hexapla,  are  called  the  fifth,  sixth  and 
seventh  versions.  Thus  the  Septuagint,  which  reigned  without  a 
rival  for  some  three  centuries  till  the  close,  we  may  say,  of  the  first 
century  of  Christianity,  has,  in  some  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  no 
less  than  six  Greek  rival  versions — all  the  fruit,  we  must  suppose,  of  a 
desire  for  an  improved  version.  It  may  be  observed  that  the  author 
of  the  sixth  translation  of  this  class,  as  arranged  in  the  Hexapla  of 
Origen,  was  evidently  a  Christian.  So  far,  then,  as  the  learning,  judg- 
ment and  piety  of  the  authors  of  the  six  Greek  versions  of  the  old 
Hebrew  Testament  afi'ord  an  example  or  argument,  it  is  decidedly  in 
favor  of  our  efibrt  to  have  an  improved  version,  at  least  of  the  Chris- 
tian Scriptures. 

We  do  not,  indeed,  regard  every  new  version,  whether  undertaken 
by  public  or  private  authority,  as  an  improvement.  But  there  is  little 
ground  to  doubt  that  these  six  versions,  together  with  the  Septuagint, 
would  enable  any  person  of  the  genius  and  learning  of  Origen  to 
furnish  a  better  than  any  one  of  them.  Hence  it  is  that  Origen's 
Hexapla  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  valuable  offerings  of  the  third 
century  to  the  cause  of  Biblical  translations. 

But  the  necessity  of  original  translations  and  of  improved  versions 
of  former  translations  has  much  more  to  commend  and  enforce  its 
claims  upon  public  attention  than  the  customs  of  the  Jews  or  the  spirit 
and  character  of  their  religion.  Christianity,  or  the  gospel,  in  its 
facts,  precepts  and  promises,  was  divinely  commanded  to  be  promulged 


606 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


throughout  the  whole  world.  Neither  its  spirit  nor  its  design  ia 
national  or  secular,  but  catholic  and  divine. 

It  is  a  dispensation  of  Divine  grace,  adapted  to  the  genius,  character 
and  condition  of  men,  as  they  now  are.  It  grasps  in  its  broad  philan- 
thropy the  human  race,  and  throws  its  benignant  arms  around  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  It  is,  therefore,  the  mi  of  the  church,  if  there  he 
one  of  Adams  som  who  has  never  heard,  in  his  own  tongue,  the  won- 
derful works  of  God. 

In  its  hale  and  undegenerate  days  the  gospel  was  borne  on  the  wings 
of  every  wind,  and,  as  far  and  as  soon  as  possible,  it  was  promulged  by 
the  living  tongues  of  apostles,  evangelists  and  prophets,  from  Jerusa- 
lem to  the  confines  of  the  most  barbarous  nations,  and  on  equal  terms 
tendered  to  Jew  and  Greek,  barbarian,  Scythian,  bond  and  free. 

It  was  not  only  spoken,  but  written  and  translated  into  every  lan- 
guage accessible  to  those  to  whom  were  committed  the  oracles  of  God. 
For  this  purpose  God  gave  plenary  inspiration  to  the  first  heralds  of 
the  cross,  and  therefore  it  was  as  accurately  announced  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Ultima  Thule,  in  word  and  writing,  as  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Jerusalem,  the  radiating  centre  of  the  Christian  church. 

But  it  must  be  written  as  well  as  spoken,  because  the  word  in  the 
ear  is  evanescent,  compared  with  that  word  written  and  pictured  to  the 
eye  on  parchment.  The  command  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture is  not  fulfilled  when  only  spoken  to  those  whom  we  see  and  who 
can  hear.  Were  speaking  the  only  way  of  preaching,  then  the  deaf 
could  never  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them.  In  that  case,  Paul 
could  not,  with  truth,  have  said  that  Moses  was  preached  every  Sab- 
bath day,  being  read  in  the  synagogues." 

"We  sometimes  converse  with  the  present  as  weU  as  the  absent  by 
signs  addressed  to  the  eye.  Words  spoken  are  only  for  those  present.' 
Hence  the  necessity  that  an  age  of  apostles  and  prophets  should  be  an 
age  of  writing  as  well  as  of  speaking  a  finished  language.  And  such 
was  the  era  of  the  Jews'  religion;  but  still  more  emphatically  suet 
was  the  Christian  era. 

The  great  revelations  of  the  Bible  originated  in  ages  and  countries 
of  the  highest  civilization  and  mental  advancement.  Egypt  was  the 
cradle  of  the  learning  and  wisdom  of  the  world  when  Moses,  the  prophet, 
the  lawgiver  and  oracle  of  Jehovah,  was  born.  From  Egypt  radiated 
the  light  of  the  world  under  the  reign  of  the  Pharaohs.  And  Moses 
was  profoundly  read  in  all  the  learning  of  the  Egyptians.  He  was 
therefore  chosen  to  speak  to  his  contemporaries  and  to  write  for  pos- 
terity the  oracles  of  God. 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


607 


Jesus  the  Messiah  was  born  in  the  city  of  David,  educated  neither 
in  Egypt  nor  in  Nazareth,  but  from  heaven,  by  a  plenary  inhabitation 
of  a  Divine  nature  and  a  Divine  spirit.  He  taught  in  Jerusalem,  in 
the  temple,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  Rabbis,  and  Scribes,  and  Elders 
of  Israel.  Christianity  was  first  preached,  instituted  and  received  in 
Jerusalem,  and  thence  radiated  through  Asia,  Africa  and  Europe.  It 
was  written  in  the  most  finished  language  ever  spoken  on  earth,  so  far 
as  copiousness,  richness  of  terms,  perspicuity,  precision,  as  well  as 
majesty  and  grandeur  of  style,  enter  into  the  constituency  of  lan- 
guage. Hence  the  pen,  alike  with  the  tongue,  was  employed  in  giving 
utterance  and  free  circulation  to  the  word  of  life  from  its  first  promul- 
gation to  the  final  amen  of  the  Apocalypse. 

The  Holy  Spirit  and  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  did  not  cease  to  work 
with  the  age  of  the  apostles.  Preaching  and  teaching,  writing  and 
translating  from  language  to  language,  the  word  and  works  of  God — 
the  sayings,  the  doings  and  the  sufferings  of  the  Saviour — begun  and 
prosecuted  with  untiring  energy  and  assiduity  by  the  original  apostles 
and  evangelists  of  Christ,  was  still  continued  with  zealous  diligence  by 
the  succeeding  age.  Peter  was  not  the  only  man  of  his  day  who  said, 
^'I  will  carefully  endeavor  that  you  may  be  able,  after  my  decease,  to 
have  these  things  always  in  remembrance."  This  was  the  spirit  of  all 
the  family  of  God  capable  of  such  an  instrumentality. 

In  the  second  century,  we  find  the  whole  Bible,  Old  Testament  and 
New,  translated  into  the  Syriac  tongue.  The  oldest,  most  literal, 
simple  and  exact  version  in  ,  that  language  is  called  the  Peschito,  or  the 
literal,  because  of  its  great  fidelity  to  the  original  text.  In  after-times, 
other  versions  were  published  in  the  same  tongue. 

Egypt  was  favored  at  an  early  day  with  two  versions — one  in  the 
Coptic,  for  the  lower,  and  one  in  Sahidic,  for  the  upper  Egyptians.  Of 
the  Arabic,  Ethiopic,  Armenian,  Persian,  Gothic,  Sclavonian  and  Anglo- 
Saxon  versions  we  cannot  now  speak  particularly.  Suffice  it  to  say 
that  the  philanthropy  of  the  gospel  wrought  more  eff'ectually  than 
that  of  the  law,  in  giving  version  after  version  of  the  law  and  the 
gospel  to  the  nations  and  tribes  that  embraced  it. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era,  the  Roman  empire 
stretched  from  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube,  on  the  north,  to  the  sandy 
deserts  of  Arabia  and  Africa  on  the  south,  and  from  the  river  Eu- 
phrates, on  the  east,  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean  on  the  west.  Over  this 
vast  extent  of  territory  the  Latin  language  was,  more  or  less,  spoken. 
Important,  therefore,  it  was,  that  the  living  oracles  should  find  in  that 
tongue  a  passport  to  every  province  that  acknowledged  the  supremac/ 


608  ADDRESS  TO  THE 

of  Eome.  Versions  of  the  gospels  and  Epistles,  in  that  tongue,  eaily 
began  to  multiply.  One  had  obtained  a  free  circulation  through  parts 
of  Africa ;  but,  after  considerable  competition,  another,  of  acknowledged 
superiority,  began  to  triumph  over  all  its  Eoman  rivals,  under  the 
name  of  the    Itala,"  or  "  Old  Italic' 

When  Jerome  had  risen  to  some  conspicuity,  the  Itala  was  pro- 
nounced cauonicaL  This  version,  containing  both  Testaments,  was 
made  from  the  Greek.  Hebrew  scholars  capable  of  correctly  trans- 
lating the  Hebrew  Bible  could  not  then  be  found.  The  first  half  of 
the  second  century  is  generally  conceded  to  have  been  the  time  when 
the  Old  Itala  first  made  its  appearance.  During  that  century,  it  was 
certainly  quoted  by  Tertullian.  But,  as  Horne  judiciously  remarks, 
before  the  fourth  century  had  closed,  alterations  and  difibrences,  either 
designed  or  accidental,  had  equalled  in  number  the  interpolations  found 
in  the  Greek  versions  before  corrected  by  Origen.  Pope  Damasus 
assigned  the  work  of  revision  to  Jerome,  who  conformed  it  much  more 
to  the  Greek.  But  this  only  induced  Jerome  to  attempt  a  new  version 
of  the  Old  Testament,  from  the  Hebrew  into  Latin,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Western  church.  Still,  notwithstanding  the  reputation  of  St.  Jerome 
and  the  authority  of  Pope  Damasus,  the  version  was  introduced  by 
slow  degrees,  lest  weak  minds  might  stumble.  But  through  the  par- 
tiality of  Gregory  I.  it  gradually  rose  to  ascendency,  so  that  ever  since 
the  seventh  century,  under  the  name  of  the  Vulgate  version,  it  has 
been  extensively  adopted  by  the  whole  Roman  church. 

The  Council  of  Trent,  convoked  by  Paul  III,  a.d.  1545,  continued 
under  Julius  X.  and  consummated  under  Pius  IV.,  a.d.  1563,  after  a 
session  of  eighteen  years,  decreed  it  to  be  authentic,  and  commanded 
that  the  Vulgate  alone  should  be  read  wherever  the  Bible  is  commanded 
to  be  read,  and  used  in  all  sermons,  expositions  and  discussions.  Thence- 
forth it  was  of  equal  authority  with  the  originals :  so  that  it  was  as 
lawful  to  correct  the  originals  by  the  Vulgate  as  the  Vulgate  by  the 
originals.  Romanists  still  prefer  to  translate  from  the  Vulgate  rather 
than  from  the  originals. 

In  course  of  time,  the  Old  Itala  and  the  Vulgate  became  so  mixed 
up  that  both  fell  into  great  confusion  and  were  interspersed  with  many 
and  great  errors.  Hence  originated  Stephens's  seven  critical  editions 
of  the  Vulgate,  extending  from  a.d.  1528  to  a.d.  1546 — a  period  com- 
mensurate with  the  sessions  of  the  Council  of  Trent.  The  doctors  of 
the  Sorbonne  condemned  them,  and  ordered  a  new  edition  by  John 
Hortensius,  of  Louvain,  which  was  finished  in  1547.  Still  another 
improved  version  was  called  for,  and  finished  in  1586,  with  critical 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


609 


iioteS;  by  Lucas  Brugensis.  Finally,  however,  it  was  condemned  by 
Pope  Sixtus  v.,  who  commanded  a  new  edition,  and,  having  himself 
corrected  the  proofs,  he  pronounced  it,  by  all  the  authority  of  his 
chair,  to  be  the  authentic  Vulgate,  and,  issuing  a  folio  edition,  com- 
manded it  to  be  adopted  throughout  the  Roman  church. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  labors  of  the  Pope  and  the  seal  of  his 
infallible  decree,  this  edition  was  discovered  to  be  so  exceedingly  in- 
correct that  his  successor,  the  infallible  Clement  VIII.,  caused  it  to  be 
suppressed,  and  published  another  authentic  Vulgate,  in  folio  size,  in 
1592,  differing  more  than  any  other  edition  from  that  of  Sixtus  V. 
These  facts  are  a  full  refutation,  if  we  had  nothing  else  to  allege,  of 
all  the  pretensions  of  Bellarmine  and  the  See  of  Rome  in  favor  of  the 
Vulgate.  Some  learned  men,  of  much  leisure,  have  noted  several 
hundreds  of  differences  between  these  two  authentic  and  infallible 
translations — many  of  them,  too,  of  very  serious  import.  Thus  the 
two  infallibles — Sixtus  V.  and  Clement  VIII.,  stand  in  direct  contra- 
diction. 

Other  improved  Latin  versions  from  time  to  time  appeared,  to  the 
number  of  some  ten  or  eleven,  half  of  them  the  work  of  Protestants 
and  half  of  Romanists.  Of  those  made  by  Catholics,  that  by  Erasmus, 
and  of  those  made  by  Protestants,  that  by  Beza,  is  prominent.  So  far 
the  spirit  of  improved  versions  obtained  down  to  the  era  of  the  Pro- 
testant Reformation. 

We  have  not  yet  noted  the  growth  and  prevalence  of  this  principle 
in  Germany  or  in  our  mother  land  and  language.  These  are  matters 
rather  too  familiar  to  deserve  much  notice  at  present.  Still,  that  we 
may  further  demonstrate  the  very  general  acknowledgment  of  the  moral 
and  Christian  obligation  to  print  and  publish  in  writing,  as  weU  as  to 
declare  by  the  tongue,  the  oracles  of  God,  and  that  in  the  most  correct 
and  improved  style  of  language,  we  must  at  least  notice  the  interest 
that  Germany  and  Great  Britain  have  taken  in  this  work. 

As  the  art  of  printing  is  the  fruit  of  German  genius,  we  might,  in 
the  absence  of  history,  presume  that  the  Bible  would  have  been  amongst 
the  first-fruits  of  the  press,  and  that  it  would  have  a  freer  course 
through  Germany  than  in  any  other  country  in  Europe  or  the  world. 
And  such,  in  part,  is  the  fact.  The  Bible  was  first  printed  and  pub- 
lished in  Germany,  and  in  the  vernacular  of  its  inhabitants.  In  1486, 
a  German  translation  from  the  Vulgate  was  printed,  the  author  of 
which  is  unknown. 

In  1517,  Martin  Luther  began  to  publish  and  print  scraps  of  the 
Bible,  which  he  continued  until  he  got  through  with  the  whole  book, 

39 


610 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


His  translation  of  the  whole  Bible,  from  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  origi- 
nals, assisted  by  Melanchthon,  Cruciger,  and  other  learned  professors 
of  Hebrew  and  Greek,  was  first  issued  from  the  press  in  1530,  and 
passed  through  three  improved  editions  before  the  close  of  1545. 

From  Luther's  version  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  no  less  than  ten 
versions  were  derived;  and  it  became  the  occasion  of  many  others. 
But  this  justly  celebrated  work  of  the  great  Eeformer  was  itself  im- 
proved— or  at  least  revised — by  the  Zuinglians  and  Calvinists,  and 
numerous  new  editions  of  it  circulated  through  Germany  and  its 
dependencies,  down  to  the  year  1659. 

Besides  that  of  Luther,  other  versions  were  printed  and  circulated 
on  the  continent.  Among  these  were  the  Zurich  version,  Piscator's, 
from  that  of  Junius  and  Tremellius,  with  several  Romanist  versions. 

"We  pass  from  Germany  to  Britain.  Authentic  history  we  have  not 
of  the  commencement  of  translations  into  the  languages  spoken  in 
Great  Britain.  Saxon  versions  of  parts  of  the  holy  oracles  were  made 
in  that  island  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century.  Ald- 
helm's  name  is  associated  with  a  version  of  the  Psalms  as  early  as  a.d. 
706.  A  translation  of  the  four  Gospels,  made  by  Egbert,  appeared  a 
few  years  after,  and  that  was  followed  by  one  of  the  whole  Bible  by 
the  Venerable  Bede.  Two  centuries  after  appeared  a  new  version  of 
the  Psalms  by  King  Alfred.  An  unknown  individual  translated  the 
whole  Bible  into  English  about  the  year  1290,  copies  of  which  are  yet 
extant  in  some  public  libraries. 

In  1380,  John  Wicklifi'e  translated  the  whole  Bible  from  the 
Vulgate  into  the  current  English  of  that  day ;  it  was  first  printed  in 
1731.  To  William  Tindal  we  are  indebted  for  the  first  printed  English 
Bible.  It  was  issued  from  the  press  at  Antwerp  or  Hamburg,  a.d. 
1520.  His  revised  English  Testament  appeared  in  1534.  In  1535 
Miles  Coverdale  gave  a  new  English  version  of  the  whole  Bible.  This 
was  the  first  Bible  allowed  by  royal  authority.  The  fictitious  Mathew's 
Bible,  issued  from  politic  reasons  under  this  name,  was,  for  the  most 
part,  Tindal's  version  disguised.  This  edition,  printed  abroad,  ap- 
peared in  1537.  Cranmer's  version  of  the  New  Testament,  with  its 
last  corrections,  appeared  in  1539 ;  the  Geneva  version  in  1557 ;  the 
Bishops  Bible  in  1568;  the  Bheims  in  1582;  and  the  Authorized 
Common  Version  in  1611.  Concerning  these,  with  the  exception  of 
the  last,  we  will  not  now  speak  particularly. 

The  time  usually  allotted  for  a  single  address  is  not  more  than 
sufficient  to  name  and  describe  the  numerous  and  various  versions 
through  which  the  Holy  Scriptures  have  passed.    We  have  not  even 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


611 


named  all  the  versions  made  in  our  own  vernacular.  We  Have  simply 
macce  selections  for  a  specific  purpose.  Those  named  are  sufficient  to 
show  that  the  professed  church  of  Christ  has,  in  all  ages,  acted  upon 
the  principle  that  the  Scriptures  should  be  accurately  translated  and 
more  or  less  circulated  amongst  at  least  a  portion  of  the  people.  Pro- 
testants say,  through  all  the  people.  Romanists  have  said,  and  still 
say,  only  through  a  portion  of  the  people. 

But  the  precise  question  now  before  you,  my  Christian  brethren,  is 
not  whether  the  Scriptures  should  be  translated  into  every  tongue 
spoken  by  mankind,  but  whether  they  should  he  translated  into  the 
current  language  of  every  age.  Indeed,  you  take  the  ground  that  the 
Scriptures  are  not  translated  into  any  language  unless  the  true  import 
of  the  original  text  is  perspicuously  and  faithfully  given  in  the  living 
language  of  the  people.  For  this  reason  you  justly  object  to  the 
translation  usually  called  "The  Authorized  Common  Version."  You 
say  it  is  not  authorized  by  God,  because  he  would  not  authorize  an 
erroneous  version.  A  king,  a  court,  a  parliament,  a  political  corpora- 
tion or  a  secular  church,  authorizing  any  version,  correct  or  incorrect, 
you  regard  as  an  assumption,  on  their  part,  of  spiritual  jurisdiction 
over  the  consciences  of  men ;  you  regard  it  as  a  species  of  spiritual 
despotism,  of  ecclesiastic  tyranny  and  usurpation. 

That  a  Christian  community  may  adopt  any  new  version,  or  author- 
ize any  number  of  its  members  to  prepare  a  version  which  shall 
correctly  and  perspicuously  set  forth,  in  the  currency  of  the  age,  the 
import  of  the  original  Scriptures,  you  cheerfully  admit.  But  that 
such  is  not  the  commonly  received  and  frequently  styled  "Authorized 
Version,"  you  conscientiously  think  and  affirm 

That  this  is  a  rational,  scriptural  and  Christian  position,  in  our  judg- 
ment, we  most  religiously  avow.  But,  before  proceeding  further,  let  us 
summarily  and  distinctly  state  the  premises  already  submitted. 

I.  It  has  been  alleged  that  the  command  to  "  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature"  implies  that  it  must  not  only  be  spoken,  but  written, 
in  the  languages  of  all  nations. 

II.  That  such  was  the  judgment  and  understanding  of  the  apostles 
and  primitive  evangelists  of  Christ,  is  proved  from  the  fact  that  both 
the  apostles  commissioned  by  the  Saviour,  and  certain  evangelists  not 
directly  commissioned  by  him,  both  spoke  and  wrote  the  gospel.  The 
gospels  preserved,  written  by  John,  Mark  and  Luke,  are  imperishable 
monuments  of  this  fact. 

III.  That  Jesus  Christ  commanded  his  communications  to  the 
churches  to  be  written,  and  to  be  carried  by  messengers,  called  in  our 


612 


ADDEESS  TO  THE 


common  version  angels  of  the  churches,  and  to  be  by  them  delivered 
to  the  churches,  is  also  another  evidence  of  the  same  fact. 

IV.  That  the  gospels  and  apostolic  epistles  were  to  be  translated 
into  the  languages  of  the  nations  and  people  to  whom  they  were  sent, 
is  evident  from  the  miraculous  gift  of  tongues  conferred  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  church  in  Jerusalem,  and  continued  to  the  end 
of  the  gospel  ministry,  contained  in  the  inspired  writings.  We  not 
only  observe  that  this  gift  was  instantly  and  simultaneously  bestowed 
on  all  the  apostles,  for  the  purpose  of  translating  the  whole  Christian 
revelation  into  all  the  languages  of  the  people  addressed  by  them,  but 
also  continued  with  them  to  the  end  of  their  lives.  It  was  also  be- 
stowed supernaturally  on  Paul,  born  out  of  due  time,  and  in  a  super- 
abundant degree,  so  that  he  could  speak  in  Gentile  cities,  in  more 
tongues  than  any  other  member  of  those  churches,  though  many  of 
them  also  possessed  this  supernatural  spiritual  endowment  in  eminent 
measures. 

V.  The  necessity  and  importance  of  translations,  in  order  to  the 
ends  of  the  Christian  mission,  is  also  shown  in  the  care  taken  by  all 
the  writers  of  the  New  Testament  to  translate  every  foreign  word 
and  quotation  introduced  into  their  writings.  For  example,  the  word 
Messiah  is  interpreted  to  aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel; 
so  are  the  words  Cephas,  Siloam,  Tahitha,  Elymas,  Talitha-cumi, 
Barnabas,  &c. 

VI .  The  necessity  is  further  shown,  from  the  fact  that  in  the  primi- 
tive churches  there  were  official  translators  immediately  raised  up  for 
the  emergency.  "To  one  class,"  says  Paul,  "is  given  the  gift  of 
tongues;  to  another,  the  interpretation  or  translation  of  tongues." 

VII.  An  apostolic  edict  is  given  by  Paul  on  the  subject  of  in- 
terpretation. 1  Cor.  xix.  27 — "  If  any  man  speak  in  a  foreign  or 
unknown  tongue,  let  it  be  by  two,  or  at  most  by  three  (sentences  at  a 
time),  and  let  one  translate;  but  if  there  be  no  interpreter,  let  him 
keep  silence  in  the  church." 

Are  not  these  conclusive  evidences  that  the  church  of  Christ,  in 
the  discharge  of  its  duties  and  obligations,  must  have  interpreters 
of  Scripture,  and  make  translations  commensurate  with  the  wants  of 
mankind  ? 

Eegarding  this,  henceforth,  as  an  established  point,  we  shall  ad- 
vance another  step  toward  our  goal.  It  is,  perhaps,  rather  a  formality  on 
our  part,  than  a  necessity  imposed  on  us,  to  show  that  we  are  as  much 
obliged,  by  all  the  reasons  and  authority  hitherto  adduced  in  favor 
of  original  translations,  to  amend,  improve  and  correct  obscure,  im- 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


613 


perfect  and  erroneous  versions  of  particular  words  and  passages  in 
existing  translations,  which,  in  the  main,  are  true  to  the  original,  and 
couched  in  terms  well  adapted  to  the  understanding  of  the  reader,  as 
we  are  to  give  new  versions  in  languages  and  dialects  into  which  the 
gospel  has  never  been  introduced. 

But  this,  on  grave  reflection,  must  appear  to  all  a  point  already 
almost,  if  not  altogether,  universally  conceded.  Our  object,  in  the 
preceding  part  of  our  discourse,  (and  a  rather  dry  and  irksome  task  it 
is,)  in  giving  a  summary  view  of  the  labors  of  the  Christian  ministry 
and  the  church,  was  to  show  that  the  necessity  of  amended  versions, 
as  well  as  of  new  versions,  was  felt  and  acted  on  in  every  century  of 
the  Christian  church,  and  by  the  most  enlightened  and  gifted  portions 
of  it.  True,  many  of  these  amended  versions  were  made  from  the 
original  tongues,  but  not  as  the  first  versions  from  these  tongues  were 
made.  These  amending  translators  had  other  versions  from  the  ori- 
ginal, in  the  same  language  or  in  other  languages,  which  they  understood, 
and  with  which  they  compared  their  own  version,  and  were,  more  or 
less,  led  by  them  on  many  occasions,  adopting  the  verbiage  of  their 
predecessors.  It  is  questionable  whether  we  have  ever  had  two  in- 
dependent and  original  versions  in  one  vernacular.  But  this  is  no 
defect  in  them.  It  is  often  an  advantage.  For  in  all  such  cases  we 
have  two  witnesses,  instead  of  one,  of  the  verity  and  appropriateness  of 
the  last  version. 

We  have  only  one  step  further  to  advance  in  this  direction.  We 
must  affirm  the  conviction  that  we  are,  as  Christian  churches,  bound, 
by  the  highest  and  holiest  motives  and  obligations,  to  use  our  best 
endeavors  to  have  the  original  Scriptures  exactly  and  faithfully,  in 
every  particular,  to  the  best  of  our  knowledge  and  belief,  translated  at 
home  and  abroad,  into  the  vernacular,  be  it  what  it  may,  in  which  we 
desire  to  present  them  to  our  fellow-men.  Any  thing  short  of  this 
is  a  sinful  and  most  condemnable  negligence  or  indiffernece.  It  is  a 
clear  and  unambiguous  transgression  of  the  supreme  law  of  Christian 
morality — viz.  "All  things  whatsoever  you  would  that  men  should  do 
to  you,  do  you  even  so  to  them;  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets." 

Speak  to  them  all  that  I  command  thee,"  is  the  oracle  of  God  to  his 
r»rophet.  ''And,"  says  Paul,  ''  the  things  thou  hast  heard  of  me  in 
tne  presence  of  many  witnesses,  the  same  commit  thou  to  faithful  men 
ihat  shall  be  able  to  teach  others  also."  We  must  neither  add  to,  nor 
subtract  from,  the  word  of  Jehovah. 

But  there  is  another  attitude  in  which  this  subject  must  be  placed 
l^efore  our  minds.    Passages  of  Scripture  will,  translated  into  any  one 


614 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


language  in  one  age,  cease  to  be  a  correct  and  intelligible  translation 
to  the  people  of  another  age,  though  speaking,  at  least  in  name,  the 
same  language.  Our  English  versions  demonstrate  this  in  a  very  clear 
and  satisfactory  manner. 

No  one  unskilled  in  the  history  of  our  vernacular  can  easily  appre- 
ciate the  changes  it  has  undergone  during  even  the  last  three  centuries. 
I  will  furnish,  by  way  of  illustration  or  demonstration,  an  example  or 
two  of  these  changes.  "We  shall  first  give  a  specimen  of  the  hundredth 
Psalm,  found  in  the  preface  to  the  English  Hexapla.  It  represents  the 
English  language  five  hundred  years  ago : — 

"Mirthes  to  God  al  erthe  that  es 
Serves  to  louerd  in  faines. 
In  go  yhe  al  in  his  siht, 
In  gladnes  that  is  so  briht. 
Whites  that  louerd  God  is  he  thus, 
Hs  us  made  and  our  self  noht  us, 
His  foke  and  shep  of  his  fode: 
In  gos  his  yhates  that  are  gode : 
In  schrift  his  worches  believe, 
In  ympnes  to  him  yhe  schrive 
Heryhes  his  name  for  louerde  his  honde 
In  al  his  merci  do  in  strende  and  strende." 

In  1380,  Wicklifi"e's  version,  now  before  me,  gives  the  Lord's  Prayer 
— Matt.  vi.  9 — in  the  following  orthography  and  orthoepy : — 

"  Oure  fadir  that  art  in  heuenes,  halowid  be  thi  name,  thi  kingdom  come,  to  be  thi 
wille  don  in  erthe  as  in  heuene,  geve  to  us  this  day  oure  breed,  ouir  other  substaune« 
forgeue  to  vs  oure  dettis,  as  we  forguen  to  oure  dettouris,  lede  us  not  into  temptacion ; 
but  delyuer  us  from  yuel,  amen." 

We  shall  now  add  a  specimen  from  the  Rheims  translation,  first  given 
to  the  world  in  1582 — two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  years  ago.  It  is 
the  commission,  Matthew  xxviii. : — 

Al  power  is  giun  to  me  in  heauen  and  in  erthe;  going  therfore  teach  ye  al  nations, 
baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  sonne  and  of  the  holy  ghost,  teach- 
ing them  to  obserue  al  things  vvhatsoeuer  I  haue  commanded  you,  and  behold  I  am 
with  you  al  daies." 

We  need  scarcely  say  that  such  a  style  is  awkward,  uncouth  and 
unintelligible ;  and  had  the  holy  oracles  continued  in  this  garb  till  this 
day,  our  language  and  literature,  in  other  departments,  having  pro- 
gressed as  they  have,  the  reading  and  the  study  of  them  would  have 
been  very  uninteresting  and  unacceptable  to  our  contemporaries.  If 
in  no  other  respect  faulty — if  every  word  and  sentence  had  been  a 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


615 


perfect  exponent  of  the  mind  of  the  Holy  Spirit — other  terms  and  for- 
mulas of  speech,  or,  in  other  words,  a  new  and  modernized  version  of 
them,  would  have  been  indispensable. 

But  this  is  not  all  that  may  or  must  be  urged  in  behalf  of  a  new,  or, 
rather,  an  improved  version.  The  word  of  God  was  not,  a  century  or  two 
since,  as  well  understood  as  it  is  now,  by  the  most  enlightened  and  re- 
formed portions  of  Protestant  Christendom.  Biblical  literature,  criticism 
an^,  science,  since  the  times  of  Wickliffe,  Tindal,  Luther,  Calvin, 
Zuinglius,  Beza,  Cranmer,  Coverdale,  Archbishop  Parker,  Edward  VI. 
or  James  I.,  have  greatly  advanced.  The  last  seventy-five  years  have 
contributed  more  to  real  Biblical  learning — have  given  to  the  Christian 
church  larger  and  better  means  of  translating  the  original  Scriptures 
■ — than  had  accumulated  from  the  days  of  Tindal  to  the  era  of  the 
American  Kevolution. 

We  are,  therefore,  better  prepared  to  give  a  correct  and  faithful 
version  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  at  this  day,  than  at  any  former 
period  since  the  revival  of  literature.  We  have  also  a  more  correct 
original  from  which  to  translate,  than  they  had  at  any  former  period 
since  the  art  of  printing  was  invented.  The  Greek  text  of  the  New 
Testament  has  been  subjected  to  the  most  laborious  investigation  ;  and, 
after  the  most  rigid  scrutiny  and  comparison,  a  much  more  accurate 
original  has  been  obtained.  With  these  advantages  in  our  favor,  we 
are  better  furnished  than  at  any  former  period  to  enter  upon  a  work 
of  such  awful  and  momentous  magnitude  and  responsibility. 

But,  that  we  may  be  more  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  its 
necessity  and  importance,  we  must  give  a  few  samples  of  the  aberrations 
and  mistranslations  of  the  commonly  received  version.  And  first,  we 
shall  read  the  usual  title-page  of  the  Christian  Scriptures :  The  New 
Testament  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesu^  Christ^ 

While  all  the  words  found  in  this  title  are  found  in  the  text  itself, 
the  title  itself  is  no  part  of  the  text  or  volume,  but  is  an  ecclesiastical 
name  put  upon  it,  as  an  index  to  its  contents.  It  is,  therefore,  an  index 
to  the  mind  of  those  who  prefixed  it  to  the  volume,  and  much  aflfects 
their  claim  to  the  possession  of  a  clear  and  comprehensive  knowledge 
of  the  writings  it  contains.  I  assume  that  no  one,  well  instructed  in 
the  volume  itself,  could  have  given  to  it  this  title. 

The  term  testament  or  will,  with  us,  is  now,  and  for  a  long  time  has 
been,  appropriated  to  one  particular  instrument,  setting  forth  the  final 
disposition  of  a  person's  estate.  But  in  that  case  it  indicates  that  the 
testator  is  dead,  and  that  this  is  the  last  disposition  he  has  made  of 
his  efi'ects.    How,  then,  does  this  apply  to  a  volume  containing  not  only 


616 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


the  memoirs  of  Jesus,  but  the  writings  of  six  of  his  apostles  and  two 
of  his  evangelists  ?  Again  :  Is  the  testator  dead  ?  That  he  died,  is 
true ;  and  that  he  continued  dead  a  few  hours,  is  also  true ;  but  that 
he  ever  lives  and  never  shall  die,  is  most  gloriously  true.  Again  :  Did 
Jesus,  during  his  life,  make  two  testaments  or  two  wills?  This  is 
called,  not  a  New  Testament,  but  the  New  Testament,  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Where  learned  they  the  contents  of  the  Old  Testament  of  Jesus  Christ  ? 
Have  we  a  copy  of  his  first  will  ?  Now,  if  no  such  document  ever  was, 
is  now,  or  shall  hereafter  be,  why,  in  reason  and  in  truth,  give  it  such 
a  cognomen,  rather  such  a  misnomer  ?  There  is  no  such  will  or  testa- 
ment on  earth  as  the  New  Testament  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ.  He  never  made  an  old  one,  and  he  is  not  dead,  but  lives  for- 
ever, a  priest  upon  his  throne,  not  according  to  the  law  of  a  fleshly 
commandment,  but  according  to  the  power  of  an  endless  life. 

Nor  would  it  relieve  the  title-page  from  the  error  had  it  been 
styled  The  New  Covenant  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,''  for  that  would 
indicate  that  he  is  the  author  of  two  covenants,  which  is  not  the  fact. 
There  is  no  old  covenant  of  Jesus  Christ,  and,  consequently,  there  can- 
not be  a  new  covenant  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  might,  with  both  grammatical 
and  logical  propriety,  be  called  the  New  Institution,  or  the  New  Cove- 
nant by  Jesus  Christ.  But  that,  too,  is  an  exceptionable  use  "of  the 
figure  synecdoche,  which  puts  a  part  for  the  whole,  or  the  whole  for  a 
part.  To  get  rid  of  a  consecrated  error  is  sometimes  very  difficult. 
We  have  chosen  to  designate  the  book  "  The  Sacred  Writings 
OF  the  Apostles  and  Evangelists  of  Jesus  Christ."  This  is 
strictly  true,  and,  in  our  judgment,  enough.  True,  we  may,  after  a 
good  example  found  in  Acts  vii.,  briefly  call  the  whole  volume  ''The 
Living  Oracles." 

It  would  be  important,  could  we  classify  under  appropriate  heads  the 
different  species  of  subordinate  errors  found  in  the  common  version; 
but  in  such  a  discourse  as  the  present  we  could  not  give  a  specimen 
of  each.  It  would  require  much  more  time  than  we  have  at  command. 
I  shall,  therefore,  as  they  occur,  give  a  few  cases,  that  may  suggest  to 
some  one  of  more  leisure  and  capacity  the  necessity  and  expediency  of 
such  an  efi'ort. 

First,  then,  we  shall  name  and  illustrate  an  instance  or  two  in 
the  use  of  the  Greek  article,  ho,  hee,  to.  Though  apparently  a  small 
matter,  there  are  some  serious  errors  in  the  use  of  the  article.  A 
Greek  noun,  with  the  article,  is  always  definite;  without  it,  always 
indefinite. 

In  Matthew  xvi.  13-18,  the  moral  and  evangelical  foundation  of  the 


AMi3RICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


617 


Christian  church  is  stated  by  its  founder  in  a  very  formal  and  inspiring 
manner.  The  question  was,  Whom  do  men  say  that  I  the  Son  of  man 
amf"  Peter  responds,  ''Some  say  John  the  Baptist,  others  Elijah, 
others  Jeremiah,  or  some  one  of  the  prophets."  ''But  whom  do  you  say 
that  I  am  ?"  Simon  Peter  answering  said,  "  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  living  God." 

After  pronouncing  a  benediction  on  Peter,  he  said  to  him,  "Thou 
art  a  stone,  and  on  this  rock  I  will  build  my  church,  and  the  gates  of 
hades  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  Now,  to  have  answered  this  in- 
teresting interrogatory  by  saying,  "Thou  art  Christ,  the  Son  of  the 
living  God,"  would  have  given  quite  a  different  idea.  It  would  have 
been  merely  a  personal  name,  as  Sergius  Paulus,  John  Mark,  or  Simon 
Peter.  And  so  has  the  common  version  made  it  on  another  and  a  very 
important  occasion.  1  Cor.  iii.  11,  Paul  is  made  to  say,  "Other  founda- 
tion can  no  man  lay  than  that  which  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ." 
The  church,  according  to  this  version,  is  built  upon  Jesus  Christ,  and 
not  upon  the  faith  ''Jesus  is  the  Christ,''  as  the  true  original  reading 
and  the  common  Greek  text  have  it.*  Now,  there  is  just  as  much 
difference  between  Jesus  Christ  and  Jesus  the  Christ,  as  between  John 
Baptist  and  John  the  Baptist,  Paul  Apostle  and  Paul  the  apostle,  George 
king  and  George  the  king.  It  may  be  loyalty  or  treason,  as  the  case 
may  be,  to  say  George  is  the  king;  but  neither  the  one  nor  the  other 
to  call  any  man  George  King.  Infidels  talk  fluently  concerning  Jesus 
Christ,  but  they  will  not,  in  the  proper  meaning  of  the  terms,  say, 
"Jesics  is  the  Christ'' 

The  same  law  of  interpretation  applies  to  the  use  of  the  word  spirit. 
Pneuma  is  simply  spirit;  to  pneuina,  the  Spirit. 

Frequently  "  the  Holy  Spirit"  and  "  the  Spirit"  indicate  the  same 
person.  But  without  the  article,  unless  some  qualifying  adjunct  be 
annexed,  it  means  simply  a  spirit,  or  the  spirit  of  a  man,  and  not  the 
Spirit  of  God. 

There  is  no  article  in  the  following  instances: — "If  any  fellowship 
of  the  spirit;"  "Which  worship  God  in  the  spirit;"  "You  live  in  the 
spirit;"  "Through  sanctification  of  the  spirit;"  "He  carried  me  away 
in  the  spirit;"  "Immediately  I  was  in  the  spirit."  In  all  these  cases, 
there  being  no  article  in  the  original,  there  should  be  no  definite  article 
in  the  translation. 

But  in  the  following  cases  the  article  is  found : — "  The  sword  of  the 


*  Griesbach  repudiates  the  article ;  but  the  best  Greek  texts  have  it.  It  is  ho  Christo* 
in  my  London  Polyglot,  as  it  is  in  Matthew  xvi.  17,  in  the  received  text. 


618 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


Spirit;"  "The  fruit  of  the  Spirit;"  "Let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit 
saith;"  "Keep  by  the  Holy  Spirit  which  dwelleth  in  us."  In  these 
and  many  such  the  article  indicates  that  it  is  the  Spirit  of  God  that  ia 
meant.  "That  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit."  This  is  a  strik- 
ing example ;  the  Spirit  here  means  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God ;  and  that 
wh  xh  is  born  of  it  is  spirit,  a  new  spirit,  or  a  new  heart,  disposition, 
or  temper. 

But  there  is  a  perspicacity  of  mind  and  a  delicacy  of  taste  essential 
to  a  precise  and  accurate  transference  of  some  ideas  from  one  tongue 
to  another,  which  is  peculiarly  necessary  in  the  case  of  translating 
Greek  nouns  without  an  article,  and  for  which  no  rules  of  grammar 
can  be  furnished. 

Our  translators  did  not  always  display  this  endowment  in  an  eminent 
degree.  They  sometimes  employed  an  indefinite  article  where  they 
should  have  employed  none.  The  dullest  mind  can  perceive  a  difference 
between  man  without  an  article  and  man  with  an  article,  between 
assuming  that  man  cannot  do  this,  and  that  a  man  cannot  do  this; 
betv/een  God  and  a  god,  between  Spirit  and  a  spirit. 

I  will  instance  this  in  the  common  version: — "God  is  a  Spirit,  and 
they  that  worship  him  must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth."  We 
would  render  it,  God  is  Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  him  must  worship 
him  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  For  thus  translating  it  we  might  even  plead 
the  example  of  the  same  translators  in  other  cases.  For  example,  they 
render  two  passages  from  the  same  apostle  as  I  have  done  this.  "God 
is  love,"  and  not,  God  is  a  love;  God  is  light,  and  not,  God  is  a  light. 
And  even  in  the  example  cited  from  John  iv.  24,  they  translate  in  this 
manner: — "They  that  worship  him  must  worship  him  in  spirit  and 
truth;"  not  in  a  spirit  and  in  a  truth. 

We  might  say  as  they  do  of  God — an  angel  is  a  spirit,  but  not  that  an 
angel  is  Spirit.  To  say  of  an  angel  that  he  is  Spirit  is  by  far  too  august 
and  sublime.    God  alone  is  Spirit,  God  alone  is  light,  God  alone  is  love. 

We  shall  next  give  an  instance  or  two  of  the  mistranslation  of  par- 
ticles or  the  connectives  of  speech.  Take,  for  example,  the  particle  ote^ 
which  occurs  many  hundred  times  in  the  apostolic  writings.  The 
more  frequent  meanings  of  this  conjunction  are,  because,  for,  that. 
Which  of  these  three  shall  be  preferred  in  any  given  passage  must 
always  be  discretionary  with  the  translator,  and  must  therefore  depend 
upon  his  judgment  and  taste.  But  the  sense  of  some  passages  is 
very  much  changed  or  impaired  by  the  selection  of  an  unsuitable  re- 
presentative of  the  original.  Hence  we  have  long  since  decided  that 
no  translatoi,  however  extensive  his  learning,  however  well  read  iL 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


619 


other  books,  however  orthodox  his  creed  in  religion,  can  suitably  trans- 
late the  New  Testament,  unless  he  have  a  thorough  and  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  the  whole  remedial  scheme  of  the  gospel,  and  the  pecu- 
liar genius,  spirit  and  character  of  the  Christian  institution.  Take  an 
example  or  two  in  the  case  of  this  particle  ote: — 

Paul  to  the  Eomans,  ch.  viii.  20,  21: — "For  the  creature  (more 
properly  mankind)  was  made  subject  to  frailty,  (rather  than  vanity,) 
not  willingly,  but  by  him  who  subjected  them  to  it,  in  hope  {because) 
that  mankind  will  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the 
glorious  freedom  of  the  sons  of  God."  How  awkward  to  say,  in  hope 
because,  instead  of,  in  hope  that ! 

Another  instance  to  the  same  effect  is  found  in  1  John  iii.  2.  In 
the  common  version: — ''We  know  not  what  we  shall  be;  but  we  know 
that  when  he  appeareth  we  shall  be  like  him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as 
he  is."  This  version  indicates  that  our  simply  seeing  him  would  trans- 
form us  into  his  image.  This  is  a  new  revelation.  But  how  much 
more  in  harmony  with  the  whole  record  to  prefer  that  to  for,  and  read 
it,  We  know  that  we  shall  be  like  him — that  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is ! 
There  are  hundreds  of  instances  of  this  use  of  ote  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment and  Septuagint. 

In  the  gender  of  pronouns  we  have  also  sundry  analogies.  A  very 
remarkable  instance  occurs  in  Dr.  George  Campbell's  version  of  the 
beginning  of  John.  In  his  version  it  reads,  "  In  the  beginning  was 
the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  This 
was  in  the  beginning  with  God.  All  things  were  made  by  it,  and 
without  it  not  a  single  creature  was  made.  In  it  was  life,  and  the  Ufa 
was  the  light  of  men." 

Now,  although  the  laws  of  the  language  will  justify  the  translation, 
^Hhis  was  in  the  beginning,"  there  appears  no  necessity  to  change  the 
masculine  into  the  neuter,  especially  as  Dr.  Campbell  regards  an  allu- 
sion here  to  the  eighth  chapter  of  Proverbs,  to  the  beautiful  personifi- 
cation of  wisdom  given  in  that  passage.  The  laws  of  rhetoric,  as  well 
as  of  grammar,  will  justify  our  translating  it  in  harmony  with  the  gender 
of  Logos,  and  with  the  style  of  Solomon  in  the  passage  alluded  to.  I 
always  dissent  from  this  learned,  candid  and  elegant  translator  of  the 
four  Gospels  with  great  reluctance,  and  with  much  diffidence.  Still,  in 
this  case,  as  the  Word  became  incarnate  and  dwelt  among  us,  and  was 
"God  manifest  in  the  flesh,"  I  prefer,  after  considerable  hesitancy,  to 
render  it,  "All  things  were  made  by  him,  and  without  him  was  not 
any  thing  made  that  was  made.  In  him  was  life,  and  the  life  was  the 
light  of  men."    Paul  seems  to  rise  above  himself  when  the  uncreated 


620 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


glories  of  this  most  sublime  personage  appear  before  bis  mind.  "Foi 
by  bim,"  says  be,  ''were  all  tbings  created  tbat  are  in  tbe  heavens  and 
that  are  on  tbe  earth,  visible  and  invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones,  or 
dominions,  or  principalities,  or  powers;  all  things  were  created  by  him, 
and  for  him;  and  he  is  before  all  things,  and  by  him  all  things  consist; 
and  he  is  the  head  of  the  body,  the  church,  the  beginning,  the  first- 
fruits  from  the  dead,  that  in  all  things  he  might  have  the  pre-eminence: 
for  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in  him  all  fulness  should  dwell." 

But  we  must  notice  another  species  of  errors,  in  the  use  of  the 
auxiliary  verbs  and  signs  of  moods  and  tenses  in  our  language,  when 
translating  certain  forms  of  the  original  verbs.  For  example,  may  and 
can,  might,  could,  would  and  should,  are  used  in  our  potential  mood, 
for  the  present  and  imperfect  tenses.  Now,  as  there  is  nothing  properly 
corresponding  with  these  in  the  original  G-reek,  it  becomes  discretionary 
with  the  translator  whether  he  choose  in  one  tense  may  or  can,  and 
in  another  tense  might,  could,  would,  or  should;  yet  we  know  that  there 
is  a  very  great  difference  of  meaning,  with  us,  between  may  and  musty 
should  and  could,  &c. 

We  have  one  example  of  this,  wliich,  though  not  directly  in  point, 
illustrates  how  much  depends  on  the  use  of  proper  exponents  of  these 
varieties  in  harmony  with  the  sense  or  scope  of  a  passage.  We  read 
it  in  Hebrews  ii.  9: — "But  we  see  Jesus,  who  was  made  but  little  lower 
than  the  angels,  for  the  suffering  of  death,  crowned  with  glory  and 
honor,  that  he  by  the  grace  of  God  should  taste  death  for  every  man." 
Who  can  see  any  necessity  for  being  crowned  with  glory  and  honor 
that  he  should  taste  death,  or  in  order  to  his  tasting  death,  for  all  ? 
But,  properly  rendered,  we  see  a  great  propriety  in  his  being  crowned 
with  glory  and  honor  after  he  had  tasted  death  for  all,  as  Professor 
Stuart  very  properly  renders  the  passage. 

But  I  have  wearied  you  and  myself  in  thus  rambling  over  so  large 
a  field,  and  shall  only,  on  this  topic,  add  another  chapter  of  errors  and 
difficulties  into  which  most  translators  have  occasionally  fallen;  and 
that  is  in  the  subject  of  punctuation.  The  original  text  itself  is  fre- 
quently erroneously  pointed,  and,  of  course,  the  translation  is  likely  to 
be  also  at  fault  in  this  particular.  As  a  specimen  of  this,  and  to  illus- 
trate this  species  of  error,  I  will  only  quote  one  passage  from  the  New 
Testament.  It  is  found  in  John  v.  31-47 : — "  If  I  bear  witness  of 
myself,  my  witness  is  not  true.  There  is  another  that  beareth  witness 
of  me,  and  I  know  that  the  witness  which  he  witnesseth  of  me  is  true. 
Ye  sent  unto  John,  and  he  bare  witness  unto  the  truth.  But  I  receive 
not  testimony  from  man;  but  these  things  I  say,  that  ye  might  be 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


621 


saved.  He  was  a  turning  and  a  shining  light;  and  ye  were  willing, 
for  a  season  to  rejoice  in  his  light.  But  I  have  greater  witness  than 
that  of  John ;  for  the  works  which  the  Father  hath  given  me  to  finish, 
the  same  works  that  I  do,  bear  witness  of  me,  that  the  Father  hath 
sent  me.  And  the  Father  himself  which  hath  sent  me,  hath  borne 
witness  of  me.  Ye  have  neither  heard  his  voice  at  any  time,  nor  seen 
his  shape.  And  ye  have  not  his  word  abiding  in  you ;  for  whom  he 
hath  sent,  him  ye  believe  not.  Search  the  Scriptures,  for  in  them  ye 
think  ye  have  eternal  life,  and  they  are  they  which  testify  of  me. 
And  ye  will  not  come  to  me,  that  ye  might  have  life.  I  receive  not 
honor  from  men ;  but  I  know  you,  that  ye  have  not  the  love  of  God  in 
you.  I  am  come  in  my  Father's  name,  and  ye  receive  me  not:  if 
another  shall  come  in  his  own  name,  him  ye  will  receive.  How  can 
you  believe,  which  receive  honor  one  of  another,  and  seek  not  the  honor 
that  Cometh  from  God  only  ?  Do  not  think  that  I  will  accuse  you  to 
the  Father ;  there  is  one  that  accuseth  you,  even  Moses,  in  whom  y& 
trust ;  for  had  ye  believed  Moses,  ye  would  have  believed  me,  for  he 
wrote  of  me.  But  if  ye  believe  not  his  writings,  how  shall  ye  believe 
my  words  ?"  Though  as  read  from  the  common  version  this  address 
loses  much  of  its  beauty,  propriety  and  force,  it  is  one  of  the  most 
jlear,  forcible  and  irresistible  appeals  to  the  understanding  and  con- 
science ever  spoken. 

1st.  He  modestly  waives  his  own  testimony  in  his  own  case,  and 
submits  this  rule  of  moral  decorum :  that,  in  any  matter  of  superlative 
importance,  no  one  should  use  or  depend  on  his  own  testimony  in  sup- 
port of  his  own  pretensions,  and  that  any  one  so  acting  would  be  un- 
worthy of  credit. 

2d.  He  alleges  the  testimony  of  John  the  Harbinger  as  his  first 
argument,  and  enforces  the  regard  due  to  it  from  their  own  respect  for 
John,  without  any  commendation  of  John  to  them  on  his  part:— ''You 
yourselves,  unprompted  by  me,  sent  to  John  to  know  what  he  had  to 
say  of  himself  and  the  Messiah — consequently,  of  my  claims  and  pre- 
tensions." 

3d.  After  commanding  John  as  a  brilliant  and  shining  luminary,  he 
modestly  waives  even  his  testimony,  and  urges  a  greater  evidence — 
though,  themselves  being  judges,  John's  testimony  was  the  best  human 
testimony  ever  submitted. 

4th.  He  appeals  to  his  miracles,  which  they  and  their  contemporaries 
had  already  witnessed  and  tested,  thereby  showing  and  conceding  that 
any  one  claiming  credit  on  supernatural  pretensions  ought  to  submit 
supernatural  evidence.    He  then  recognizes  and  establishes  a  great  law 


622 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


of  evidence,  viz. :  that  the  proposition  and  the  proof  should  be  homo- 
geneous ;  physical  propositions,  physical  evidence ;  moral  propositions, 
moral  evidence;  supernatural  propositions,  supernatural  evidence. 

5th.  He  then  adduces  the  literal  oracle  of  God  himself,  that  God  had 
actually,  sensibly  and  audibly  recognized  him,  and  at  one  and  the  same 
time  addressed  their  eyes  and  their  ears.  "  Did  you  never  hear  his 
voice,"  saying,  "This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased"? 
"Did  you  never  see' his  form?"  alluding  to  the  symbol  of  the  descending 
dove,  and  its  perching  itself  on  his  head,  in  the  presence  of  the  people. 
But  who  could  learn  this  lesson  from  the  common  translations?  The 
common  version,  and  almost  every  other,  makes  our  Saviour  speak  like 
a  simpleton.  After  appealing  to  his  Father's  positive  oral  testimony 
in  his  favor  at  the  Jordan,  in  the  presence  of  a  crowd,  they  make  him 
say,  "  You  have  never,  at  any  time,  heard  his  voice."  After  appealing 
to  the  symbol  of  the  Divine  Spirit  in  the  descending  dove,  they  make 
him  say,  "You  have  never,  at  any  time,  seen  his  form,"  or  any  outward 
manifestation  of  him.  And,  further  still,  he  is  made  to  contradict  a 
fact,  in  saying  that  they  had  not  heard  his  declaration — that  they  had 
"  not  his  word  abiding  in  them;"  whereas,  placed  interrogatively,  it  is, 
"Have  you  forgotten  his  declaration,"  'This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in 
whom  I  am  well  pleased'?" 

Their  position  was  that  they  had  never  heard  God  speak  of  him ; 
that  they  had  never  seen  him  attested  by  any  outward  mark  ;  that  they 
had  no  recollection  of  ever  hearing  any  confirmation  of  his  pretensions. 
To  all  which  he,  knowing  their  thoughts  and  reasonings,  said,  "  Have 
you  never  heard  his  voice  ?  Have  you  never  seen  his  form  ?  Have 
you  forgotten  what  he  said?"* 

The  Saviour's  climax  in  the  argument  is  beautifully  simple  and 
sublime :  1.  The  testimony  of  John.  2.  His  miracles.  3.  The  public 
acknowledgment  of  his  Father.    4.  The  visible  descent  of  the  Holy 

*  I  have  examined  the  London  Polyglot,  presented  to  me  in  Scotland,  containing  a 
Hebrew  version  of  the  New  Testament,  the  received  Greek,  the  Latin  Vulgate,  the 
French,  the  German,  the  Spanish,  the  Italian  and  the  English.  I  have  also  examined 
the  English  Hexapla,  containing  the  versions  of  WickliflFe,  Tindal,  Cranmer,  Geneva, 
Rheims,  and  the  common  version — also  the  improved  Greek  text  of  Griesbach,  of  Scholz, 
of  Mills,  and  sundry  Latin  versions,  especially  that  of  Beza,  of  .Junius  and  Tremellius, 
with  other  English  versions:  and,  judging  from  their  punctuation,  not  one  of  them  hae 
properly  understood  this  speech.  Dr.  George  Campbell  is  the  only  one,  in  my  judgment, 
down  to  his  time,  that  properly  comprehended  and  puncLuated  it. 

So  far  as  my  library  extends,  he  has  been  followed,  in  this  punctuation,  only  by  the 
authors  of  the  Bible  containing  twenty  thousand  emendations,  by  Boothroyd,  and  partly 
by  Thompson. 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


623 


Spirit.  5.  And,  finally,  the  Jewish  Scriptures — the  law  and  the  pro- 
phets. The  common  version  mistakes  the  imperative  mood  for  the  in- 
dicative. It  reads,  "  Search  the  Scriptures,"  instead  of,  "  Ye  do  search 
the  Scriptures."    ''Now,"  adds  he,  "these  are  they  that  testify  of  me." 

He  then  explains  their  unbelief.  They  would  not  come  to  him ;  they 
would  not  place  themselves  under  his  guidance,  because — 1.  He  did  not 
seek  the  honor  of  this  world.  2.  They  were  destitute  of  the  love  of 
God.  3.  He  came  only  in  his  Father's  name,  seeking  his  glory.  4. 
They  believed  not  the  writings  of  Moses,  while  professing  that  they 
did.  5.  Their  stubborn  prejudices,  growing  out  of  their  notions  of  a 
worldly  Messiah,  a  temporal  political  kingdom  and  a  national  hierarchy. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  enumerate  the  errors  that  have  resulted  from 
mis-punctuation,  as  well  as  from  the  other  sources  already  named. 
Punctuation  is  a  species  of  commentary,  serving  a  purpose  kindred  to 
that  of  capitals,  chapters,  verses  and  paragraphs.  Much  depends  upon 
all  these,  as  respects  our  proper  understanding  and  translating  these 
ancient  and  venerable  documents.  We  have  in  the  above  example  selected 
a  strong  case,  and  expatiated  upon  it  at  length,  to  show  how  much 
depends  on  the  proper  use  of  points  in  giving  significance  to  words. 

Another  class  of  errors  in  the  common  version,  of  still  more  serious 
importance,  in  cases  of  words  having  different  significations,  is  the  se- 
lection of  inapposite  and  inadequate  terms  to  express  the  meaning  of 
the  spirit,  and  the  design  of  the  original  writer.  In  illustration  of 
this,  we  will  select  the  word  paradeetos,  so  frequently  occurring  in  our 
Lord's  valedictory  address  to  his  apostles,  reported  by  John,  chapters 
xiv.,  XV.,  xvi.  In  the  common  version  it  is  represented  by  the  word 
Comforter  in  this  discourse,  and  in  another  place  by  the  term  advo- 
cate. By  Dr.  George  Campbell  it  is  here  translated  monitor,  and,  by 
some  other  translators,  instructor,  guide,  <^c. 

Now,  of  all  these  terms,  advocate  is  the  most  comprehensive  and 
generic.  An  advocate  may  guide,  instruct,  admonish,  comfort,  console, 
&c.,  but  a  comforter  does  not  generally  assume  the  character  of  an  ad- 
vocate, &c.  But  we  have  more  to  commend  its  preference  in  this  con- 
text than  its  generic  import.  The  work  assigned  to  him  by  our  Saviour 
decides  his  claims  as  paramount.  He  promises  that  when  the  Holy 
Spirit  comes  to  act  under  Christ's  own  mission,  he  will  reprove,  convince 
and  teach  the  world.  He  will  show  its  sin,  Christ's  righteousness  and 
God's  judgment.  He  will  guide  his  apostles  into  all  the  truth.  He 
will  bring  all  things  that  he  had  taught  them  to  their  remembrance. 
He  will  glorify  the  Messiah  in  all  h:.s  personal  and  official  relations. 
There  is,  indeed,  an  inelegance,  an  impropriety,  in  the  sentence  an 


624 


ADDEESS  TO  THE 


rendered  in  King  James's  version: — ''He  will  reprove  the  world  of  b.^. 
of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment."  It  might  be  asked,  how  could  he 
reprove  the  world  of  righteousness?  That  he  might  reprove  the  world 
because  of  its  unrighteousness  is  evident.  That  he  might  convict  the 
world  of  its  sin  and  unrighteousness,  and  convince  it  of  Christ's  right- 
eousness and  of  the  ultimate  judgment,  we  all  can  conceive. 

I  dwell  on  this  passage  with  the  more  emphasis,  because  the  office  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  the  most  essential  doctrine  of  the  whole  evangelical  dis- 
pensation. The  mission  of  the  Lord  Jesus  by  his  Father,  and  the  mission 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  by  the  Son,  after  his  glorification  in  the  heavens,  are 
the  two  most  grand  and  sublime  missions  in  the  annals  of  time  or  in 
the  ages  of  eternity.  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world  to  reveal  the 
character  of  his  Father.  The  Holy  Spirit  came  to  the  church  to  glorify 
Christ  and  to  sanctify  his  people.  Jesus  came  to  magnify  Jehovah's 
empire,  to  sustain  his  law  and  government,  and  to  make  them  honor- 
able to  the  universe — to  make  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  and  to  obtain 
an  eternal  redemption  for  us.  But  the  Spirit  came  to  be  the  Holy 
Guest  of  the  house  that  Jesus  built  for  a  habitation  of  God  through 
the  Spirit.  He  is  another  advocate  for  God,  another  demonstratior  of 
his  infinite,  eternal  and  immutable  love. 

The  memorable  Pentecost  after  Christ's  ascension  and  coronation  as 
Lord  of  all  fully  attests  the  truth  and  reveals  the  import  of  the  special 
advocacy  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  opened  the  new  reign  with  brilliant 
displays  of  his  glory,  gave  great  eloquence  to  his  apostles,  and  confirmed 
his  pretensions  and  their  mission  by  a  power  that  brought  three  thou- 
sand Jews  to  do  homage  at  his  feet. 

We  have  dwelt  upon  this  error,  not  so  much  because  of  its  mere 
verbal  inaccuracy  and  incompetency  to  indicate  the  mind  of  the  Spirit, 
but  because  a  most  solemn  and  sublime  fact  is  involved  in  it,  which, 
when  developed  and  established,  trenches  far  into  the  territories  of  a 
cold  Unitarian  rationalism,  and  also  invades  the  wide  dominions  of  a 
frenzied  enthusiasm. 

If  any  one,  however,  should  question  its  philological  propriety,  I  will 
refer  him  to  the  fact  that  the  whole  family  of  paradeetos  is  translated, 
by  even  King  James's  authority,  in  keeping  with  these  views.  Thus, 
the  verb  parakaleoo  is  rendered  to  call  for,  to  invite,  to  exhort,  to  ad- 
monish, to  persuade,  to  implore,  to  beseech,  to  console.  And  its  verbal 
parakleesis  is  also  rendered  a  calling  for,  an  invitation,  a  teaching;  and 
parakleeios  (1  John  i.  2)  is  rendered  an  advocate.  But  no  one  term 
fully  and  adequately  expresses  all  that  is  comprehended  in  the  mission 
and  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  remedial  dj»-y,€n8ation.    It  not 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


625 


only  imparted  all  spiritual  gifts  to  the  apostles,  prophets  and  Jewish 
evangelists  of  Christ,  but  in  becoming  the  Holy  Guest  of  the  church 
he  animates,  purifies  and  comforts  it  with  all  his  illuminating,  reno- 
vating and  sanctifying  efficacy. 

But  there  are  other  sources  of  error,  growing  out  of  the  fearful 
apostasy  which  has  spread  its  sable  wings  and  its  leaden  sceptre  over 
a  slumbering  world.  The  progress  in  Bible- translating,  in  Biblical 
criticism,  in  liberal  principles,  in  the  free  discussion  of  all  questions 
concerning  state  and  church  polity,  has,  more  or  less,  broken  the  spell 
of  human  authority,  roused  the  long-latent  energies  of  the  human 
mind,  and  begotten  and  cherished  a  spirit  of  inquiry  before  which 
truth  and  virtue  alone  can  stand  erect,  with  a  portly  mien,  an  un- 
blenching  eye  and  an  unfaltering  tongue.  Errors  long  consecrated  in 
hallowed  fanes,  backed  by  monarchical  and  papal  authority,  lauded 
by  lordly  bishops,  canonized  by  hoary  rabbis  in  solemn  conclaves,  and 
confirmed  by  the  decrees  of  oecumenical  councils,  are  being  disrobed 
of  all  their  factitious  ornaments  and  exposed  in  their  naked  deformity 
to  the  wondering  gaze  of  a  long  insulted  and  degraded  people.  The 
inquiry  of  the  people  is  beginning  to  be.  What  is  truth  ?  not.  Who  says 
so?  What  say  the  oracles  of  God?  not.  What  council  has  so  decided? 
We  must  be  judged  every  man  for  himself.  We  shall,  therefore,  judge 
for  ourselves. 

The  Christian  mind,  since  the  era  of  Protestantism,  has  been  ad- 
vancing with  a  slow  but  steady  pace,  an  onward  and  an  upward  pro- 
gress. Its  noble  and  splendid  victories  in  physical  science,  in  useful 
and  ornamental  arts,  in  free  government  and  in  social  institutions, 
have  increased  its  courage,  animated  its  hopes  and  emboldened  its 
eff"orts  to  find  its  proper  eminence.  It  has  not  yet  fixed  its  own  destiny, 
limited  its  own  aspirations,  nor  stipulated  its  subordination  to  any 
human  arbitrament. 

In  the  department  of  religion  and  divine  obligation  it  has  tried 
every  form  of  ecclesiastical  polity,  every  human  constitution  and  variety 
of  partisan  and  schismatic  theology,  and  every  scheme  of  propagating 
its  own  peculiar  tenets.  Nor  has  it  yet  found  a  safe  and  sure  haven  in 
which  to  anchor,  in  hope  of  coming  safely  to  land.  It  will  not  sur- 
render nor  capitulate  on  any  terms  dishonorable  to  its  own  dignity,  nor 
compromise  its  convictions  for  the  sake  of  popular  applause. 

The  questions  of  the  present  day  are  more  grave  and  momentous,  in 
their  bearings  on  church  and  state,  than  any  questions  propounded  and 
discussed  in  former  times.  Even  the  very  text  of  the  Holy  Bible  has 
been  submitted  to  a  more  severe  ordeal  and  test  than  at  any  former 

40 


626 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


time.  And  that  the  holy  oracles  of  salvation  shall  go  forth  in  their 
primitive  purity  into  all  lands  and  languages  is  now  firmly  decided  by 
the  purest,  most  enlightened,  most  generous  and  noble-hearted  men  in 
the  world.  Hence  the  inquiry  for  the  old  puths — the  ancient  land- 
marks of  truth  and  error. 

You,  my  Christian  brethren,  assembled  here  on  the  present  occasion 
in  one  of  the  noblest  causes  that  ever  engaged  the  human  faculties  or 
fired  with  pure  devotion  the  human  heart,  have  in  your  horizon  the 
illustrious  aim  of  giving  to  the  world  abroad  a  pure  and  faithful  trans- 
lation of  the  living  oracles.  You  will  have  no  fellowship  with  any 
compromise — with  any  scheme  that  merely  builds  up  a  party,  or  seeks 
the  applause  of  those  who  have,  for  the  sake  of  ''a  fair  show  in  the 
flesh,"  done  homage  at  the  shrine  or  yielded  to  the  false  oratory  and 
special  pleadings  of  a  self-seeking,  a  self-preferring,  a  self-aggrandizing 
spirit.  You  will  show  no  partiality  for  consecrated  error  because  of 
the  good  and  learned  and  charitable  people  who  advocate  it,  or  because 
of  the  flatteries  of  those  who  fear  your  example  as  weakening  their 
authority  and  impairing  their  hold  on  the  smiles  of  the  world. 

You  are  determined  to  carry  the  work  of  translation  to  its  proper 
metes  and  boundaries.  You  will  have  no  privileged,  canonized  and 
time-consecrated  terms,  exempted  by  prescription,  privilege  or  con- 
cession from  the  tests  of  language,  the  canons  of  criticism  and  the 
laws  of  interpretation.  The  most  consecrated  ecclesiastical  terms — 
the  aristocracy  of  terminology — occasionally,  too,  the  strongholds  of 
error — you  will  not  exempt  from  the  statutes  of  interpretation,  from 
the  umpirage  of  lexicography.  You  will  pass  no  special  statute  in 
favor  of  the  two  houses  of  baptizo  and  rantizo,  nor  grant  aristocratic 
exemptions  and  privileges  to  either,  but  will  bring  them  into  court 
and  give  them  a  fair  trial,  by  the  canons  and  laws  of  criticism,  before 
the  high  tribunal  of  inspired  ap  jstles  and  prophets. 

That  class  of  errors  which  gxves  the  particular  currency  of  one  age 
the  power  to  nullify  the  legitimate  and  constitutional  currency  of 
another  will  receive  no  favor  at  your  hands.  For  why  should  ordi- 
nances prescribed  by  Divine  authority  be  reversed,  altered,  amended 
or  adjusted  by  any  human  tribunal  to  suit  the  prejudice  or  caprice  of 
worldly  conformity?  This  species  of  Protestant  Popery  is  just  as 
abhorrent  to  your  morals,  to  reason  and  revelation,  as  any  other  form 
of  it. 

Let  us,  then,  still  more  gravely  look  at  the  issues  to  be  made  on  the 
present  occasion.  Protestant  Christendom  has  acknowledged  one  faith, 
one  Lord,  +wo  baptisms,  many  Lord's  tables,  and  several  forms  of 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


627 


church  polity  growing  out  of  these  unfortunate  and  unhallowed  tradi- 
tions; and  one  of  the  capital  devices  of  Satan  is  to  blink  some 
matters  of  grave  moment  and  give  others  a  factitious  importance. 

Positive  ordinances  are  belittled  by  most  parties  who  have  substi- 
tuted human  institutions  for  divine  enactments.  They  enthrone  their 
beau-ideal  of  the  Christian  virtues  under  the  name  of  "Christian 
Charity,"  and  desecrate  divine  ordinances  under  the  name  of  "Rites 
and  Ceremonies."  But  let  me  say  it  once  for  all,  and  most  emphatic- 
oily,  that  Divine  ordinances  are  the  very  marrow  and  fatness  of  the 
Christian  institution — the  embodiment  of  its  spiritual  promises,  joys 
and  consolations.  They  are  like  the  sun,  moon  and  stars,  those  Divine 
ordinances  of  nature  in  which  and  through  which  God  communicates 
light  and  life  and  health  to  the  world.  They  are  as  the  dew,  and  the 
sunshine,  and  the  early  and  the  latter  rain,  to  our  hills  and  valleys, 
that  make  them  verdant  and  fruitful,  and  vocal  with  the  praise  of  the 
Lord. 

Zeal  for  Divine  ordinances  is  the  best  criterion,  and  always  was 
the  most  conclusive  test,  of  a  standing  or  a  falling  church.  The  Lord, 
by  Malachi,  said  to  the  Jewish  community  in  their  decline,  "From 
the  days  of  your  fathers  you  are  gone  away  from  mine  ordinances, 
and  have  not  kept  them.  Return  unto  me,  and  I  will  return  unto  you, 
eaith  Jehovah."  The  highest  commendation  that  could  be  given  of 
Zacharias  and  Elizabeth,  the  parents  of  the  Baptist,  was  that  they 
"  were  blameless  observers  of  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of 
the  Lord."  What  then  pleased  the  Lord  will  please  him  now.  The 
ordinances  of  sun,  moon  and  stars  differ  from  one  another.  They  are, 
indeed,  all  luminaries.  Each  one  of  them,  however,  has  its  own  mag- 
nitude and  its  specific  use,  as  well  as  its  own  position  in  the  universe. 
So  of  the  oi^dinances  of  grace.  They  are  all  fraught  with  blessings  to 
the  intelligent  believing  recipients  of  them ;  but  each  one  of  them  has 
its  proper  place  and  its  peculiar  influence  upon  those  who  scripturally 
submit  to  it.  But  out  of  that  place  they  are  unmeaning  rites  and 
useless  ceremonies.  They  alike  mock  God  and  the  recipients  of  them. 
They,  therefore,  not  only  glorify  the  wisdom  and  grace  of  God,  who 
scripturally  teach  and  dispense  them,  but  also  promote  the  sanctifica- 
tion  and  happiness  of  those  who  receive  them.  "Therefore,"  says  the 
Great  Teacher,  "  whosoever  shall  violate,  and  cause  others  to  violate, 
one  of  the  least  of  these  my  precepts,  shall  be  of  no  account  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven ;  but  whosoever  shall  do  and  teach  them  shall  be 
of  great  esteem  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

in  speaking  of  the  classification  of  errors  of  translation,  we  left  for 


628 


ADDEESS  TO  THE 


special  consideration  one  class  of  errors  whicli,  with  the  members  of 
the  Bible  Union,  at  this  peculiar  crisis,  is  worthy  of  special  regard. 
It  is  that  to  which  your  new  institution,  my  Christian  friends,  owes 
its  origin. 

You  and  those  who  have  compelled  you  to  form  a  separate  and 
distinct  organization  alike  agree  as  to  the  necessity  for  an  improved 
version.  You  do  not  say  a  new,  an  absolutely  new,  version ;  nor  have 
I  ever  supposed  such  a  thing  necessary  or  desirable.  I,  as  well  as 
you,  love  the  Anglo-Saxon  Bible  style;  and  who  that  has  read  it 
from  infancy  to  manhood  does  not  love  it  ?  Love  it,  I  say ;  not  merely 
admire  its  simplicity,  its  force,  its  beauty,  its  easy  apprehension,  but 
delight  in  its  charms,  and  in  its  thousand  agreeable  associations  in  our 
memories  and  in  our  hearts. 

They,  too,  from  whom  you  have  been  compelled  to  separate  in  this 
particular  work  admire  and  love  it. 

I  have  long  regretted  that  most  of  our  approved  versions,  as  they 
are  called,  should  have  needlessly  changed  the  style  and  language  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  of  King  James.  My  views  are  that  no  change  should 
be  made  but  such  as  faithfulness  to  the  original  requires.  True,  indeed, 
there  are  many  antique,  quaint  and  ungrammatical  phrases,  such 
as,  "We  do  you  to  wit;"  ''I  trow  not;"  "Our  Father  which  art  in 
heaven ;"  "  He  purgeth  it,  that  it  may  bring  forth  more  fruit,"  &c., 
which  a  moderate  complaisance  to  grammar  and  literary  taste  would 
correct  or  amend.  But,  while  tithing  these  as  "  mint,  anise  and 
cummin,"  we  would  rather  call  your  attention  to  the  weightier  matters 
of  the  common  version. 

Its  authors,  indeed,  much  more  deserve  the  character  of  judicious 
copyists  than  that  of  learned  and  independent  translators.  King  James 
and  his  ecclesiastical  courtiers  were  much  more  in  love  with  Geneva 
than  Jerusalem,  and  the  translators  very  happily  copied  and  anglicised 
the  Geneva  version,  and  paid  a  due  degree  of  reverence  to  his  majesty's 
inhibition  from  touching  with  their  unclean  hands  the  old-fashioned  and 
canonized  "ecclesiastical  words;"  and  by  these  means,  as  faithful 
servants  of  his  majesty,  they  left  in  Greek,  or  in  Geneva  style,  hosts  of 
words,  with  the  whole  baptizo  family,  unamended  and  untranslated. 

That  rantizo  and  baptizo  are  Greek  words,  wanting  only  half  a 
letter,  no  man  of  self-respect  and  of  literary  pretensions  will  deny. 
And  that  they  are  both  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  Levitical  law, 
is  universally  conceded.  But  our  pedobaptist  friends  are  slow  to, 
learn  that  in  not  one  instance  in  the  whole  Septuagint  version  are 
baptizo  and  rantizo  interchanged.    Their  families  were  never  on 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


629 


friendly  terms  of  intercommunication.  They  lived  together  for  fifteea 
hundred  years  and  never  once  intermarried,  nor  did  baptizo  ever 
employ  rantizo,  nor  rantizo  baptizo,  down  to  the  forty-third  genera- 
tion, to  do  for  one  another  any  one  service.  Nor  did  any  Jew,  from 
Moses  to  Christ,  rantize  by  baptizing,  or  baptize  by  rantizing.  In 
English,  no  Jew  ever  once  tried  to  dip  by  sprinkling,  or  to  sprinkle 
by  dipping.  This  incontrovertible  fact,  in  a  law  which  contained 
many  typical  observances  of  the  greatest  exactness,  must  stand  through 
all  coming  time,  as  it  has  stood  through  all  past  time,  an  irrefragable 
evidence  of  the  folly  or  weakness  of  any  one  presuming  that  these  two 
words  can,  by  any  grammatical,  logical  or  even  rhetorical  possibility, 
indicate  one  and  the  same  thing. 

This  fact  is,  with  us,  most  conclusive  and  satisfactory  proof  that  no 
man  can  be  a  faithful  and  competent  translator  of  the  Divine  oracles, 
in  an  age  of  controversy,  as  to  the  initiatory  action  which  Christ  com- 
manded, who  does  not  select  a  term  to  represent  it  in  the  language 
into  which  he  translates,  as  definite,  precise  and  immutable  as  the 
original  term  baptizo;  and  that  the  Latin  immerse,  and  the  Saxon 
dippan,  from  the  Greek  dupto,  to  dive  or  dip,  do  exactly  represent 
the  original  Greek,  there  cannot  be  the  shadow  of  a  doubt.  There  is 
no  need  whatever  to  multiply  proof  beyond  this  single  fact,  although 
we  have  volumes  of  evidence  at  our  command. 

With  us  it  is,  at  best,  but  a  waste  of  time  to  argue  that  we  never 
can  have  a  faithful,  true  and  intelligible  version  of  the  Scriptures 
until  this  word  is  thus  translated.  Every  intelligent  Baptist,  every 
well-educated  man  of  no  religious  party,  knows  this  to  be  a  fact — a 
fact  as  true  and  veritable  as  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ.  And  shall 
we,  knowing  this,  presume,  before  heaven  and  earth,  to  give  to  the 
world,  or  to  circulate  through  the  Christian  church,  a  false  or  an 
equivocal  translation,  through  the  fear  of  men,  or  that  lame  and  blind 
charity  which  yields  to  the  unreasonable  prejudices  of  society  and 
covets  the  honor  that  comes  from  man,  as  necessary  to  aid  either  the 
Holy  Spirit  or  the  oracles  of  God  in  the  work  of  converting  sinners  to 
God  or  the  church  from  her  idolatry  ? 

To  assume,  as  some  of  our  Baptist  brethren  have  virtually  assumed, 
that  baptize  is  an  English  word,  and  not  a  translation  of  a  Greek  word, 
is  to  say  that  the  whole  New  Testament  is  translated  whenever  the 
Greek  words  are  printed  or  written  in  Roman  characters.  This  is, 
so  far  as  I  now  remember  its  details,  the  pith  of  the  whole  contro- 
versy at  the  late  meeting  of  the  American  and  Foreign  Bible  Society, 
iu  this  city. 


630 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


We  sometimes  transfer  and  naturalize  words,  as  we  transfer  men 
from  one  nation  to  another ;  but  then  we  do  not  say  that  every  natu- 
ralized or  adopted  citizen  has  been  translated  from  Europe  or  Asia 
into  America,  as  Enoch  and  Elijah  were  translated  to  heaven.  The 
Eomans,  from  whom  we  got  the  word  immersion,  did  not  transfer  it 
from  the  Greek  language.  It  was,  with  them,  a  translation  of  hajp- 
tisma ;  and  can  we  adopt  this  translation  from  the  Eomans,  and  then 
call  both  it  and  the  word  which  it  represents  a  translation  from  the 
Greek  into  our  proper  vernacular? 

But,  waiving,  on  the  present  occasion,  any  discussion  of  the  merits 
of  this  question — any  attempt  to  show  that  in  the  judgment  of  the 
whole  literary  world  the  term  baptizo  was  translated  by  the  Romans 
immergo,  and  that  immerse  is  a  verbal  from  immergo,  ages  since 
adopted  into  our  language,  and  used  as  synonymous  with  dip,  another 
naturalized  Greek  word,  transmitted  to  us  from,  our  Saxon  forefathers, 
the  meaning  of  which  every  child  in  Great  Britain  and  in  the  United 
States  understands  as  well  as  it  does  the  words  bread  and  water — we 
proceed  to  state  that  the  terms  church,  conversation,  communion,  fel- 
lowship, repentance,  charity,  bishop,  deacon,  presbytery,  angel,  covenant, 
testament,  &c.  demand  the  profound  consideratioD  of  modern  trans- 
lators, as  much  as  this  now-a-days  Irtigated  sectarian  word  baptism. 

We  want  no  special,  sectarian  or  national  translation  of  the  living 
oracles.  We  ardently  desire  a  perspicuous,  definite,  forcible  and 
elegant  version  of  the  book  of  life.  For  this  great  work  we  should 
desire  more  than  the  concurrence  and  co-operation  of  the  whole 
Christian  world,  in  its  modern  import;  we  should  desire  to  have 
Jews,  Greeks,  Romanists,  Protestants,  and  even  well-educated  anti- 
quaries, and  literary  and  moral  skeptics,  if  they  could  be  found.  But 
this  would  be  Utopianism — a  chimerical  hope.  Of  "  the  whole  Chris- 
tian world"  we  could  not  interest  even  the  section  called  Protestant 
to  unite  with  us.  From  the  galleries,  from  the  high  seats  of  the  modern 
synagogues  of  Protestant  Christendom,  the  seven  demons  that  pander 
to  that  trinity  of  lusts  and  passions  called  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  the 
lusts  of  the  eye  and  the  pride  of  life  have  not  yet  been  exorcised. 
There  is  too  much  of  the  world  in  the  bosom  of  the  Protestant  section 
of  Christendom.  What,  then,  must  be  done?  Sit  down  upon  the  bank 
of  the  river  of  Babylon  and  wait  till  its  waters  fail — till  its  channel 
be  dry? 

No !  You  say,  No !  by  no  means  !  Rather  let  the  Baptist  portion  of 
Christendom,  without  respect  to  its  private  opinions,  come  together, 
virith  its  chosen  men  all.  And  make  a  Baptist  Bible  ?  What  I  a  Baptist 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


631 


Bible!    Yes !  if  it  should  so  happen  that  Gods  Bible  and  the  Baptist 
Bible  be  one  and  the  same  book. 

But  we  can  furnish  a  version  which  we  Can  sustain  by  the  testimony 
of  the  mighty  dead,  and  by  a  portion  of  the  living  mighty  men,  of  the 
anti-Baptist  Christendom.  I  will  go  one  step  higher  and  affirm  that 
we  Baptists,  General  and  Particular,  Old  School  and  New  School,  Re- 
form and  anti-Reform,  Orthodox  and  Heterodox,  can  make  just  as  good, 
as  true,  as  faithful,  as  exact,  as  elegant,  a  new  version,  or  an  improved 
version,  out  of  the  pedorantist  or  anti-Baptist  versions,  emendations, 
disquisitions  and  criticisms  now  at  this  moment  extant,  as  we  could 
make  were  we  all,  with  one  accord  and  in  one  place,  to  meet  and  sit 
upon  the  original  text,  in  grave  deliberation,  for  seven  long  years. 
This  is  my  belief,  opinion,  conviction,  assurance,  or  whatever  else  you 
may  choose  to  call  it. 

But  we  regret  to  learn  that  not  even  the  Baptists  can  be  induced  to  . 
come  together  in  one  fraternal  phalanx  to  achieve  this  great  and  noble 
object.  Since  my  arrival  in  this  city  I  have  been  informed  that  there  are 
some  of  them  warmly  opposed  to  it — that  even  tracts  and  pamphlets 
have  been  issued  and  put  into  circulation  against  an  improved  version 
of  the  living  oracles.  Two  of  these  now  lie  before  me.  They  were 
presented  to  me  in  answer  to  my  inquiry  for  the  reasons  why  the  whole 
Baptist  community  did  not  make  it  a  common  cause  and  come  up  as 
one  man  to  the  work.  One  of  them  enumerates  no  less  than  ten  reasons 
against  an  attempt  to  prepare  a  new  version,  and  from  a  quarter  that 
I  could  not  have  anticipated.  Its  eminent  author,  in  the  form  of  a 
very  learned  and  laborious  volume  against  Romanism,  stands  in  my 
library  on  the  same  shelf  with  my  Debate  with  Bishop  Purcell  of 
Cincinnati  on  the  same  subject.  And  how  can  it  be,  I  asked  myself, 
that  he  should  now  stand  with  that  party  in  opposing  a  new  and  im- 
proved version,  in  our  own  language,  of  the  words  of  eternal  life  ?  I 
opened  it  with  much  interest,  curious  to  have  this  mystery  revealed. 
To  its  title-page  my  attention  was  instantly  turned,  and  fixed  upon  its 
remarkable  motto — ''The  old-fashioned  Bible."  While  pondering 
upon  the  author's  design  in  this  strange  motto,  I  hastily  turned  to  its 
last  page,  and  again  read, — 

"  The  old-fashioned  Bible,  the  dear  blessed  Bible, 
The  family  Bible,  that  lay  on  the  stand." 

''  is  this,"  said  I  to  myself,  ''an  ad  captandum  vulgics,  a  lure  for  the 
unwary  reader,  or  the  great  argument  for  the  inviolability  and  im- 
mortality of  King  James's  version  ?"    I  dared  not,  till  I  had  read  it 


632 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


through,  answer  this  first  inquiry.  I  had  no  sooner  glanced  through 
its  ten  arguments  than  my  eyes  were  opened.  The  spirit  of  the  motto 
is  the  soul  of  its  ten  arguments.  Its  body,  or  substance,  is,  "The 
purpose"  to  have  and  to  introduce  a  new  version  ''is  fraught  with 
injury"  and  ruin  to  the  Baptists.  Alas  for  the  feeble  Baptists,  if 
a  new  version  is  fraught  with  injury  and  ruin  to  the  denomina- 
tion !  But,  combining  his  logic  and  rhetoric  in  two  lines,  he  finds  their 
salvation  in 

"  The  old-fashioned  Bible,  the  dear  blessed  Bible, 

The  family  Bible,  that  lay  on  the  stand." 

After  a  moment's  reflection,  it  occurred  to  me  that  not  only  the  motto, 
but  the  whole  ten  arguments,  in  their  soul,  body  and  spirit,  were  as 
good  against  a  new  version  in  the  days  of  Tindal  as  now,  and  will  be 
as  good,  as  sound,  as  conclusive,  against  a  new  version,  against  every 
change  which  has  been,  is  now  or  will  hereafter  be  proposed,  through 
all  coming  time. 

From  the  printing  of  Tindal's  version  till  that  of  James's  version, 
there  was  a  copy  of  the  Bible  in  many  Christian  families,  and  some 
of  them  lay  on  a  stand.  Now,  on  the  first  motion,  in  the  fatherland, 
to  have  an  improved  version,  had  the  author  of  the  '^Ten  Heasons" 
been  then  living  and  consulted,  he  would  have  raised  the  tune  of  the 
"  old-fashioned  Bible  that  lay  on  the  stand,"  and  for  this  good  and 
sound  reason — that  good  sense  and  good  logic  are  immutably  the 
same,  yesterday,  to-day  and  to-morrow.  If  an  old-fashioned  Bible 
lying  one  year,  or  one  century,  on  a  stand,  be  a  sound  and  satisfactory 
argument  against  a  new  version  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  it  wiU  forever 
be  an  invincible  argument  against  any  correction,  emendation  or  change 
whatever. 

The  ten  reasons  given  in  this  pamphlet  of  six-and-thirty  pages, 
arithmetically  enumerated  and  logically  arranged,  are  a  mere  dilution 
or  expansion  of  this  one  popular  and  prolific  syllogism. 

It  is  again  presented  in  the  following  words: — The  mere  purpose 
to  have  a  new  version  is  ''  fraught  with  injury  to  the  denomination" — 
"destructive  of  brotherly  love  and  harmony" — "suicidal  to  the  Ame- 
rican and  Foreign  Bible  Society" — "  and  utterly  uncalled  for  by  any 
consideration  of  principle  or  of  duty."  These  are  the  foui  cardinal 
points  to  which  are  respectively  directed  the  ten  reasons. 

The  ten  reasons  are,  indeed,  essentially,  one  and  all,  political  or  de- 
nominational. The  glory,  honor  and  integrity  of  the  Baptist  denomi- 
nation, it  would  appear,  are  much  more,  in  the  eye  and  heart  of  their 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


633 


author,  than  the  importance  or  value  of  a  pure  and  faithful,  a  cleax 
and  intelligible,  translation  of  the  oracles  of  God.  This  I  hope  is  not 
80.  But  he  writes  and  reasons  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it  appear 
so,  and  thus  injures  his  own  reputation  much  more  than  he  can  impede 
the  glorious  enterprise.  For  this  cannot  fail.  Heaven  being  assuredly 
on  its  side. 

Is  ow,  the  case  stands  thus  : — The  common  version  was  gotten  up  some 
two  and  a  half  centuries  since,  under  prelatical,  hierarchical  and  royal 
patronage  and  restrictions.  The  vernacular  of  that  day,  spoken  and 
written,  was,  in  orthography,  punctuation,  and  in  much  of  its  common 
wording,  quite  different  from  that  of  the  present  day.  The  know- 
ledge of  the  original  tongues  then  possessed,  was  proportionally  more 
than  two  centuries  behind  that  of  the  present  day,  and  their  general 
literature  and  science  were  still  more  deficient. 

Since  that  day,  there  have  been  many  changes  in  the  common  ver- 
sion in  the  use  of  capitals,  points,  verses,  sections,  paragraphs ;  some  of 
which  materially  affect  the  sense;  and,  indeed,  all  of  them  are  a  species 
of  notes  and  comments  of  human  authority.  By  whose  authority  they 
were  made,  few  can  now  say.  But  if  there  were  any  good  reason  or 
logic  in  favor  of  these  changes,  that  same  good  reason  and  logic  demand 
their  continuance  though  made  without  the  authority  of  King  James 
and  his  forty-seven  chosen  men.  But  if  the  authority  of  King  James 
and  his  hierarchical  counsellors  be  still  paramount  authority  in  the 
conscience  of  such  men  as  the  author  of  the  Ten  Reasons,  then  they 
should  repudiate  all  the  improvements  already  made,  and  restore  the 
identical  version  of  King  James,  letter  and  point,  for  this  good  reason, 
that  "he  who  keeps  the  whole  law  and  yet  offends  in  one  point  is 
guilty  of  all."  Nor  ought  they  to  translate  one  word  untranslated  by 
these  elect  translators — not  one  single  amen,  anathema  or  maranatha. 
But  who  will  stand  up  in  defence  of  such  a  position  ? 

If  God  values  and  will  sanction  and  fulfil  every  jot  and  tittle  of  his 
law ;  if  he  commanded  Moses  to  see  that  he  made  all  things  connected 
with  the  tabernacle  and  its  service — even  to  the  sockets  and  the  tenons 
of  its  boards,  and  to  the  loops  and  selvedges  of  its  curtains  —  ac- 
cording to  a  pattern  showed  him  in  the  mount;  and  if  the  same 
spirit  animated  and  guided  the  Jews  in  their  best  days,  insomuch 
that  they  counted  the  words  and  even  the  letters  of  the  Pentateuch, 
lest  one  error  should  find  its  way  into  the  sacred  text ;  and  if  after 
the  return  from  their  captivity  in  Babylon,  where  their  language 
was  corrupted,  Ezra  the  scribe  in  reading  their  law  interpreted 
every  unknovn  term  and  repudiated  every  corruption  of  the  text,  so 


634 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


that  he  caused  the  people  to  hear  and  to  understand  the  oracles  of 
Jehovah,  shall  we,  to  whom  God  has  committed  the  Christian  oracles^ 
the  holy  gospel  and  its  sublime  institutions,  suffer  it  to  be  corrupted, 
obscured  or  rendered  unintelligible,  without  the  most  strenuous 
effort  on  our  part  to  preserve  uncorrupted  the  precious  deposit,  and 
to  extend  to  our  contemporaries  and  transmit  to  posterity  all  "the 
words  of  this  life?"  Forbid  it,  reason,  conscience  and  heaven  !  Has  not 
Jehovah  said  that  ''though  heaven  be  his  throne,  and  earth  his  foot- 
stool, though  he  is  the  high  and  lofty  One  that  inhabits  eternity, 
to  this  man  he  will  look  with  complacency,  even  to  him  that  is  of  an 
humble  and  a  contrite  spirit,  and  who  trembles  at  his  word"  ? 

The  good  sense  and  good  taste  of  the  Grecian  poet  Homer  are 
never  so  impressively  displayed  as  when  introducing,  as  he  often  does, 
the  gods  of  Pagan  superstition  into  his  poem.  He  always  suffers  them, 
without  note  or  comment,  to  express  themselves  in  their  own  terms. 
I  could  wish  that  our  venerable  translators  had  been  as  judicious  and 
as  discreet  as  this  great  Grecian  bard. 

But  why  argue  this  case  any  further  ?  The  many  marginal  readings 
of  recondite  terms  in  our  numerous  and  various  commentaries,  and  in 
our  family  Bibles  and  Testaments,  the  labors  of  innumerable  pulpit 
orators  and  lecturers,  expended  every  Lord's  day  in  correcting  and 
explaining  the  text  in  all  the  synagogues  in  our  land ;  alike  demon- 
strate the  need  of  a  new  version,  and  our  ability  to  furnish  it, — first 
by  selecting  a  well-authenticated  original  text,  and  then  by  giving  an 
exact,  perspicuous  and  faithful  translation  of  it,  and  that,  too,  in  a 
pure,  chaste  and  elegant  Anglo-Saxon  style.  That  our  age  and  con- 
temporaries are  equal  to  this,  is  quite  as  evident  as  that  the  Greek 
and  Roman  classics  have  been,  and  can  again  be,  so  translated  by  com- 
petent scholars. 

But,  according  to  certain  learned  doctors,  the  time  has  not  yet 
come.  No;  nor  will  the  time  which  they  have  imagined  ever  come. 
In  all  past  versions  the  dignitaries,  the  prelates,  the  hierarchs,  were 
compelled  into  the  measure — though  sometimes  resisting  till  their 
thrones  were  in  danger.  They  too,  like  some  of  our  modern  doctors, 
could  see  nothing  but  denominational  ruin,  dissension  and  disaster  in 
such  an  undertaking;  and,  still  worse,  they  could  neither  see  nor 
feel  any  principle,  duty  or  obligation  requiring  them  to  give  the  full 
sense  of  God's  book,  and,  Ezra-like,  to  make  the  people  understand  the 
sacred  text. 

But  the  impending  difficulties  are  somewhat  magnified  in  the  ima- 
gination of  such  desponding  doctors.  The  pedobaptiat  clergy  are  much 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


635 


nnrp  friondlv  \n  n>>  ipninei'.sioni.its  iliaii  foniioiiv.  Tliey  are  sharing 
with  us  their  literary  and  ecclesiastic  honors.  They  desire  an  amicable 
and  honorable  truce,  a  cessation  of  sectarian  strife,  a  generous  league 
under  the  serene  and  pacific  motto,  "  Let  me  alone,  and  I  will  let  thee 
alone;  for  we  are  brethren." 

But  this  denominational  harmony,  ch^.rity  and  truce  will  soon  pass 
away  should  we  have  a  new  version.  No,  my  good  brethren;  no  such 
thing.  They  will  respect  you  more.  They  will  in  heart  and  con- 
science honor  you  more.  And,  better  still,  you  will  be  much  more 
honorable  in  your  own  eyes,  and  in  the  eyes  of  Him  who  looks  not  on 
the  outward  professions,  but  upon  the  heart. 

But  I  have  not  yet  said  that  which  I  wish  most  emphatically  to  say. 
I  want  no  Baptist  Bible  in  their  sense  of  that  cognomen.  Nor  would  I 
plead  for  a  new  version  for  the  sake  of  the  word  immersion.  We  can 
prove  Christian  immersion,  as  Christ's  own  institution,  against  the 
world,  and  that,  too,  from  King  James's  translation.  We  have  done  it 
on  many  occasions. 

No  one  has  paid  less  homage  to  sectarian  tenets,  prejudices  and  par- 
tialities— no  one,  it  has  been  said,  has  more  violently  assailed  the  idols 
of  the  parties — than  your  humble  servant.  I  have  made  myself  vile 
and  heretical  in  the  esteem  of  their  warmest  defenders.  And  what  has 
been  the  result?  My  experience  may  be  profitable  to  others.  A  great 
revolution  has  been  effected,  our  opponents  themselves  being  judges. 
Myriads  and  myriads  have,  through  our  instrumentality  and  that  of 
our  brotherhood,  received  the  gospel  during  the  last  thirty  years. 
And,  strange  to  tell,  our  very  opponents  who  once  accused  us  of  the 
most  heretical  tenets  have  themselves  acknowledged  us  orthodox,  just 
as  orthodox  as  themselves,  in  all  that  is  deemed  vital,  soul-redeeming 
and  soul-transforming  in  the  Christian  doctrine.  It  will  be  so  in  this 
grand  enterprise.  Those  who  deprecate  this  movement,  and  inveigh 
most  loudly  and  bitterly  against  it,  will,  when  it  has  achieved  its  object^ 
acknowledge  its  value,  commend  your  courage  and  magnanimity,  and 
gratefully  regard  you  as  the  benefactors  of  your  age  and  country. 

But  we  must  meet  with  a  firm  reliance  on  the  promise  of  Divine  aid,, 
and  in  an  humble,  sincere  and  prayerful  spirit,  free  from  the  alloy  of 
worldly  policy,  of  fleshly  interests,  of  sectarian  partialities,  with  the 
love  of  truth  and  of  the  God  of  truth  in  our  hearts,  with  the  throne  of 
impartial  and  ultimate  judgment  in  our  eye,  and  concentrate  and  con- 
secrate all  our  learning,  all  our  wisdom,  all  our  patience,  all  our  ener- 
gies and  all  our  devotion  on  the  transcendent  subject. 

And  why  shou'd  we  not?    Is  it  not  expedient?  is  it  not  necessary? 


636 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


is  it  not  essential  to  the  prosperity  of  Zion,  to  the  enlightenment,  the 
consolation,  of  Christians,  to  the  conviction,  the  conversion,  the  sancti- 
fication,  the  salvation,  of  the  Christian  world,  so  called,  and  to  the  illu- 
mination and  rescue  of  Pagandom  from  the  stupidity,  the  degradation, 
the  tyranny,  the  abject  thraldom,  of  the  low,  mean  and  contemptible 
idolatries  of  the  regions  of  darkness  and  the  shadows  of  death,  where 
no  vision  is,  and  the  people  perish  ? 

Let  us,  then,  awake  from  this  state  of  supineness,  cold  indifference, 
sinful  apathy,  reproachful  cowardice,  and,  with  an  ardent  zeal,  a  lively 
hope,  an  assured  confidence  in  God  our  Saviour,  concert,  digest  and 
systematize  a  plan  of  holy  co-operation,  of  well-concerted  action,  of 
successful  effort,  in  this  benevolent,  noble  and  godlike  enterprise. 

Let  us  make  no  truce  with  error,  no  covenant  with  guile,  no  agree- 
ment with  hypocrisy,  no  league  with  the  spirit  of  darkness,  but,  as  sons 
of  light,  put  on  the  armor  of  light,  grasp  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  and 
make  a  courageous,  unanimous  and  brave  assault  on  the  gates  of  dark- 
ness, superstition  and  error. 

And  is  not  the  object,  the  end  in  view,  great,  noble  and  divine?  If 
human  redemption  cost  high  Heaven  so  much  as  the  mission,  humilia- 
tion, degradation  and  sacrifice  of  God's  only-begotten  and  well-beloved 
Son,  to  effect  the  restoration  of  fallen,  ruined,  wretched  man  to  the 
favor  and  complacent  affection  of  his  Father  and  his  God;  if  the  Lord 
'Christ  assumed  our  nature,  bore  our  infirmities,  carried  our  griefs,  ex- 
piated our  guilt  by  the  voluntary  sacrifice  of  himself,  and  descended 
into  the  grave,  the  regions  of  darkness  and  corruption,  that  he  might 
rescue  man  from  eternal  darkness,  from  everlasting  woe ;  if  the  Spirit 
of  wisdom  and  knowledge,  of  counsel  and  might,  the  Spirit  of  the  Father 
and  of  the  Son,  with  all  his  powers  of  knowledge,  wisdom  and  elo- 
quence, became  a  missionary,  sent  by  the  Father  and  the  Son,  to  in- 
spire prophets  and  apostles,  to  animate  saints  and  martyrs,  to  become 
the  holy  guest  of  Christ's  own  mystical  body  the  church,  and  to  sanc- 
tify, purify,  and  ennoble  that  body  with  the  graces  of  wisdom  and 
knowledge,  of  love  and  mercy,  and  to  robe  it  with  the  beauty  of  holi- 
ness, to  adorn  it  with  heavenly  graces,  and  to  present  it  a  pure  and 
holy  church,  without  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  blemish,  before  the  throne 
of  God,  amidst  the  congratulations  and  acclamations  of  heavenly  hosts 
of  wondering,  adoring  and  transported  angels — shall  we,  the  subjects 
of  Almighty  grace,  the  ransomed  sons  of  God,  the  heirs  and  expectants 
of  eternal  glory,  be  selfish,  lukewarm,  cowardly,  faint-hearted  and  de- 
sponding, in  the  work  of  faith,  the  labor  of  love,  the  patience  of  hope, 
for  the  fake  of  a^y  ephemeral  interest,  any  worldly  policy,  any  fleshly 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


63V 


advantage  accruing  from  our  selfishess,  our  carnality,  our  earthly- 
mi  ndedness?    No !  forbid  it,  reason,  conscience,  hope  and  heaven ! 

Now,  all  that  faith  and  hope  and  love  inspire  comes  from  the  oracles 
of  God — comes  through  the  words  and  sentences  of  heaven-inspired 
prophets,  holy  bards,  apostles  and  evangelists,  embalmed  in  Hebrew 
and  Greek.  These  oracles  have  been  committed  to  the  church,  and 
especially  to  the  Baptist  church,  herself  being  judge.  Her  views  of 
Christian  ordinances — not  merely  of  faith,  hope  and  love,  but  of  the 
sealing,  sanctifying,  animating  ordinances  of  the  Christian  institution 
— are,  in  our  best  judgment,  our  most  clear  and  forcible  conviction, 
especially  intrusted  to  the  Baptist  communities.  I  am  aware  that  time 
was  when  she  had  not  one  tolerably -educated  man  in  every  hundred 
of  her  most  enthusiastic,  laborious  and  successful  declaimers  and  pro- 
claimers,  and  that  still  the  proportion  of  such  is  but  small.  But,  since 
the  second  conversion  of  the  pedobaptists  Luther  Rice  and  Adoniram 
Judson^  a  great  change  has  come  upon  the  denomination.  These 
noble,  self-humiliating,  self-denying,  self-sacrificing  spirits  effected  a 
great  revolution  in  the  minds  of  the  denomination.  One  of  them  died 
gloriously  in  the  harness,  dragging  up  the  rugged  cliffs  of  worldly  self- 
ishness and  parsimoniousness  the  car  of  education — literary  and  scien- 
tific education — subordinate  to  evangelical  and  ministerial  education — 
a  martyr,  truly,  in  the  'noble  cause.  Meantime,  his  beloved  brother 
Judson  exiled  himself  from  his  own  beloved  land,  from  all  the  associa- 
tions of  his  youth,  from  all  that  is  dear  to  flesh  and  blood,  and,  in  the 
spirit  of  ancient  times,  cast  his  bread  and  his  life  upon  the  waters  of 
the  mighty  deep,  crossed  the  broad  oceans  of  earth,  and  went  in  quest 
of  the  lost  sheep  amongst  the  mountains  and  valleys  of  Pagan  Asia, 
whence  came  the  word  of  life  to  Europe  and  the  New  World.  Noble 
spirit ! — a  martyr,  too.  Perhaps  he  yet  lives  on  some  sunny  isle 
of  the  wild  ocean,  seeking  to  reinvigorate  his  shattered  frame,  to  reani- 
mate his  fallen  tabernacle,  that  he  may  yet  guide  a  few  more  lost  and 
wandering  pagans  to  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  they  may  be  baptized  in 
the  fountain  of  David's  house  and  drink  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  age 
from  the  golden  chalice  of  everlasting  love.  With  peace  and  love  in 
his  h-eart,  heaven  and  glory  in  his  eye,  we  say,  "  The  Lord  bless  thee,  and 
keep  thee ;  the  Lord  make  his  face  shine  upon  thee,  and  be  gracious  to 
thee;  the  Lord  lift  up  his  countenance  upon  thee,  and  give  thee  peace  !"* 


*  Since  writing  the  preceding  paragraph,  I  have  with  grief  seen  the  melancholy 
announcement  of  the  death  of  the  much-beloved,  admired  and  venerated  Judson.  On 
his  way  to  the  Isle  of  Bourbon,  while  seeking  health,  he  resigned  his  spirit  to  his  Re- 


638 


ADDRESS  TO  THE 


Since,  I  say,  the  converaion  and  self-consecration  of  these  brilliant 
stars  of  the  Baptist  Zion,  the  denomination  has  been  annually  ascend- 
ing in  all  that  gives  strength,  dignity  and  power  to  an  evangelical 
ministry.  Yet  she  is  greatly  in  the  rear  of  some  other  denominations 
in  those  literary  accomplishments,  in  those  scientific  attainments,  that 
give  strength,  eloquence  and  power  to  those  who  lead  the  way  in  the 
paths  of  public  reformation.  Education,  without  grace,  does  nothing 
in  the  kingdom  of  God.  Grace,  with  a  very  little  education,  may,  with 
remarkable  talents,  do  much.  But  the  moral,  the  spiritual,  the  evan- 
gelical power  of  sound  learning,  divine  grace  and  eminent  talents  com- 
bined in  one  person,  who  can  limit  or  define  ? 

Still,  after  all  the  subtractions  which  impartial  reason  and  justice 
can  make,  the  Baptists  are  this  day  in  all  their  force,  in  the  addition 
of  all  their  broken  bands  and  dissociated  fragments,  the  most  numerous, 
the  most  powerful  and  the  most  proselyting  denomination  in  America. 
They  have,  too,  in  their  aggregate,  as  much  talent,  learning,  wealth, 
power,  political,  moral  and  religious,  as  any  other  denomination  in  our 
country,  with  a  little  too  much  w^orldly-mindedness  and  a  too  great  hank- 
ering after  the  idol  called  popularity.  United  in  one  unbroken  phalanx, 
what  might  they  not  accomplish  ?  Were  they  to  go  forth  in  the  armor 
of  light,  with  the  holy  oracles  in  their  hands  and  in  their  hearts,  not 
trammelled  with  the  traditions  of  men,  not  doing  homage  to  the  false 
glosses  and  fanciful  interpretations  of  a  few  rabbis  baptized  in  the 
fountains  of  human  speculations  and  a  false  philosophy,  what  might 
they  not  achieve  ? 

To  conclude — for  we  have  already  transcended  the  narrow  limits 
of  a  fashionable  discourse — having  had  only  a  few  fragments  of  time, 
gathered  up  amidst  many  avocations  and  perplexities,  incident  to  our 
standing  in  too  many  relations  to  society,  I  have,  with  a  free  hand, 
sketched  but  a  few  of  the  many  thoughts  that  are  now  pressing  on  my 
mind  for  utterance. 

Brethren,  the  time  is  short.  Much  is  to  be  done,  much  can  be  done, 
and  much  ought  to  be  done  in  the  great  and  solemn  and  transcendent 


deemer,  and  his  body  to  the  ocean.  His  work  was  done,  and  his  reward  is  sure.  For 
eight-and-thirty  years  he  toiled  as  a  missionary  for  Christ,  and  is  now  entered  into  rest. 

Earth  and  sea  are  spacious  burying-grounds.  But  the  bodies  of  men,  not  their  souls,  re- 
turn to  dust.  The  sleep  of  souls  in  ocean  or  in  earth,  is  the  chaotic  dream  of  sin-stricken 
souls.  "  Bodies  of  the  saints,"  not  souls,  "  came  out  of  their  graves,"  when  the  Messiah 
opened  the  portals  of  heaven  in  rising  from  the  dead.  This  is  an  irrefragable  evidence 
that  "those  who  fall  asleep  in  Jesus  God  will  bring  with  him"  when  he  comes.  Let 
us  await  that  day  with  patience,  and  in  hope  of  "  the  resurrection  of  the  juet." 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION. 


f^ork  of  getting  up  and  consummating  a  perspicuous,  forcible  and  faith- 
ful version  of  the  Word  of  Life,  and  in  presenting  it  to  the  Lord,  his 
cause  and  people. 

Let  us  fear  no  sectarian,  partisan  or  denominational  opposition.  Let 
us  not  cater  to  the  whims,  the  prejudices,  the  pride  or  the  partiality 
of  any  people.  Let  us  not  flatter  the  vain,  the  worldly  or  the  proud, 
but,  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  in  the  love  of  Zion  and  in  the  hope  of  a 
brighter  and  a  better  day,  add  to  our  faith  courage,  to  our  courage  the 
wisdom  of  the  serpent  without  its  venom,  the  harmlessness  of  the  dove 
without  its  timidity,  and,  in  the  humble  and  meek  spirit  of  the  gospel, 
stand  up  courageously,  cordially  and  with  one  consent  for  the  truth, 
the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth;  thus  giving  to  our  con- 
temporaries and  posterity  an  unequivocal  and  noble  proof  of  our  piety, 
benevolence  and  courage.  Not  conferring  with  flesh  and  blood,  but, 
in  the  fear  of  God,  the  love  of  Christ  and  the  hope  of  heaven,  let  us  set 
about  this  grand  and  lofty  enterprise,  pregnant  with  glory  to  God  in 
the  highest  heaven,  peace  on  earth  and  good-will  among  men. 


INDEX. 


A. 

Absolutism,  189. 

Abstract  and  concrete,  221. 

Abussos,  436. 

Adam  and  Eve,  112. 

^sop's  Fables,  319. 

Africa,  a  missionary  field,  528. 

American  Bible  Union  Address,  N.Y.,  600. 

American  society,  50. 

society,  how  to  comprehend,  51. 
Angel,  Bible  origin  of.  387. 
Angles  and  Saxons,  28. 
Anglo-Saxon  language.  Address,  17,  29. 

elements  of  value,  43. 

its  destiny,  85. 

its  history,  38. 

its  merits,  30. 
race,  25. 
religion,  41. 
tongue,  universal,  44. 
Annihilation,  424. 
Antediluvians,  intermarriages,  115. 
Antiquarians,  23. 
Antoinette,  61. 
Arabic  race,  23. 
Asiatics,  470. 
Aurelian,  61. 
Authors  benefactors,  93. 

B. 

Baccalaureate  Address,  1846,  492. 
Baillie,  Bowdler,  &c.,  63. 

Baptizo,"  586. 
Barclay,  Dr.,  527. 
Bethany  College,  origin,  486. 
Bible,  a  book  of  facts,  235. 

for  woman,  55. 

gives  no  theories,  477 

no  perfect  translation,  566. 

of  God,  68. 

reading,  502. 

41 


Bible  spans  the  arch  of  time,  506. 

text-book  at  Bethany,  486. 

the  Palladium,  258. 
Bible  Union  Address,  Memphis,  566. 
Bible  Union,  version  of,  589. 
Biography,  306. 
i  Bishop  Purcell,  483. 
Body,  soul,  and  spirit,  293,  430. 
Breath  of  life,  426. 

Britain  and  America,  tribes  of,  28,  169 
Byron  and  others,  87. 

C. 

Cadmus,  112. 

Cain,  his  case  considered,  323. 
Callings,  most  favorable,  91. 
Campbell,  George,  567. 
Capital  punishment,  Essay,  311 
Catholicism  at  Rome,  173. 
Caucasian  ancestors,  24. 

Mountains,  reason  for,  328. 
Celts,  &c.,  28. 
Centres  and  circles,  163, 
Chaldee  or  Hebrew,  22. 
Civilization,  Christian,  175, 

diversified,  51. 

its  highest  philosophy,  287. 

not  intellectual  culture,  55. 
Church,  its  perfection,  597, 

militant,  570, 

opinion  of  philosophers,  56. 
Christianity  and  the  law,  325. 

Papacy,  and  Pagandom,  372. 
Christian  Missionary  Address,  1858,  616. 

1857,  631. 
1860,  662. 

Christocracy,  498. 
Christ's  resurrection  and  life,  450. 
Chronicles  of  the  Old  World,  111. 
Clergy,  chief  movers  in  colleges,  807. 
Coeval,  missions  and  angels,  576. 
College  of  teachers,  481. 

ft4i 


642 


INDEX. 


Colleges,  address  on,  291. 

their  end  and  design,  490. 

their  importance,  488. 

their  number,  178. 
Combe's  philosophy,  191. 

argument  against,  192. 
Commemorative  institutions,  273,  282,  289 
Commerce,  inland  communication,  496. 

of  our  country,  495. 
Commission  of  apostles,  521. 
Committee  on  spirits,  205. 
Common  schools,  address,  247. 

and  aristocracy,  266. 
Common  version,  633. 

its  errors,  624. 
Communities,  238. 
Conflict  in  America,  500. 
Conscience,  slaves  of,  376. 
Corner-stone  Bethany  College,  485,  489 
Cradle  of  the  Old  World,  24. 
Creation,  act  of  goodness,  180. 

and  creature,  421. 

immensity,  96. 

its  order,  150. 

sublime  subject,  76. 
Creeds  not  demanded,  244, 

proscribed,  310. 
Cretans,  27. 

Cuvier,  Cousin,  &c.,  146,  259. 

D. 

Danton  and  others,  84. 
Daughter,  a  good  one,  71. 
David's  Lord,  535. 
Davis,  clairvoyant,  205. 
Dead  know  nothing,  437. 
Death,  in  what  sense  Adam,  413. 

second,  415. 

sleep,  437. 
Death-penalty,  317. 
Declaration  of  Independence,  42. 
Demonology,  address,  379. 

doctrinal  aspect,  391. 

relation  to  Christ,  396. 
Demons,  ancient  belief,  380. 

an  Eastern  metaphor,  389. 

ghosts  of  the  dead,  384. 

philological  history,  385. 

proof  of  spiritual  system,  393. 
Depart  with  Christ,  440. 
De  propaganda  fide,  517. 


Destiny  of  our  country,  address,  168 
Destruction,  destroy,  texts,  406. 

not  extinction,  410. 

relative  and  absolute,  419. 
Destructionism,  bare  assumption,  422. 

has  no  eternal  punishment,  428y 
I  Destructionists,  404. 
Dick,  Dr.,  on  war,  342. 
Doing  good,  means  of,  44. 
Doubt,  its  age,  122. 
Duelling,  how  stopped,  70, 
Dugald  Stewart,  101. 

E, 

Earth  and  water,  149. 

its  capitals,  521. 
Eclectic  schools,  102. 
Edgeworth,  Miss,  63. 
Educated  mind  governs,  241. 
Education,  an  address,  330. 

defined,  456. 

of  woman,  72. 

true  theory  of,  301. 

what  it  is,  172,  232. 
Egypt  and  tradition,  112. 
Elizabeth  and  other  women,  62. 
Eloquence,  two  kinds,  18. 
Empires  change  masters,  37, 
Endor  and  necromancy,  203, 
Energy,  125. 

England  and  Latin  Church.  42. 

and  the  Bible,  573. 

uneducated,  456. 
Enoch,  110, 

Equality  in  education,  249, 

Essenes,  doctrine  of,  75. 

Eternal  fire,  for  fallen  angels,  426. 

life,  its  nature,  414. 
Europe,  its  political  elements,  62. 
European  society,  three  periods,  68 
Eve,  mother  of  the  race,  57. 

woman,  216. 
Events  change  not,  289. 
Experience  not  universal,  155. 
Extemporaneous  speaking,  19. 
Ezekiel  on  Magog,  26. 

F 

Facts  needed,  not  theories,  236. 
Faith  and  commercial  credit,  848. 


INDEX. 


b43 


Faith  before  philosophy,  114. 

hope,  and  love,  637. 

the  ennobling  faculty,  118. 
Family,  miniature  world,  166. 
Faustina,  beauty  of,  &c.,  60. 
"Fear  not  them  who  kill  the  body,"  424. 
Feast  of  the  mind,  97. 
First  cause,  139. 

man  not  an  infant,  110. 

speech  made,  565. 
Five  primary  books,  242. 
Four  great  empires,  43. 
Fowler's  phrenology,  Combe,  193. 
Frankliu,  139. 
,  Free  discussion,  190. 

thought,  200,  455. 

thought,  whence,  497. 
French  Revolution,  atheism,  87. 

G. 

Gehenna,  436. 

Genius  and  family  of  genii,  76. 

and  humor,  77. 

defined,  74. 
Gentleman,  a  definition,  218. 
Gibbon,  84. 
Gift  of  tongues,  19. 
God  "Father  of  Spirits,"  450. 

is  love,  519. 

is  Spirit,  618. 

rules  by  his  Son,  351. 

spoke  into  being  the  universe,  21. 
G<  .'s  power,  what,  222. 
Gomer,  the  Germans,  25. 
Good  manners,  136 
Gospel,  its  philanthropy,  37. 
Government  without  religion,  87. 
Great  generals,  false  view  of,  92. 

inventors,  218. 
Greek  and  Latin  languages,  40 

compared  with  English,  40. 

philosophy,  101. 
Guizot  and  modern  Europe,  50. 

H. 

Hades,  what  and  where,  433. 
Hazael,  knowledge  of  one's  heart,  62. 
Heart,  cultivated,  70. 
Heaven,  wish  to  look  into,  211. 
Hebrew  and  Greek  languages  died,  577. 


Hebrews'  god,  352. 

Heroes  departed,  Plato  on,  381. 

Herschels,  the  two,  151. 

Hesiod  on  spirits,  381. 

Hexapla,  605. 

"  House  I  live  in,"  256. 

Humanity,  186. 

Human  responsibility,  73. 

Hume,  84. 

I. 

Ignorance  expensive,  251. 
Image  of  God,  294. 

Immersion,  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  593. 
Immersionists,  spiritual  kingdom,  598. 
Importance  of  uniting  the  moral  with  in 

tellectual  culture,  address,  453. 
Independence,  love  of,  376. 
Indian  or  Hindoo,  23. 
Infant-school  education,  480. 
Inferior  masses,  under  rule,  78. 
Infernus,  a  repository,  435. 
Infidelity,  Polytheism,  or  the  Bible,  304. 
Instinct,  116,  117. 
Intellect,  117. 

moral  influences,  90. 
Intellectual  system,  79. 
Intelligence  and  freedom,  254. 
Intermediate  state,  405,  447. 
Ionic  and  Italic  schools,  102,  103,  104. 
Is  moral  philosophy  an  inductive  scienoe ' 

95. 

Isolation  unknown  in  creation,  98. 

J. 

Japheth,  his  enlargement,  26,  27,  40. 

his  patrimony,  373. 
Jerusalem  mission,  523. 
Jews,  Arabs,  Saxons,  peculiarities,  27. 

asked  for  a  king,  349. 

not  missionaries,  568. 

their  fall,  527. 

their  nationality,  25. 
Jeffrey,  Lord,  Edinburgh  Review,  37. 
Jeffrey's  ghost,  204. 

Jones,  Sir  William,  on  the  three  races,  26 
Julia  Maesa,  genius  and  largesses,  60. 
Julius  Caesar,  invaded  Britain,  28. 
Julius,  Dr.,  on  prisons,  252. 
J-uly  4th,  Oration,  367. 


644 


INDEX. 


K. 

Eamea^  465. 
Kill,  right  to,  315. 
Bang,  Celestial,  one,  371. 
Kingdom  of  Christ,  347. 
King  James's  version,  581. 
Knowing  ones,  or  demons,  381. 
BLnowledge,  desire  of,  95. 

is  power,  493. 

man's  faculty  of,  116. 

of  God,  300,  369. 

L. 

Language,  changes,  last   three  hundred 

years,  614. 
dislocated,  286. 
extended  by  commerce,  38. 
for  weal  or  woe,  18. 
index  of  a  people,  576. 
is  pictured  mind,  30. 
its  end,  30. 
its  importance,  19, 
its  origin,  11. 
its  power,  20. 
living,  changes,  603. 
one,  and  will  again  be,  43. 
oral,  285. 

oral  and  written,  17. 
Law,  established  religion,  297. 

of  Moses  on  demonology,  398. 
Laws  of  nature,  continuance,  145. 

of  nature,  assumptions  of,  150. 
Lazarus  and  the  rich  man,  437. 
"Let  there  be  light,"  183. 
Life  and  death,  an  essay,  403. 

and  death,  different  senses,  411. 

Eve's  name,  219. 

is  what,  339. 

spiritual,  416. 
"stake  in  society,  340. 

union  with  God,  410. 
Light,  on  fourth  day  of  creation,  368. 

reflex,  of  Christianity,  346. 
Literature  and  science,  129. 

its  humanities,  182. 

science,  and  art,  address,  125. 
Locke,  465. 

Locke's  generalization,  130. 
London  Missionary  Society,  517. 
Lordship  conferred  on  man,  369. 
Love,  is  what,  223. 


Luther  and  Papal  Rome,  42. 
Lyell  on  geological  changes,  146. 

M. 

Machpelah  Cave,  281. 
Magdalen  hospitals,  397. 
Majorities  and  minorities,  586. 
Man,  a  thinking  being,  453. 

a  triune  personality,  293. 

earth's  greatest  tenantry,  230. 

fallen,  214. 

his  day  of  creation,  215. 

his  relations,  123. 

in  the  image  of  God,  164. 

not  a  graduated  creature,  292. 

not  satisfied  with  the  finite,  234 

the  first,  a  miracle,  285. 
Margaret  of  Valois,  61. 

Queen  of  Denmark,  61. 
Maria  Theresa,  61. 
Mary,  61. 

Materialism,  its  sophistry,  431. 

Priestley  school,  425. 
Memory,  its  communion,  280. 

its  mysteries,  277. 

of  animals,  275. 
Mental  and  moral  improvement,  142. 

inequalities,  80. 
Mesmer  and  Mesmerism,  197. 
Metaphysical  sphere,  191. 
Methusaleh,  110. 
Messiah,  his  witnesses,  621. 

said  of  Satan,  what,  329. 
Milton,  77,  465 

Mind  and  language  commensurate,  31 

and  matter,  phenomena,  76. 

educated,  governs,  183. 

its  manifestations,  458. 

part  of  a  nation's  wealth,  263 

the  richest  treasure,  240. 

works  on  mind,  488. 
Miracles,  are  what,  157. 

Hume's  theory,  154. 

only  on  grand  occasions,  166. 
Mirror,  the  Bible,  299. 
Monuments,  art  of  reading,  276. 

recourse  to,  280. 
Monumental  pillars,  281. 
Moral  culture,  a  common  error,  471. 

culture,  how  attained,  474. 

culture,  reasons  for,  462. 


INDEX. 


645 


Moral  culture  undervalued,  467. 

culture,  why  neglected,  473. 
law,  302. 

philosophy,  assumption,  100. 
Morbid  compassion,  337. 
More,  Hannah,  and  other  women,  63 
Mosaic  code  of  punishment,  328. 
Mother,  her  influence,  64. 

of  Christ,  227. 

wife  aird  sister,  341. 
Murderer  to  be  punished,  316. 
Mythologies,  Pagan,  on  demons,  382. 

N. 

Name  of  the  Lord,  350. 
Napoleon,  86. 

Nation,  birthday  of  our,  288. 

Christian,  the  right  to  war,  344 

defined,  345. 
Nature  as  an  eflFect,  283. 

what,  143. 
Nature's  voice  and  the  gospel,  120. 
Nebulosities,  151. 
Necromancy,  its  history,  202. 
Nehemiah  and  Ezra,  576. 
New  Testament  abolished  what,  332. 
Noah,  his  sixteen  grandsons,  27. 
North  America,  census  of  1850,  37. 

0. 

Observation,  what,  126. 

Old  Testament,  design  of,  604. 

One  language  for  eighteen  hundred  years,22. 

Oracles  of  Christ  for  the  Church,  569. 

Ordinances,  zeal  for,  627. 

Origin,  nature,  &c.  of  man,  99. 

Orthodoxy,  587. 

Our  country,  its  resources,  494. 

Owen,  Robert,  243. 

P. 

Pagan  Anglo-Saxons  our  fathers,  29 
philosophers,  on  the  mind,  76 
philosophy,  three  sects.  104. 

Paganism  a  strange  fact,  34. 

Baine.  Thomas,  84. 

Paley  and  other  philosophers,  305 

Palmyra,  Queen  of,  61. 

Papal  dominions,  ignorance  of,  579. 

Paper,  invention  of,  380. 

Pasaorer,  commemorative,  287. 


Patriarchal  and  Jewish  religions,  370,  518 
Patriarchs,  Jews  and  Christians  excel,  188 
Patriotism,  184. 
Paul,  a  Pharisee,  445. 
Peace  Society,  356. 

Pelasgic  chiefs,  residents  of  Greece,  26 
Penal  code,  index  of  morals,  82. 
Penalty,  its  tariff,  320. 
Penitent  thief,  442. 
Persian  school,  480. 
Peter  a  stone,  617. 

the  Great,  shipbuilder,  81. 
Phenicians,  112. 

Philanthropists,  enthusiasts,  319. 

Philanthropy  of  God,  377. 

Philosophy,  age  of  hypothesis,  395. 
and  the  supernatural, 
of  memory,  address,  272. 
of  the  schools,  457. 

Phrenology,  animal  magnetism,  address, 
186. 

Pilgrimage  to  see  the  first  man,  118. 

Plato,  his  Phasdon,  107. 

Pneuma,  spirit,  four  hundred  times  in  New 

Testament,  430. 
Polygamy,  519. 
Polyglot  Biblift  Sacra,  567. 
Positive  and  negative  electricity,  201. 
Post-diluvian  ages,  feminine  power,  68. 

details  of  punishment,  325. 
Power  of  early  education,  479. 
Powers,  ordained  of  God,  333. 
Prava  indoles,  478. 
Predictions,  two  important,  159. 
Prince  of  Peace,  354. 

Printing-press,  no  words  for,  in  Hebrew  or 

Greek,  30. 
Private  impulse  or  revelation,  209. 
Protest,  its  nobility,  171. 
Protestant,  indicates  thought,  32. 
Protestantdom  and  Popedom,  501,  167. 
Protestantism  and  our  country,  179 

its  toleration,  33. 

self-relying,  33. 
Psuchikos,  431. 
Pulpit,  on  wars,  360. 
Punishment,  a  syllogism,  428. 

capital,  sanctioned,  814. 

sorer  than  death,  424. 

what  does  it  indicate,  428. 
Pythagoras  and  philosophy,  116. 


646 


INDEX. 


Q. 

Questions,  four  important,  221 
R. 

'•Rantizo"  and  "  Baptize,"  628. 
» Raphael  and  others,  77. 
Ratios,  seven-sixteenths,  Japheth,  27. 
Reason  and  language  both  of  God,  17. 

and  recollection,  279. 

faith,  and  language,  21. 
Redemption,  cost  of,  6^6. 
Reformers  and  benefactors,  89. 
Refuge-cities,  330. 
Religion  and  morality,  71. 

our,  passport  to  all  nations,  36 
Religious  development,  296 
Remedial  system,  231. 
Remote  ages,  193. 
Republic,  American,  376. 

Plato's,  314. 
Republicans  and  Protestants,  296. 
Resolutions  by  A.  C,  265 
Responsibilities  of  men  of  genius,  address, 
73 

Responsibility,  its  doctrine,  78. 
Resurrection,  Sadducees  on,  421. 
Revelation,  divine,  208. 

nothing  to  be  added  to  it,  210. 
Revival  of  literature,  578. 
Rewards  of  labor,  520. 
Robespierre,  338. 
Rock  of  Ages,  a  foundation,  485. 
Roman  army  driven  from  England,  29. 

empire,  its  fall,  49. 

society,  what,  52. 
Ruach,  Nenesh,  Psuchee,  427. 

S. 

Sabbath,  counting  by  sevens,  284. 

Sacrifice,  285. 

Sadducees  and  Christ,  444. 

Satan  omnipresent,  how,  401. 

Saxon  language  of  Protestantism,  32. 

Saxony,  cradle  of  liberty,  261. 

School,  defined,  295. 

Schools,  common,  attention  to,  248. 

for  all,  263. 
Science  and  art,  128. 

its  family,  616. 

its  five  chapters,  132. 

of  happiness,  99. 


Science,  what  it  aflBrms,  460. 

Sciences,  two,  cannot  be  improved,  818. 

Scriptures,  how  read,  568. 

king's  version,  emendation  on,  684- 

original  text,  labors  on,  583. 

versions  of,  generally  good,  612. 
Sea-kings,  Celtic  Britons,  ^9. 
Sectarian,  not  a  controversial  age,  59) 
Sects  and  parties,  sub-basis,  166. 
Sedgwick,  Miss,  63. 
Selfishness  and  terror,  45. 
Self-knowledge,  186. 
Sense  and  intellect,  117. 
Septuagint,  604. 
Seven  articles  in  science,  461. 

arts  necessary,  255. 
Shakspeare,  77. 
Sheol  and  Hades,  435. 
Sheriff's  hand,  what,  334. 
Sin  and  death — Dr.  Combe,  194. 
Society  and  civilization,  their  ohildhood 
54. 

as  it  was,  as  it  is,  49. 

in  Europe,  49. 

in  the  United  States,  49 

not  civilized,  69. 

term  vague,  47. 
Socrates,  63,  106. 
Solomon  and  Joab,  335. 
Soul,  life,  and  death,  427. 

sleeping,  443. 

idle  speculation,  449 

spirit,  and  body,  196. 
Spirit,  light,  love,  and  God,  224. 
Spirit  not  flesh  and  bones,  446. 
Spirits  do  not  die,  432. 
Spiritual  system,  vast,  278,  399. 
Sprightly  youths,  false  callings,  187 
Sublimity  of  the  Bible,  235. 
Sun  and  ocean,  300. 
Supernatural  facts,  address,  142. 
Swords,  two,  for  the  disciples,  866. 
Sympathy,  its  laws,  200. 

T. 

Tabernacle,  put  off,  441. 

Tablet  of  memory,  274. 

Tacitus,  etymology  of  word  German,  26: 

Tartar  race,  23. 

Taxes  paid  lOr  ignorance,  239 

Teachers,  jrofessional,  245 


INDEX. 


Teu  predicaments,  274,  600. 
Theology  speculative,  303. 
"The  world" s  a  stage,"  504. 
Thirteen  original  States,  494. 
"Thus  .-^aith  the  Lord,"  enough,  451. 
Title-page,  Christian  Scriptures,  615. 
"To-day  in  Paradise,'"  439. 
Transfiguration,  Mount  Tabor,  446. 
Translations,  old  as  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
602. 

opposition  to,  571 
U. 

Ultra  republicanism,  474. 

schools  of  philosophy,  322. 
Union  of  Christians,  592. 
United  States,  educational  interests,  487. 
Universalists,  &c.,  404. 
Universe,  formed  on  a  moral  idea,  164. 

its  centres,  299. 

no  word  more  comprehensive,  97. 
what,  164. 

Unoccupied  territory  for  Anglo-Saxons,  30. 
V. 

Vale  of  Hinnom,  448. 

Vernacular,  origin,  character,  destiny,  33. 

our,  its  claims,  33. 
Versions,  different,  6U7 

need  of,  611. 
Virgil,  77. 

Virginia  and  Eastern  University,  262. 

many  cannot  read,  269. 

schools  east  and  west,  264. 
Volney  and  Diderot,  84. 
Voltaire,  distinguished,  82. 

works,  honors,  death,  83 


W 

"War,  address  on,  342. 
a  game,  352. 

argument  summed  up,  363. 
Bible  ou,  347. 
described,  358. 
its  desolations,  359. 
not  a  proof  of  justice,  259. 
Wars,  Pagan,  353. 

Wesley,  Clarke,  spiritual  knockings,  202. 
Western  Virginia,  its  wants,  267. 
What  is  ?  what  ought  to  be  ?  131. 
Wickliffe,  bones  of.  a  symbol,  41,.  67*> 
Woman,  ancient  records,  59. 

and  Protestantism,  220. 

and  religion,  67. 

as  daughter,  sister,  &c.,  6i 

at  home,  67. 

distinguished  names,  224. 

five  records  of,  57. 

four  cardinal  points,  62. 

her  mission,  225. 

her  mission,  address,  213. 

in  Pagan  times,  60 

New  Testament  history  of,  66 

power,  57. 

to  society,  56. 

to  the  State,  to  the  Church,  56. 
triumph  of  Satan  over,  67. 
unfallen  considered,  213. 
what  is  she,  222. 
why  created,  217. 
works  of  benevolence,  69. 
World  that  now  is,  81. 

to  be  governed  by  Christ,  874. 

Z. 

Zenobia,  61 


